News & Events

This message was originally shared to subscribers January 22, 2026.

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In This Issue

AI is everywhere, but the rollout is messy. In higher ed, nearly everyone is using AI, yet many employees still don’t know the rules. Workers say AI is saving them serious time, but training and support remain uneven. In classrooms, educators are balancing innovation with fears about critical thinking and shortcuts. Meanwhile, public trust lags, Europe is racing for AI independence, and governments are pushing robotics forward fast.

News and Views

Access to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and other paywalled content is available to all students, faculty and staff with a valid Syracuse University NetID. Learn more.

Education, Teaching and Learning

• I’m an AI Power User. It Has No Place in the Classroom. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Professor Jing Lei Asks Can AI Strengthen Classroom Connections? (Syracuse University)
• AI in the Classroom: What a Skeptic and an Optimist Can Both Agree On (EducationWeek)
• AI-Powered Pedagogy: A Guide to Evidence-Based Teaching Tools (Educause Review)

Coding, Engineering and Developer Productivity

• AI Reshapes Coding (Syracuse University)

Media and Advertising

• AI Advertising (Google)

Policy, Geopolitics and “Sovereign AI”

• The Race to Build the DeepSeek of Europe Is On (Wired)
• The World Is Using AI More. The U.S. Is Still Wary. (Axios)
• Army Must Embrace AI Usage (Association of the United State Army)
• N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul to Make Data Centers Pay for Own Energy Demand (Axios)
• Matthew McConaughey Trademarks Himself to Fight AI Misuse (The Wall Street Journal)

Tools, Models and Product Updates

• How Google Got Its Groove Back and Edged Ahead of OpenAI (The Wall Street Journal)
• Introducing ChatGPT Health (OpenAI)
• Anthropic Unveils New Healthcare Features for Claude (Anthropic)
• Claude Is Taking the AI World by Storm, and Even Non-Nerds Are Blown Away (The Wall Street Journal)

Tech Trends and What’s Next

• At CES 2026, Everything Is AI. What Matters Is How You Use It (Wired)
• 11 Things AI Experts Are Watching In 2026 (University of California)

Work, Jobs and The Economy

• AI Will Transform the Human Job and Enhance Skills, Says Science Minister (The Guardian)
• Workers Use Time Saved by AI to Improve Their Roles, Indeed Finds (HR Dive)
• Economic Report Shows AI Working Alongside Employees, Not Replacing Them (Anthropic)
• Data Shows AI ‘Disconnect’ in Higher Ed Workforce (Inside Higher Ed)
• More Than 60% of US Adults Now Start New Tasks With AI (PYMNTS)
• McKinsey CEO Bob Sternfels Says the Firm Now Has 60,000 Employees: 25,000 of Them Are AI Agents (MSN)

This Issue’s Tip: Claude Prompt Creator

Creating a strong AI prompt doesn’t have to be complicated. Syracuse University’s AI Prompt Creator is a guided conversational assistant that helps you design comprehensive, high-quality prompts for AI agents on the Syracuse platform. It walks you through a structured process to define your agent’s behavior, personality, and capabilities—one question at a time—so you’re never overwhelmed. You’ll get helpful examples when needed, the chance to refine as you go, and built-in alignment with best practices and ethical guidelines.

This Issue’s Win: AI Time Dividend Plan

A prompt is how you ask generative AI tools to do something for you (e.g., creating, summarizing, editing or transforming). Treat it like a conversation, using clear language and enough context to get the result you have in mind.

To get more practice, use the generative AI tool of your choice (for example, Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI ChatGPT or Anthropic Claude) to execute the following prompt:

“I want to use AI to create real value, not just do tasks faster.

Step 1: Ask me 5 questions to identify the ONE part of my work that feels repetitive, unclear, or draining.

Step 2: Turn my answers into:

• a “before vs. after” workflow (what I do now vs. what AI can help with)
• a reusable prompt pack (5 prompts I can copy/paste weekly)
• a 10-minute daily AI routine that saves time without lowering quality

Step 3: Add a “trust layer” checklist I must follow every time:

• what I should never paste into AI
• how to verify outputs fast
• how to cite or disclose AI help when appropriate

Keep it practical, simple, and tailored to my role.“

Helpful Resources

• University AI Guidelines
• AI on the ITS website
• Tech Tips Video Series

Thank you for reading. Go Orange!

This message was originally shared to subscribers January 8, 2026.

Dear Reader

Thank you for being a reader of AI Insights!

