Online education

Wiley and Perplexity partner to deliver smarter study tools

Perplexity has announced a major partnership with global academic publisher Wiley to integrate its answer engine with Wiley’s extensive library of scientific, technical, and medical learning materials.

The collaboration is designed to streamline access to trusted curriculum content, delivering a more engaging and efficient learning experience for students and educators alike.

Through an institution’s Enterprise Pro subscription, students can now access assigned Wiley materials directly within Perplexity.

This removes the need to switch between platforms, enabling students to ask questions about textbook content, receive tailored explanations, and explore real-time examples from across the web—all in one place.

The integration supports Gen Z learning preferences by offering features such as custom study guides, level-appropriate explanations, and context that links core concepts to real-world applications.

Educators will benefit from the ability to create lesson plans, tailor curriculum to current events, and generate customised learning materials with minimal effort. Institutions gain a competitive edge in education technology, while improving resource efficiency and academic outcomes.

The partnership also promotes critical AI literacy—a growing priority in classrooms. By offering students a structured environment in which to interact with AI tools and academic content, the integration supports responsible use of AI.

It emphasises information quality, proper attribution, and encourages students to develop essential critical thinking skills. Administrators interested in integrating Perplexity with Wiley can contact their Wiley representative to authorise the connection.

Once enabled, students gain seamless access to academic materials directly within the Perplexity platform.

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Google to roll out Gemini AI for kids under 13

Google has announced plans to introduce its Gemini AI platform to children under 13, a move that has sparked mixed reactions.

Parents recently received notifications about the rollout, with Google stating that children will be able to use Gemini for tasks such as homework help, answering general questions, and even bedtime stories.

The announcement has triggered concern among some organisations due to the risks associated with young users interacting with AI.

Critics point out that AI models have previously struggled to maintain child-appropriate safeguards and worry that children may not fully grasp the implications of engaging with such technology. Despite these issues, others have applauded Google’s decision to keep parents closely involved.

Taylor Barkley, Director of Public Policy at the Abundance Institute, praised Google for prioritising parental involvement. He noted that while risks exist, the best approach is not to impose strict bans but to work collaboratively with parents and caregivers to manage children’s AI usage.

‘Google should be applauded for proactively notifying parents,’ Barkley said in a statement. ‘When it comes to new technologies, parents come first.’

To ensure parental oversight, Google will require children’s access to Gemini to be managed through Family Link, its parental control platform. Family Link allows parents to monitor device usage, manage privacy settings, share location, and establish healthy digital habits for their families.

As AI continues to permeate everyday life, Google’s decision highlights the delicate balance between offering educational opportunities and ensuring the safe and responsible use of technology among younger users.

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Trump’s first 100 days show steady tech policy

In his blog post ‘Tech continuity in President Trump’s first 100 days,’ Jovan Kurbalija highlights that Trump’s approach to technology remained remarkably stable despite political turbulence in trade and environmental policy. Out of 139 executive orders, only nine directly addressed tech issues, focusing mainly on digital finance, AI leadership, and cybersecurity, reflecting a longstanding US tradition of business-centric tech governance.

Trump’s administration reinforced the idea of letting the tech sector evolve without heavy regulatory interference, even as international players like the EU pushed for stronger digital sovereignty measures. Content moderation policies saw a significant shift, notably with an executive order to curb federal involvement in online censorship, aligning with moves by platforms like Meta and X (formerly Twitter) toward deregulation.

Meanwhile, the prolonged TikTok saga underlined the growing intersection of tech and geopolitics, with ByteDance receiving a deadline extension to sell its US operations amid rising tensions with China. In AI policy, Trump steered away from Biden-era safety concerns, favouring economic competitiveness and educational reforms to strengthen American AI leadership, while public consultations revealed a broad range of industry perspectives.

Kurbalija also noted the administration’s steady hand in cybersecurity, focusing on technical infrastructure while minimising concern over misinformation, and in digital economy matters, where new tariffs and the removal of the de minimis import exemption pointed toward a potentially fragmented global internet. In the cryptocurrency sector, Trump adopted a crypto-friendly stance by creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and easing previous regulatory constraints, though these bold moves sparked fears of financial volatility.

Despite these tactical shifts, Kurbalija concludes that Trump’s overarching tech policy remains one of continuity, firmly rooted in supporting private innovation while navigating increasingly strained global digital relations.

