Clay Shirky leads NYU’s AI efforts, and his background is as a media theorist commenting on how tech changes society. During the rise of social media 20 years ago, he was giving TED talks and writing popular books on how digital tech was altering our world.

To his surprise, though, he says that background in earlier tech revolutions hasn’t been much help in figuring out how college professors should adapt to AI. This tech is different, he says, and NYU is now pivoting from the early advice they offered on the technology.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

“AI Is a ‘Wicked Problem.’ That’s the University’s Specialty,” By Clay Shirky in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

“Students Are Skipping the Hardest Part of Growing Up,” by Clay Shirky in The New York Times.

“Can’t Stop Using ChatGPT on HW,” Reddit post, now deleted but on the Internet Archive.

“Guilty about using AI but don’t know how not to,” Reddit post.

“The Souls of the Machine: Clay Shirky says the Internet revolution has only just begun,” by Jeff Young in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

"AI Homework," by Ben Thompson.

“‘We don’t need to panic’: Clay Shirky on NYU’s approach to AI,” in Washington Square News.

“Inside the MIT Report on How AI Is Eroding Campus Culture,” Learning Curve Season 2 Ep. 1

“The AI Optimist Researching ‘Cognitive Surrender’,” Learning Curve Season 1 Ep. 21

“A Question of Signaling,” by Bryan Kaplan.

“The wicked problem of AI and assessment,” in Assessment & Evaluation in Education.

“Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion,” by Wendy Suzuki.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported and produced by Jeff Young

Music by Komiku

©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC

The Gates Foundation recently pledged $1 billion over two years for AI efforts, with a large share going to education. Why the big AI push, even as Bill Gates warns of the technology's possible downsides for society? And what does the foundation see as the most effective uses of AI in education, and how is it guarding against unintended consequences?

Articles mentioned this episode:

“Gates Foundation Pledges $1 Billion to Combat A.I. Inequality,” in The New York Times.

“The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical,” by Bill Gates.

“Can AI Improve Intro Courses? A New Courseware Project Hopes So,” in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

“One Click Away: AI Tutoring with Khanmigo in a Two-Year School Experiment,” at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported and produced by Jeff Young

Music by Komiku

©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC

A new internal report at MIT warns that AI is making learning less social, as more students turn to chatbots rather than classmates when they’re stuck. The report, which is sparking discussion across higher ed and even in some media reports, argues that this esteemed university needs to reboot all aspects of teaching and assessment now that AI can complete just about any assignment a professor can hand out. Can AI be part of the answer to preserving social learning at universities?

Read the report from MIT’s Ad Hoc Committee on AI Use in Teaching, Learning, and Research Training.

"Happy 60th Birthday to the Word “Hack," in MIT Alumni.

See the student MIT prank that landed a firetruck on the university's Great Dome.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported and produced by Jeff Young

Music by Komiku

©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC