The Old Internet is Still Here #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79053 I've seen this referenced in a few placed. Tyler Gaw argues, "Those things we're missing aren't gone. They're still right here. They never went anywhere, they just got layered over by time... I don't consider myself an outlier here. I would wager (without any data) that most people who had a personal site and/or blog 20 years ago, still have one today.

The Five Biggest Pitfalls of Collaborative Grouping (And How to Avoid Them) #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79052 I used to hate groupwork, but that was usually because one of the five problems with collaborative work described by John Spencer in this reasonably detailed article.

Values-led Generative AI in Design Education: A Toolkit for Confident, Critical Practice #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79051 I always ask "whose values" when I see stuff titled like this. But anyhow: "The case studies and scenarios in the toolkit are intended as a starting point rather than a prescription. Every teaching context is different, and the activities can be adapted for a wide range of disciplines and levels.

AEGIS-OA launches to advance sustainable Diamond Open Access publishing in Europe #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79050 "The initiative brings together a consortium of 24 partners from 16 European countries, including 14 beneficiary partners and 10 associated partners...

The birth of the bio-edu-data-sciences #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79049 This is a long post that is very much worth reading. "In summer 2025, a startup technology company from Silicon Valley announced the launch of a genetic IQ test for embryos," reports Ben Williamson. "Now we could just respond to this by saying it's modern eugenics and snake oil, as other critics have." But we shouldn't. For one thing, despite the questionable ethics, what we've seen is people would if they could.

Those Takeaways #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79048 I'd like to offer a rejoinder to Junhong Xiao and David CL Lim's paper Is AI the solution to the problems that make higher education “ill” in the first place? Towards a technology-agnostic, future-proof approach. Near the end of the paper is a section titled "Key takeaways for policymakers and institutional leaders". This post addresses those takeaways specifically..

What The AI Consciousness Question Conceals | NOEMA #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79047 We've seen the argument a few times now that computation and embodiment are fundamentally different, and that AI is one, and humans are the other, and that therefore AI cannot be conscious. I linked to The Abstraction Fallacy making this point a few days ago, and Barton Friedland links to Anil Seth's The Mythology of Conscious AI making much the same case back in January. I've covered both here.

Coalition Publica launches new website for advancing open access #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79046 By 'diamond open access' we mean open access publishing that has neither subscription fees for readers nor publication fees for authors. Usually the publications are supported by an academic institution, foundation, or government office.

Top LLM PyPl package compromised to steal user details #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79045 As reported here and widely elsewhere, "A hugely popular Python package called LiteLLM was compromised and used to deploy an infostealer malware to hundreds of thousands of devices." The malware grabbed API keys, .env credentials, personal information, and much more. The danger is magnified because the package is frequently used by Claude Code, so people might not be aware their projects contain it.

What's Up With That? #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79044 I haven't tried this, because browser extension are blocked in the office, but I will when I'm home, and it's definitely worth a look. The idea idea is that the extension looks at the article you're reading, compares it to what else it can find on the same topic, and runs it through an analysis telling you what it adds that's new, what sort of wider analysis might be recommended, adjacent topics worth pursuing, etc.