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AI educational race between China and USA brings some hope

The AI race between China and the USA shifts to classrooms. As AI governance expert Jovan Kurbalija highlights in his analysis of global AI strategies, two countries see AI literacy as a ‘strategic imperative’. From President Trump’s executive order to advance AI education to China’s new AI education strategy, both superpowers are betting big on nurturing homegrown AI talent.

Kurbalija sees focus on AI education as a rare bright spot in increasingly fractured tech geopolitics: ‘When students in Shanghai debug code alongside peers in Silicon Valley via open-source platforms, they’re not just building algorithms—they’re building trust.’

This grassroots collaboration, he argues, could soften the edges of emerging AI nationalism and support new types of digital and AI diplomacy.

He concludes that the latest AI education initiatives are ‘not just about who wins the AI race but, even more importantly, how we prepare humanity for the forthcoming AI transformation and coexistence with advanced technologies.’

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Jamaica tests AI tools to aid teachers

The Jamaican Ministry of Education is testing AI tools in schools to assist teachers with marking and administrative duties.

Portfolio Minister Senator Dana Morris Dixon announced this during the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) Education Conference 2025, emphasising that AI would allow teachers to focus more on interacting with students, while AI handles routine tasks like grading.

The Ministry is also preparing to launch the Jamaica Learning Assistant, an AI-powered tool that personalises learning to fit individual students’ preferences, such as stories, humour, or quizzes.

Morris Dixon highlighted that AI is not meant to replace teachers, but to support them in delivering more effective lessons. The technology will allow students to review lessons, explore topics in more depth, and reinforce their understanding outside the classroom.

Looking ahead, the Government plans to open Jamaica’s first state-of-the-art AI lab later this year. The facility will offer a space where both students and teachers can develop technological solutions tailored for schools.

Additionally, the Ministry is distributing over 15,000 laptops, 600 smart boards, and 25,000 vouchers for teachers to subsidise the purchase of personal laptops to further integrate technology into the education system.

JTA President Mark Smith acknowledged the transformative potential of AI, calling it one of the most significant technological breakthroughs in history.

He urged educators to embrace this new paradigm and collaborate with the Ministry and the private sector to advance digital learning initiatives across the island.

The conference, held under the theme ‘Innovations in Education Technology: The Imperative of Change,’ reflects the ongoing push towards modernising education in Jamaica.

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Linguists find new purpose in the age of AI

In his latest blog, part of a series expanding on ‘Don’t Waste the Crisis: How AI Can Help Reinvent International Geneva’, Dr Jovan Kurbalija explores how linguists shift from fearing AI to embracing a new era of opportunity. Geneva, home to over a thousand translators and interpreters, has felt the pressure as AI tools like ChatGPT began automating language tasks.

Yet, rather than rendering linguists obsolete, AI is transforming their role, highlighting the enduring importance of human expertise in bridging syntax and semantics—AI’s persistent blind spot. Dr Kurbalija emphasises that while AI excels at recognising patterns, it often fails to grasp meaning, nuance, and cultural context.

This is where linguists step in, offering critical value by enhancing AI’s understanding of language beyond mere structure. From supporting low-resource languages to ensuring ethical AI outputs in sensitive fields like law and diplomacy, linguists are positioned as key players in shaping responsible and context-aware AI systems.

Calling for adaptation over resistance, Dr Kurbalija advocates for linguists to upskill, specialise in areas where human judgement is irreplaceable, collaborate with AI developers, and champion ethical standards. Rather than facing decline, the linguistic profession is entering a renaissance, where embracing syntax and semantics ensures that AI amplifies human expression instead of diminishing it.

With Geneva’s vibrant multilingual community at the forefront, linguists have a pivotal role in guiding how language and technology evolve together in this new frontier.

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AI could be Geneva’s lifeline in times of crisis

International Geneva is at a crossroads. With mounting budget cuts, declining trust in multilateralism, and growing geopolitical tensions, the city’s role as a hub for global cooperation is under threat.

In his thought-provoking blog, ‘Don’t waste the crisis: How AI can help reinvent International Geneva’, Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of Diplo, argues that AI could offer a way forward—not as a mere technological upgrade but as a strategic tool for transforming the city’s institutions and reviving its humanitarian spirit. Kurbalija envisions AI as a means to re-skill Geneva’s workforce, modernise its organisations, and preserve its vast yet fragmented knowledge base.

