How AI is changing the job market for young people

🎓 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. Every doctoral student deserves the right tools to make their research journey more efficient and enjoyable. Discover the top 5 research tools — from 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 to 𝗭𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼, 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆, 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 and 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.𝗮𝗶 — that will help you save time, stay organized, and focus on what matters most: your research. 💡 Learn how these tools can transform your academic workflow: https://buff.ly/O3gTQ5Z #LIGSUniversity #DoctoralStudies #ResearchTools #AcademicSuccess #PhDLife

Last night I attended the SymBOZium in my lovely homebase of Bozeman, MT. They brought in a panel to discuss AI. It was interesting and got me thinking about a few things in a slightly different way. My top takeaways were: 1️⃣ Our economy is hanging on a very thin AI thread. An “AI winter” may be on the horizon. 2️⃣ Media literacy matters more than ever. One panelist, a columnist for "The Atlantic," shared that he’s “optimistic on media literacy as a way to tell truth vs. fiction.” 🎉 Same. I’m doubling down on information literacy, media literacy, and AI literacy. 3️⃣ AI is… math. Literally. A computer science professor from Montana State described AI as “a great big probability distribution” and a “mathematical artifact of human creation.” Yes. Exactly. This is why I keep saying: AI literacy isn’t extra — it’s core. AI is math. ➗ 4️⃣ Cutting funding because “AI will solve it” is incredibly problematic. Another panelist noted that funding rollbacks are directly tied to the belief that AI will solve all our problems. I hadn’t connected those dots before—and neither had the panel host as he commented on that. Lots to think about… and even more fuel for the work I’m doing in AI literacy and educator empowerment.

The UK predicament is somewhat different but if you work in a university you’ll recognise the dynamics: “an investment strategy whereby donors, aided by university administrators and regents, circumvent faculty governance in order to treat universities like incubators or, worse, as click-farms to inflate the user data seemingly keeping the AI investment machine humming.” https://lnkd.in/eaAQ8uhN

Next week, I’ll be giving a keynote talk at the V MeLCi Lab Autumn School 2025: AI Research Practice and Media and Communication – Science Bootcamp to Improve Research Hands-on Skills. Lusófona University, Portugal. My talk, titled “AI and Digital Inequalities: New Divides, Old Patterns?”, draws from my forthcoming book (co-authored with Maria Laura Ruiu) and explores how artificial intelligence reshapes the social logic of inequality. The keynote will unfold in three parts: 1️⃣ Foundations of AInequality: From Access to Regime Tracing how traditional digital divides evolved into algorithmic hierarchies, revealing how AI transforms access into classification and prediction. 2️⃣ Structures of Power and Governance Examining how architectures of data, labour, and regulation sustain AI’s inequality regime at institutional and geopolitical scales. 3️⃣ Futures, Justice, and Resistance Envisioning equitable AI futures by rethinking governance, ecological justice, and the politics of algorithmic commons. Overall, I’ll argue that AI does not merely extend digital divides, it reorganizes them, embedding hierarchy into infrastructures of prediction and governance. The talk asks: Are we witnessing a new chapter in technological inequality, or simply the digital continuation of old social patterns? Looking forward to the discussion and to engaging with colleagues and students at this inspiring event. #AI #DigitalInequalities #ArtificialIntelligence #MediaStudies #AIethics #Sociology #AcademicResearch #Keynote

Last week, I had the opportunity to present at George Mason University's Faculty Staff Enrichment Day on “Beyond the Buzz: Practical AI Strategies for Higher Ed Administrators.” It was a great conversation with colleagues who are genuinely interested in how AI can support the work we do every day. A few key points from the session: ✅ Students are overwhelmed by messaging and often miss important information — visibility is the real challenge. ✅ AI can help us provide more relevant, timely, and personalized communication that leads to action. ✅ Clear goals and structured prompting matter far more than the latest trendy tools. ✅ Human review and use of open source information remain essential for accuracy, accessibility, and ethical use. What I appreciated most was how engaged the group was — thoughtful questions, practical ideas, and a shared commitment to improving the student experience. It’s encouraging to be part of a university community exploring what’s next while staying grounded in what students actually need. Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion. Looking forward to continuing this work together. #HigherEd #AIinHigherEd #StudentSuccess #GMU #FacultyStaffEnrichmentDay #PracticalAI

