An Earful of Ivy: AI and the Battle for Higher Ed Integrity | Ep. 112

In this episode of ChatEDU An Earful of Ivy: AI and the Battle for Higher Ed Integrity, Matt and Liz open with an internet prank: an anonymous artist posted a real Monet, claimed it was AI generated, and watched critics bash the masterpiece as AI slop. The hosts then pivot to education, technology, and policy.

The Rundown

John R. Soash's three configurations for restricting student access to Gemini AI and Google Lens.

Dan Fitzpatrick on Google's pivot from passive chatbots to proactive AI agents.

Regional literary winners face scrutiny after their entries were flagged as AI-generated.

The federal law requiring platforms to remove nonconsensual student deepfakes within 48 hours, effective May 2026.

OpenAI and Google DeepMind use AI reasoning models to autonomously solve longstanding math problems.

Dr. Ethan Mollick compares the water and energy costs of computing breakthroughs to everyday resources like almonds and lawns.

Academics debate whether AI traffic light systems and the AI Assessment Scale are an enforcement illusion or a genuinely useful tool.

A 2026 pilot program delivers cloud workstations and premium tech subscriptions to public libraries in Utah and New Jersey.

Beneath the Surface

Matt and Liz examine how grade inflation and AI cheating fears are driving policy shifts at elite universities: device bans at Yale, a 20% A-grade cap at Harvard, an AI ban at UC Berkeley Law, and the end of Princeton's 133-year-old honor code. As a counterpoint, they feature CU Boulder physicists advocating collaborative, department-level experimentation that treats students as partners rather than imposing top-down bans.

The Bright Byte

Finland's Kemira and UK-based Cusp AI used generative AI to design over 5,000 new material structures to strip PFAS 'forever chemicals' from municipal drinking water.

Announcements

Purchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday

Amazon - https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77

Seeing through the Machine – Teaching Bias as an Equity Practice in AI - Dr. Elizabeth Radday - https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a

Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ​​⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠

Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.skills21.org/social-balance⁠⁠⁠

Address Screen Time concerns - ⁠skills21.org/ai/screenshift⁠

Sponsors

Nectir. Welcome to the Classroom of the Future. https://www.nectir.io/

Links

Prankster Passes Off Real Monet Painting as AI-Generated, Chaos Ensues

https://tinyurl.com/mrab9ne3

Blocking Google’s “AI Mode” (IT admin guide)

https://tinyurl.com/4px27bm9

Google I/O 2026's Impact on Education

https://tinyurl.com/2vs3zfzs

Literary Prizewinners Face AI Allegations

https://tinyurl.com/sh3jry9y

What's Next for the First AI Deepfakes Law

https://tinyurl.com/9v3rzutk

AI Solves an 80-Year-Old 'Erdős Problem

https://tinyurl.com/ykks2mtj

AI-Driven Formal Proof Search in Mathematics

https://tinyurl.com/3wuer99w

Discursive vs. Structural Responses to AI in Education

https://tinyurl.com/4d6n82yy

Labels, Scales, and What the AIAS Actually Claims to Do

https://tinyurl.com/su4zr73u

Building Public AI with Libraries

https://tinyurl.com/4den8s4k

Yale to Consider Changes to Mission, Admissions, Aid, and Grading

https://tinyurl.com/46779xp5

Yale Faculty Say 'Bravo' to Harvard's Grade Cap

https://tinyurl.com/mx6e594c

UC Berkeley Law's AI Ban: Why Texas Students Should Pay Attention

https://tinyurl.com/32xt4umr

Princeton Changes Its 133-Year-Old Honor Code Over AI Cheating Fears

https://tinyurl.com/28yjxfjn

CU Boulder: Higher Ed AI Change Models Already Out of Date

https://tinyurl.com/37me2ssj