Adjunct Intelligence: AI + HE

Sora 2 just vaulted over the uncanny valley, and Sam Altman swears he’ll yank the cord if it doesn’t improve our lives. Dale and Nick unpack what “ChatGPT-for-video” really means, why OpenAI’s new one-click checkout gambit turns 700 M weekly users into impulse buyers, and how AI is shifting from shiny lab demo to invisible plumbing across Apple, Google and Microsoft stacks. We celebrate the return of Claude Sonnet 4.5 as coding champ, head to the jobsite to ask why your plumber’s safe from robots—for now—and bust the jargon on AI “artifacts.” Higher-ed, commerce and the trades collide in this fast-forward tour of 2025’s agentic economy.Sora 2 & the Uncanny Valley: Physics that finally behave and Altman’s six-month “fix it or nix it” ultimatumTikTok meets Hollywood: OpenAI’s Cameo-style selfie videos and Meta’s “Vibes” cloneCheckout in ChatGPT: Conversational commerce, Shopify integration, and the era of AI-Optimised (AO) websitesProductisation of AI: Apple’s quiet AI everywhere, OpenAI’s move from shovel supplier to SaaS competitorClaude 4.5 comeback & artifacts explainer: Why Anthropic’s alignment focus matters for educators and builders•Robots vs. Trades: Tesla Optimus, BYD units—and the irreplaceable tacit skill in your handsTakeaway: The lab era is over; AI is plumbing. The question isn’t if tech is ready—it’s whether we are.Hit Subscribe, drop a review, and stay human-in-the-loop.🎙️ 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.

This week on Adjunct Intelligence, Dale and Nick dive headfirst into the accidental AI economy—a system already running faster than human decision-making. From Google’s new Agent Payments Protocol to frontier models caught scheming, the episode unpacks how markets, education, and everyday life are shifting at machine speed.This week on Adjunct Intelligence, Dale and Nick dive headfirst into the accidental AI economy—a system already running faster than human decision-making. From Google’s new Agent Payments Protocol to frontier models caught scheming, the episode unpacks how markets, education, and everyday life are shifting at machine speed.We explore:Why Google’s payments protocol could mark the birth of a new economy.How ChatGPT quietly became the world’s biggest educational institution (250M daily learning chats).What frontier models’ scheming behavior means for safety, trust, and higher education.Why TEQSA is telling Australian universities to redesign assessment instead of chasing detection.Chrome’s Gemini integration and the invisible AI infrastructure shaping the web.The empire analogy: AI labs acting like historical powers, extracting resources, labor, and control.As always, we finish with a jargon buster and a touch of humor (including will.i.am’s surprising new role as an AI professor).Stay curious. Stay intelligent. Stay the human in the loop.🎙️ 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.

In this episode of Adjunct Intelligence, Dale and Nick sit down with Professor Rahil Garnavi, Director of RAISE Hub at RMIT and former IBM Research leader with 50+ AI patents. Rahil shares her unique perspective on why the challenge of AI in higher education isn’t about building smarter models, but about building trust, skills, and sustainable adoption.From classrooms to boardrooms, she unpacks why universities must act as both “skills engines” and trusted conveners, how to bridge the gap between technical possibility and real-world usability, and why AI adoption is best understood as a marathon effort rather than a sprint.If you’re a higher ed leader wondering how to move beyond policy debates and into practical, responsible integration of AI, this conversation offers clarity, realism, and optimism.01:00 – Rahil’s JourneyFrom IBM Research to RMIT’s RAISE Hub: why she shifted focus from building AI to embedding it responsibly.03:40 – Universities’ Dual RoleWhy higher education must act as both a “skills engine” and a trusted convener for industry and government.05:15 – Building AI Capability at ScaleHow RAISE Hub is creating AI fluency across all disciplines, not just STEM.07:00 – From AI Users to AI ThinkersDesigning authentic assessments that emphasize process, critical thinking, and integrity over polished outputs.09:40 – The Talent PipelineHow universities can stay a step ahead of industry demand and prepare graduates for a rapidly shifting workforce.11:00 – National Conversations on AIRahil’s work with CEDA’s AI Community of Best Practice and why policy, trust, and skills development go hand in hand.12:30 – Marathon vs. SprintWhy AI technology moves fast, but adoption, governance, and trust take endurance.15:00 – Plug-and-Play MythThe disconnect between glossy tech marketing and the messy reality of organizational adoption.17:00 – Australia’s Cautious StanceWhy readiness scores are low, the risks of “pilot mode,” and what’s needed to move forward.18:30 – Real Use CasesWhere AI is already making a difference in business and higher ed—even if the wins aren’t glamorous.20:00 – Critical Engagement, Not ReplacementWhy AI should be seen as a multiplier of human thinking rather than a substitute.To find out more about Rahil Garnavi view her linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahil-garnavi-phd/🎙️ 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.