Thrilled to Share my Latest Publication! 🚀📚 I’m honored to have contributed a chapter titled “Building Artificial Intelligence Literacy Skills for AI Competency Development in Higher Learning Institutions” (co-authored with Dr. Everlyn Anduvare) to the newly released volume AI-Driven Revolution: Transforming the Business Landscape, published by World Scientific. This timely collection, edited by Dr. Tereza Raquel Merlo (University of North Texas), explores how artificial intelligence is transforming industries, education, and society. Our chapter emphasizes the importance of AI literacy as a cornerstone for ethical, equitable, and future-ready higher education. 🔗 Get your copy and learn! https://lnkd.in/gAPrhC_N #AILiteracy #HigherEducation #AIinEducation #WorldScientific #DigitalTransformation

🚀 Transforming Grant Writing with AI and Behavioral Science We’re excited to share our latest work: “Implementation Plan for the Retrieval-Augmented Generation System in the GRANT-AI Trial.” This paper details how the GRANT-AI pilot integrates Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and expert human review to revolutionize NIH grant proposal development. By combining GPT-4o, a curated corpus of funded proposals, and behavioral design elements like motivational nudges and progress visualizations, GRANT-AI offers a scalable, ethical, and evidence-based approach to improving proposal quality and equity in research funding. Key innovations include: 🧠 Integration of expert human reviewers and adaptive AI feedback. 💡 Behavioral scaffolding to enhance writing motivation and completion. 🔍 A secure, NIH-aligned RAG feedback engine built for accuracy and contextual relevance. Our goal? To make grant writing more efficient, equitable, and data-driven for researchers everywhere. 📄 Read the full implementation plan here: https://lnkd.in/dK3Jhw7F and join the conversation on how AI can responsibly augment scientific writing and peer review. #SporeDataResearch #AIinScience #GrantWriting #RAG #OpenAI #BehavioralScience #ResearchInnovation #NIH 

The term AI literacy is now everywhere, used often, but interpreted in many different ways. The word literacy carries deep societal weight, beyond simply “understanding how something works.” It reflects our ability to connect, create meaning, and engage with the world. Clarifying what you mean by AI literacy is important. In my book Am I Literate? Redefining Literacy in the Age of AI, I explore the origins of literacy and how its meaning has evolved over time. Here’s an excerpt - Literacy in Context. https://lnkd.in/ezH8z_Hk #ailiteracy #literacy #inclusion #aiethics #economy #society amiliterate.com (photo: gettyimages)

I’m excited to visit with students in the Applied Technology course at University of Nebraska at Omaha about how we’re leveraging generative AI to connect Nebraska’s workforce to opportunity. The course is taught by Dr. Ada-Rhodes Short, the 2025 Nebraska Women in Tech Diversity Champion of the Year, recognized for her leadership in inclusive tech education. AI has become a true thought partner in our work, helping refine ideas, connect concepts, and accelerate impact. One of my go-to tools is Google’s NotebookLM, which I recently used to turn the 37-page “ImagiNE” report developed by the Nebraska Department of Revenue and Nebraska Department of Economic Development on Nebraska’s job growth into a short video overview (linked below). AI can inspire new ideas, but it never replaces critical thinking. The future belongs to those who understand the source, think deeply, and use these tools to work smarter. Video overview: https://lnkd.in/gE84K2Jv Read the full “ImagiNE” report here: https://lnkd.in/gHTGV9xk #AI #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Nebraska #WorkforceDevelopment #TechEducation

🚀 Transforming Grant Writing with AI and Behavioral Science We’re excited to share our latest work: “Implementation Plan for the Retrieval-Augmented Generation System in the GRANT-AI Trial.” This paper details how the GRANT-AI pilot integrates Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and expert human review to revolutionize NIH grant proposal development. By combining GPT-4o, a curated corpus of funded proposals, and behavioral design elements like motivational nudges and progress visualizations, GRANT-AI offers a scalable, ethical, and evidence-based approach to improving proposal quality and equity in research funding. Key innovations include: 🧠 Integration of expert human reviewers and adaptive AI feedback. 💡 Behavioral scaffolding to enhance writing motivation and completion. 🔍 A secure, NIH-aligned RAG feedback engine built for accuracy and contextual relevance. Our goal? To make grant writing more efficient, equitable, and data-driven for researchers everywhere. 📄 Read the full implementation plan here: https://lnkd.in/d69svhg5 and join the conversation on how AI can responsibly augment scientific writing and peer review. #SporeDataResearch #AIinScience #GrantWriting #RAG #OpenAI #BehavioralScience #ResearchInnovation #NIH