With professions such as translators, lawyers, and social scientists potentially playing pivotal roles in shaping AI tools, the city can harness its multilingual, highly educated population for a new kind of innovation. A bottom-up approach is key: practical steps like AI apprenticeships, micro-learning platforms, and ‘AI sandboxes’ would help institutions adapt at their own pace while avoiding the pitfalls of top-down tech imposition.

Organisations must also rethink how they operate. AI offers the chance to cut red tape, lighten the administrative burden on NGOs, and flatten outdated hierarchies in favour of more agile, data-driven decision-making.

At the same time, Geneva can lead by example in ethical AI governance—by ensuring accountability, protecting human rights and knowledge, and defending what Kurbalija calls our ‘right to imperfection’ in an increasingly optimised world. Ultimately, Geneva’s challenge is not technological—it’s organisational.

As AI tools become cheaper and more accessible, the real work lies in how institutions and communities embrace change. Kurbalija proposes a dedicated Geneva AI Fund to support apprenticeships, ethical projects, and local initiatives. He argues that this crisis could be Geneva’s opportunity to reinvent itself for survival and to inspire a global model of human-centred AI governance.

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Amazon launches Nova Sonic AI for natural voice interactions

Amazon has unveiled Nova Sonic, a new AI model designed to process and generate human-like speech, positioning it as a rival to OpenAI and Google’s top voice assistants. The company claims it outperforms competitors in speed, accuracy, and cost, and it is reportedly 80% cheaper than GPT-4o.

Already powering Alexa+, Nova Sonic excels in real-time conversation, handling interruptions and noisy environments better than legacy AI assistants.

Unlike older voice models, Nova Sonic can dynamically route requests, fetching live data or triggering external actions when needed. Amazon says it achieves a 4.2% word error rate across multiple languages and responds in just 1.09 seconds, faster than OpenAI’s GPT-4o.

Developers can access it via Bedrock, Amazon’s AI platform, using a new streaming API.

The launch signals Amazon’s push into artificial general intelligence (AGI), AI that mimics human capabilities.

Rohit Prasad, head of Amazon’s AGI division, hinted at future models handling images, video, and sensory data. This follows last week’s preview of Nova Act, an AI for browser tasks, suggesting Amazon is accelerating its AI rollout beyond Alexa.

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New Jersey criminalises AI-generated nude deepfakes of minors

New Jersey has become the first US state to criminalise the creation and sharing of AI-generated nude images of minors, following a high-profile campaign led by 14-year-old Francesca Mani. The US legislation, signed into law on 2 April by Governor Phil Murphy, allows victims to sue perpetrators for up to $1,000 per image and includes criminal penalties of up to five years in prison and fines of up to $30,000.

Mani launched her campaign after discovering that boys at her school had used an AI “nudify” website to target her and other girls. Refusing to accept the school’s minimal disciplinary response, she called for lawmakers to take decisive action against such deepfake abuses. Her efforts gained national attention, including a feature on 60 Minutes, and helped drive the new legal protections.

The law defines deepfakes as media that convincingly depicts someone doing something they never actually did. It also prohibits the use of such technology for election interference or defamation. Although the law’s focus is on malicious misuse, questions remain about whether exemptions will be made for legitimate uses in film, tech, or education sectors.

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Anthropic introduces Claude to revolutionise learning and teaching

Claude for Education, launched by Anthropic, introduces a specialised AI for higher education, aiming to support universities in teaching, learning, and administration.

The initiative includes key features like Learning mode, full campus access for top universities, and partnerships with organisations like Internet2 and Instructure to integrate AI into academic tools.

Learning mode helps students develop critical thinking by guiding them through problems with Socratic questioning instead of providing direct answers. It also offers templates for research and study.

Key academic partnerships include Northeastern University, London School of Economics, and Champlain College, all of which will benefit from campus-wide access to Claude. These partnerships ensure AI’s responsible integration and accessibility for all students.

New student programs, such as the Claude Campus Ambassadors and API credit initiatives, provide opportunities for students to engage with and build on AI tools.

The launch also coincides with efforts to integrate AI into the academic plans of institutions like Northeastern University, which is pioneering AI adoption in higher education with its ‘Northeastern 2025’ initiative.

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