And I also think there's going to be a different conversation about AI, machine learning and things like that.

Artificial intelligence is becoming a major feature of educational practice and policymaking, but researchers are beginning to raise critical questions about its ethics and effects. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the subject of both hype and horror in education. During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, AI in education (AIed) attracted serious investor interest, market speculation, and enthusiastic technofuturist predictions. At the same time, algorithms and statistical models were implicated in several major controversies over predictive grading based on historical performance data, raising serious questions about privileging data-driven assessment over teacher judgment. In the new special issue AI in education: Critical perspectives and alternative futures published in Learning, Media and Technology, Rebecca Eynon and I pulled together a collection of cutting edge social scientific analyses of AIed.

When it was founded 31 years ago, South by Southwest was easier to define: It was an annual musical showcase linking up-and-coming recording artists with industry executives in Austin, Texas, a city known for its vibrant music scene, cultural eccentricity and barbecue. But over the years, the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals has grown into a massive annual series of citywide events touching on music, film, media and technology. SXSW, as it's known, now includes a trade show, a job fair, an education-themed conference and throughout innovators will have opportunities to pitch their ideas to potential financial backers. The annual 10-day event, which begins Friday with a keynote address from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has ballooned into an gathering so large that in recent years city officials have curbed the number of special musical events. And some music journalists have criticized the annual event for becoming too big and commercialized to be a place for musical discovery.

Sticking to one task at a time is an increasing rarity, as things such as checking social media while watching TV, or online shopping while on the phone become the norm. But if you have ever talked to a friend or family member while tapping out emoji on WhatsApp, only to realise you've missed half the conversation, you'll know how juggling tasks can cause you to lose focus. Now, a new poll has found that constant multitasking may actually be hindering our performance, reducing focus for parents and children. Research from the US suggests that constant multitasking may actually be hindering our performance, reducing focus for parents and children alike. While tech has an increasingly important role in modern life, a poll of 1,200 parents and teens in the US found the constant multitasking and omnipresence of tech is leading to an'always on' mentality.