The Closed Loop: AI Companies as Education Researchers

In March 2026, OpenAI quietly published a measurement suite for how AI affects student learning. The data flows straight back into OpenAI's model development pipeline. Three AI labs released studies in the same month, and the pattern matters more than the individual papers. Dale and Nick examine OpenAI's Learning Outcomes Measurement Suite, Anthropic's 81,000-person qualitative study (where AI conducted the interviews, classified the responses, and pulled the quotes), Anthropic's labour displacement research using its own usage logs, and Google DeepMind's cognitive taxonomy for AGI. The throughline: the companies building the most consequential technology of our lifetime are also defining how learning, work, and intelligence get measured. A frank conversation about structural conflicts of interest, what universities should be doing about it, and why on current evidence they probably won't.[00:00] — Three studies, one pattern[02:30] — Watchmen and vendor capture[05:00] — Inside the measurement suite[06:30] — The closed-loop problem[09:30] — 81,000 interviews by AI[11:00] — Cognitive atrophy among educators[15:00] — Observed exposure, broken ladder[17:00] — Disclosure versus actual accountability[19:30] — A cognitive taxonomy lands[22:00] — Three options, none easy🎙️ Adjunct Intelligence is the weekly briefing for higher-ed professionals who want AI as a cheat code—not a headache.Every episode:• Real tests of AI tools in education and professional workflows• Fast, Monday-morning actions you can actually try• Clear signal through the noise (no hype, no jargon)👉 Subscribe on [YouTube] | [Apple Podcasts] | [Spotify]👉 Share this with a colleague who still says “I’ll figure AI out later”👉 Join the conversation on LinkedIn with #AdjunctIntelligenceStay curious. Stay intelligent. Stay the human in the loop.