A university research lab is publishing a week-long series of open-source releases instead of a traditional paper, arguing that AI agents have made individual research projects fast and cheap, which undermines the value of isolated publications. The author challenges both student pessimism about job prospects and PhD students' rush to join frontier AI labs, claiming academia is positioned for a resurgence precisely because of its resource constraints.
Employers and educators are increasingly pointing to anthropology and other humanities disciplines as valuable preparation for an AI-driven workplace. The emphasis is shifting toward understanding human behavior, culture, and context—skills that complement rather than compete with technical AI capabilities.
A 2025 OECD PISA study of over 760,000 15-year-olds across 91 countries found that, after controlling for socioeconomic status, students who never use AI generally outperformed AI users in science. The performance gap was largest for those using AI to summarize texts or draft assignments, and for those using it either rarely or daily, while moderate, intentional use—especially paired with training to critically evaluate AI outputs—showed smaller drops or even slight gains over non-users.
Nature's careers team is organizing a 60-minute webinar examining how doctoral programmes are adjusting to the growing use of AI tools among graduate students, who increasingly rely on them for literature searches, coding, presentations and summarizing papers. Three panellists will discuss the benefits of AI in research alongside concerns that it may weaken essential skills PhD training is meant to instill.
Kenyan freelance writers who long earned income producing custom essays for cheating students abroad are seeing that work dry up as AI writing tools take over the task. The shift marks the collapse of a once-thriving informal outsourcing industry built around academic dishonesty.
Greenway Institute is a new startup school that strips away traditional campus amenities like clubs, sports teams and dining halls, focusing spending instead on hands-on academic instruction. The model aims to lower tuition by eliminating costs tied to nonacademic student life, betting that students prioritize career-ready skills over the traditional campus experience.
New York City's education department has imposed a one-year blanket ban on AI tools for students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. High school students will still have access to AI, but only in limited, approved ways.
OpenAI's ChatGPT experienced a service disruption that left many users temporarily unable to access the chatbot for everyday tasks like writing emails, essays, and completing work assignments. The outage prompted widespread reactions online, with some users humorously reflecting on how dependent they've become on AI tools for routine work.
A back-to-school roundup recommends various personal transportation devices, including unicycles, bicycles, and other wheeled options, to help students move around campus more efficiently. The guide focuses on practicality and enjoyment for daily commutes between classes.
A growing number of American universities are rolling out three-year bachelor's degree options aimed at reducing tuition costs and time to graduation. The push targets nontraditional and older students, such as 34-year-old Giles Sims, who have been held back in the job market by not holding a degree. Advocates say the accelerated model addresses rising concerns over college affordability.
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