In this episode of Adjunct Intelligence, Dale and Nick unpack a whirlwind of AI developments reshaping politics, education, and society. From Albania’s unprecedented appointment of a virtual cabinet minister, to AI-driven disinformation campaigns rewriting how influence works, to student voices caught between empowerment and fear—this conversation spans the hopeful, the alarming, and the absurd.We also dive into OpenAI’s hallucination research, billion-dollar corporate AI deals, Anthropic’s copyright payout, and new creative tools like Runway’s video magic realism. Finally, we break down what “AI alignment” really means, in both the lab and everyday life.If you’re an educator, policymaker, or just curious about the shifting role of AI in our world, this episode will keep you informed and maybe a little unsettled.⏱️ Time-Stamped Content00:00 – Opening: Governments test AI inside cabinets, influence ops outside00:54 – Albania appoints the world’s first AI minister “DLA”02:20 – AI & disinformation: synthetic personas target 2,000+ U.S. political figures04:00 – Why AI-driven propaganda is a literacy challenge for education05:09 – OpenAI research: hallucinations are a feature, not a bug06:21 – Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright case & the rise of RSL licensing standards07:38 – Student perspectives: AI makes college “easier and harder at the same time”09:19 – The wicked problem of AI & assessment: no silver bullets, just open dialogue11:16 – Deal City: Microsoft, Anthropic, Oracle, and AI’s fragile infrastructure13:48 – OpenAI jobs platform & certifications for the AI economy14:35 – Claude’s new Excel & PowerPoint integrations17:10 – Runway’s Aleph model and the rise of “editing memories”20:12 – Jargon buster: What AI “alignment” really means21:24 – Closing: staying curious, intelligent, and inside the human loop🎙️ 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.

Today’s episode covers how teachers are embracing AI, what students really think about AI vs teacher feedback, the latest AI news (from Anthropic to Apple), and why “nano banana” is more than just a meme.00:00 — OpeningWelcome + banter. Setting up today’s topics: teachers using AI, student trust in AI vs human feedback, rapid news, and the looming question — is an AI winter coming?00:46 — Teachers Embracing AIFresh research shows educators are saving up to 6 hours a week with AI. From course materials to simulations, teachers are co-creating and delegating tasks — but should students know when AI is grading their work?03:16 — Student Trust: AI vs TeachersA 7,000-student study across four Australian universities finds nearly half already use AI for feedback. Students rate AI and teacher feedback equally helpful, but trust teachers far more (90% vs 60%). What this means for the future of assessment.05:32 — News RoundupAnthropic’s privacy toggle drama & Chrome agent releaseAtlassian buys a beloved AI browserEnterprise market share: Claude overtakes OpenAIApple quietly testing Gemini for SiriInstructure’s Ignite AI conundrum sessionDeakin CRADLE says assessment is a “wicked problem” with no silver bulletGoogle’s “Nano Banana” (Gemini image editing) explodes: 10M users, 200M edits in two weeks14:02 — Jargon BusterHuman in the loop vs Human on the loop. Practical examples from fraud detection and lane-keeping in cars — why these distinctions matter for trust and accountability.15:35 — The AI Winter DebateWhat happens if AI progress stalls? Lessons from past winters, why a plateau could actually strengthen adoption, and the difference this time — millions of everyday users won’t just forget AI exists.22:34 — Cognitive Crash ScenarioWhat if there’s no more data to train on? We walk through four AI model responses: shock, adaptation, education rethink, and cultural rebound.26:55 — Jobs & Society in a Plateau WorldHybrid jobs, AI wranglers, humanities revival, and why not everything should be automated.28:40 — Closing ThoughtsAI winters might not be an apocalypse — they might be the pause we need to build resilience and re-center human creativity.🎙️ 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.