Number of AI chatbots ignoring human instructions increasing, study says https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Ok, so this is a problem—but not for the reason the headline claims. The AI agents are not «ignoring instructions», but are following instructions and because they are programmed to act semi-independently without checking for new instructions every step along the way, the consequences of the instructions they are given are well beyond what is foreseen. We have had fables warning us about this for thousands of years—think of King Midas not being able to forsee the consequences of everything he touches being turnes to gold—but we stubbornly refuse to listen to our own warnings.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@cafechatnoir/116281458135476166

Brain Connectivity Declines with AI Use
EEG scans revealed a systematic scaling down of neural connectivity in the brain with increasing reliance on external tools:
[...]
LLM use resulted in under-engagement of critical attention and visual processing networks, especially in Session 4 when participants tried to write without AI.

#science #health #writing #art #ai

Time to dust off a bunch of old songs which are sadly still all too relevant.

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy by Pete Seeger.

---------+

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on

#PeteSeeger #WaistDeepInTheBigMuddy #Trump #Iran

Time for a new #introduction post, as much of my last one has changed! I’m Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University. I’m founder and Director Emerita* of #MeshResearch, a lab building open-source interoperable tools for new forms of scholarly communication. I'm also director of Knowledge Commons, a scholarly network serving knowledge creators from across the disciplines and around the world. https://hcommons.org

My research interests circulate around transforming #universities into more #open, more #generous spaces for cultural and intellectual work. My newest book, LEADING GENEROUSLY: TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION, published in 2024 by Hopkins Press, explores the notion that #collective leadership infrastructures might be one key to that transformation. https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12787/leading-generously

*Not a real title.

At what point do we just admit that not only is #WordPress no longer a good thing for the web and society but an active threat to both?

https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/20/wordpress-com-now-lets-ai-agents-write-and-publish-posts-and-more/

The latest Currents in Digital Education is now out. Characterised by critical pragmatism, it's a regular guide to navigating the ever-shifting tides of higher education, with a special focus on what matters most in the South African Higher Education context.
Really fascinating resources from South and North - news, guides, books, panels, talks, forthcoming events - you did not know exist!

https://mailchi.mp/usaf.ac.za/currents-in-digital-education-march2026?e=98a63fd469