We’ve just reached our one-year anniversary, and we’d love your feedback to help shape the future of the newsletter. This short survey should take about 5 minutes, and your responses will directly inform what we publish next.

In This Issue

This week’s AI headlines reveal a technology reshaping nearly every corner of society. Leaders and investors are betting big—despite warnings of financial risk—while governments race to loosen or redefine regulation. Schools and workplaces are adapting fast, grappling with trust, skills and integrity. Together, these stories show AI accelerating ahead, with consequences institutions can no longer ignore.

News and Views

Access to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and other paywalled content is available to all students, faculty and staff with a valid Syracuse University NetID. Learn more.

Education

• To AI-Proof Exams, Professors Turn to the Oldest Technique of All (The Washington Post)
• How to Respond When Students Don’t Want to Work With AI (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• AI in Higher Education: A Guide for Teachers (EdTech)
• As Schools Embrace A.I. Tools, Skeptics Raise Concerns (The New York Times)
• 5 Predictions on How AI Will Shape Higher Ed in 2026 (Inside Higher Ed)

Big Tech, Power and Leadership

• The Architects of AI Are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year (Time)
• Satya Nadella Just Shared His 2026 Outlook (sn scratchpad)

Health and Science

• 40M+ People Use ChatGPT Daily for Health Advice (OpenAI)
• Stanford AI Predicts 130 Diseases from a Night’s Sleep (Nature Medicine)

Industry, Markets and Economy

• Something Ominous Is Happening in the AI Economy (The Atlantic)
• Wall Street Is Shaking Off Fears of an A.I. Bubble. For Now. (The New York Times)
• How Tech’s Biggest Companies Are Offloading the Risks of the A.I. Boom (The New York Times)
• AI Exuberance: Economic Upside, Stock Market Downside (Vanguard)

Media, Measurement and Meta

• The Copilot Usage Report 2025 (Microsoft)
• The Conference Where ChatGPT Wrote One in Five Reviews (Maybe) (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• 10 Charts That Explain 2025 (The Information)

Policy, Regulation and Government

• Coalition of 42 Attorneys General in Letter to A.I. Software Companies (Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General)
• House Democrats Establish AI Working Group as Industry Bolsters DC Presence (CNBC)
• President Trump Last Night Signed an Executive Order to Override State AI Laws (White House)
• The White House Unveiled a New AI-Focused “Tech Force” (Tech Force)
• Hochul Reaches Deal on A.I. Regulation in New York (The New York Times)

Quality, Safety and Technical Reality

• AI-Authored Code Contains Worse Bugs Than Software Crafted by Humans (The Register)
• I Ran a Chatbot Fight Club for a Year. Here’s What Won. (The Washington Post)

Society and Culture

• 2025 Word of the Year: Slop (Merriam-Webster)
• The State of the Youth 2025 (Aura)

Work and the Future of Jobs

• How Workers Will Adapt in the AI Era (Time)
• Employers Encourage AI at Work, With or Without Guardrails (PYMNTS)
• Nadella’s Message to Microsoft Execs: Get on Board with the AI Grind or Get Out (Business Insider)
• CEOs Are All-In on AI (The Wall Street Journal)

This Issue’s Tip: Claude Resources

Whether you’re just getting started with Claude Enterprise or looking to level up your AI skills, we’ve gathered everything you need in one place. Our Claude resources page features step-by-step guides for accessing your account, practical prompting tips to get better results and real-world examples for both academic and everyday tasks. From summarizing meeting transcripts to planning your next vacation, discover how Claude can support your work, studies and personal projects.

New to AI? No problem—our resources are designed to meet you wherever you are in your Claude journey.

This Issue’s Win: Turn Your New Year’s Resolution into a 30-Day Action Plan

A prompt is how you ask generative AI tools to do something for you (e.g., creating, summarizing, editing or transforming). Treat it like a conversation, using clear language and enough context to get the result you have in mind.

To get more practice, use the generative AI tool of your choice (for example, Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI ChatGPT or Anthropic Claude) to execute the following prompt:

“I want to learn [skill/topic] this year, but I only have 20 minutes a day. Create a 30-day learning plan with daily bite-sized lessons. Then, explain the first concept to me like I’m a complete beginner, give me a practical exercise to try today, recommend 3 free resources to explore, and help me create accountability checkpoints so I actually stick with it.“

Helpful Resources

• University AI Guidelines
• AI on the ITS website
• Tech Tips Video Series

Thank you for reading. Go Orange!