Welcome to episode 344 (“Voices We Can’t Trust”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 15, 2025, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week, Dr. Jason Neiffer (aicentrist.com) and Dr. Wesley Fryer (wesfryer.com) examined the fast-moving frontier of artificial intelligence, starting with voice cloning tools like Play.ht and the ethical dilemmas they present. The conversation then pivoted to Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking program, highlighting rising concerns over misinformation, harassment, and platform responsibility. TikTok’s potential U.S. ban sparked dialogue about regulatory overreach, legal complexities, and the app’s cultural impact. The hosts also discussed the New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI, with implications for copyright law and AI development. Additional topics included the sunset of Windows 10, the fractured nature of online discourse, and the increasing need for robust media literacy education. Our show was live-streamed and archived on YouTube Live via StreamYard.com. Please follow our @EdTechSR page on Facebook, @edtechsr@mastodon.education on Mastodon for updates, and join LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can. All show notes are available at edtechSR.com/links.
Shownotes
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- Jason Neiffer: aicentrist.com
- Wes Fryer: wesfryer.com
- AI Trends in Ed Tech to Watch in 2025 (EdTech Magazine 15 January 2025)
- Meta scrambles to delete its own AI accounts after backlash intensifies (CNN, 3 Jan 2025)
- Meta’s fake AI users are here and they’re giving everybody the creeps (Sherwood News, 3 Jan 2025) via Doug Peterson on BlueSky
- More: 3 Feb 2025 free webinar “AI ChatBot Ethics)
- Information literacy is key in the age of AI (eSchoolNews, 19 Dec 2024)
- One quick trick to make AI actually useful (Vox; 12 December 2024)
- ‘The New York Times’ takes OpenAI to court. ChatGPT’s future could be on the line (NPR, 14 Jan 2025)
- The Supreme Court doesn’t seem likely to save TikTok (Vox; 10 January 2025)
- With TikTok ban looming, how many Americans support it? Public opinion has changed a lot (USA Today; 15 January 2025)
- Microsoft won’t support Office apps on Windows 10 after October 14th (The Verge; 15 January 2025)
- German government may yet quit X over algorithms, spokesperson says (Reuters, 10 Jan 2025)
- Meta Says It Will End Its Fact-Checking Program on Social Media Posts (NY Times; 7 January 2025) (Gift Link)
- Jason’s Geek of the Week: Highlight AI; Google AI Studio – https://play.ai/
- Wes’ Geek of the Week: MediaEdForum 2025 Notes – My Screen Setup for Virtual Learning – Stouchi Continuity Camera Mount
Hey there, Wes and Jason. I have been listening to you folks for quite a while and enjoying the chats. I am just checking in because either my podcast feed on Apple podcasts is all screwed up or there is something wacky happening with your podcast. I am just trying to figure it out. It seems like I have gone months without getting a notification that you have dropped a new podcast. Recently, I got a couple of notices. But, the podcasts that say they were dropped in the last week or two were actually recorded in December of 2024. I know you always need to take some time occasionally. But, usually you’ll say not recording next week because of something else going on. So, anyway let me know if there is anything that you can tell me about your publishing schedule and whether or not I should do something to reset my podcast feed. I hope to continue listening to you both. Thanks.
Hey Brian, your podcast feed is probably great and the fault is all mine! Thanks for your comment. I have responsibility for doing the post-production and got way behind… this summer now that school is out I’m catching up! So the dates are definitely weird… I am still 8 episodes behind but will hopefully get caught up in the next 2 weeks! All our episodes are archived live on YouTube, which you can access via this playlist. I’ll try to do much better getting our episodes post-produced and uploaded in a more timely way moving forward!