top of page
Another Crazy Day in AI: An Almost Daily Newsletter

Hello, AI Enthusiasts.



Here's another crazy day in AI:

  • Harvard on what we risk losing in education

  • Google rolls out Canvas workspace in Search

  • Amazon plans to keep adding jobs despite AI

  • Some AI tools to try out


🎧 Listen to a quick breakdown of today’s stories.

Audio cover
Teaching Kids to Think When Thinking Gets Too EasyAnother Crazy Day In AI: The Podcast

TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: Educators on Protecting the Student Mind

A robotic scientist in a classic white coat with 'AI Scientist' on its back stands beside a human scientist with 'Human Scientist' on their coat, looking towards the AI Scientist.

Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)


If students can generate answers in seconds, how do schools make sure the learning still happens?


Samantha Laine Perfas, a staff writer for The Harvard Gazette (Harvard's official daily news source), put that question front and center in a recent episode of the "Harvard Thinking" podcast. She sat down with three Harvard educators — applied mathematics professor and Google researcher Michael Brenner, cognitive scientist Tina Grotzer, and education professor Ying Xu — to talk honestly about what generative tools are doing to the way students learn, and what educators and parents can actually do about it.


A few points from the conversation that stood out:

  • Instant answers can make it tempting for students to skip the effort that usually comes with practicing skills and working through problems.

  • Some professors are redesigning assignments so students create original questions or problems that existing systems cannot easily solve.

  • Surveys show many students feel they rely on these tools more than they intended, which raises questions about discipline and self-regulation in learning.

  • When used thoughtfully, these systems can still help students brainstorm ideas or look at topics from different perspectives.

  • Educators are also encouraging students to understand how human reasoning differs from machine-generated responses.

  • Teachers and tutors remain important not only for explaining material, but also for motivation, encouragement, and personal interaction.

  • Technology is only one part of a student’s development, alongside family, friendships, hobbies, and other real-world experiences.




What makes this conversation linger is that it's not really about the tools themselves. Generative technology is already woven into how students work, how teachers grade, and how kids grow up — and that's true whether schools have a policy about it or not. The harder question, which the educators here keep circling back to, is what we actually want learning to produce in a person.


That question probably looks different depending on whether you're standing in a classroom, sitting at a kitchen table helping with homework, or somewhere in between. But it's one that's becoming harder to put off.




Read the full article here.

Watch the conversation here.

OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:


Google Rolls Out Canvas Workspace in Search

/Google Blogs - The Keyword


Google is expanding access to Canvas in AI Mode within Search, giving users a dedicated workspace to plan projects, draft documents, and build simple tools directly from their queries. Powered by Gemini, the feature can pull information from the web and the Knowledge Graph while generating prototypes, dashboards, or writing drafts in a side panel. Users can refine results through conversational prompts, review generated code, and iterate quickly. By bringing Canvas into Search, Google is placing an AI-powered creation environment in front of its massive search audience.



Read more here.


Amazon Plans to Keep Adding Jobs Despite AI

/Bloomberg Radio


Amazon says it expects to keep creating jobs even as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply embedded in its operations. Company leaders argue that AI and robotics are being used to improve efficiency, safety, and logistics rather than simply replace workers. The company points to hundreds of thousands of net new roles created in recent years alongside heavy investments in infrastructure, data centers, and cloud services. At the same time, investors are closely watching whether Amazon’s growing AI spending will translate into stronger financial returns.



Check it out here.

SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:


  • Ava – AI video editor that turns raw footage into polished videos automatically.

  • Govbase – Tracks U.S. bills and executive orders with AI explanations in plain language.

  • Alkemi – AI data assistant that answers questions and generates charts directly in Slack.

That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.


Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉

EXCITING NEWS:

The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is on LinkedIn!!!



Wowza, Inc.

Leveraging AI for Enhanced Content: As part of our commitment to exploring new technologies, we used AI to help curate and refine our newsletters. This enriches our content and keeps us at the forefront of digital innovation, ensuring you stay informed with the latest trends and developments.





Another Crazy Day in AI: An Almost Daily Newsletter

Hello, AI Enthusiasts.



Here's another crazy day in AI:

  • What an Economist actually thinks about A.I. and jobs

  • Amazon supports new AI efficiency projects

  • Claude Skills aim to boost task accuracy

  • Some AI tools to try out


🎧 Listen to a quick breakdown of today’s stories.

Audio cover
What the Numbers Say (and Don't Say) About A.I. and WorkAnother Crazy Day In AI: The Podcast

TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: What an Economist Makes of the AI Job Fears

A robotic scientist in a classic white coat with 'AI Scientist' on its back stands beside a human scientist with 'Human Scientist' on their coat, looking towards the AI Scientist.

Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)


How much of today's anxiety about emerging technology is grounded in real economic change—and how much is still speculation?


In the latest episode of Hard Fork Podcast, hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton speak with economist Anton Korinek of the University of Virginia about the growing concern that advanced technologies could reshape jobs, productivity, and financial markets. The conversation takes a measured look at what the data actually shows today versus what remains uncertain. They also get into a tense standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon, an AI tool that wiped someone's entire email inbox, and some troubling reports from inside an AI-powered private school.


Things from this episode that are worth knowing:

  • A research essay predicting significant job losses and a stock market downturn tied to AI is making serious rounds in economic circles

  • Widespread AI adoption hasn't yet produced clear, measurable evidence of productivity gains or job displacement — the data just hasn't caught up

  • Korinek's concept of "ghost GDP" suggests technology can generate economic value that never reaches workers or official growth figures

  • There's an open question about whether this automation wave could shrink the overall pool of labor demand rather than simply redirect it

  • The gap between AI's capabilities in development and actual day-to-day business use remains wide, slowed by security, privacy, and integration concerns

  • A self-reinforcing AI improvement cycle could produce economic consequences that current models aren't equipped to predict

  • Anthropic was given a hard Pentagon deadline to accept military contract terms, with the Trump administration threatening to invoke the Defense Production Act

  • An AI assistant called OpenClaw deleted a user's entire email inbox due to a context window limitation, highlighting real deployment risks

  • AI-powered Alpha School is facing parent criticism over curriculum accuracy and student data handling





There's still a considerable gap between what's being predicted and what's actually been demonstrated in the data. That gap exists on both ends — the cautious projections and the optimistic ones — and it's worth keeping in mind whenever a new forecast or headline makes the rounds. The economic effects of new technology have historically taken longer to materialize than expected, and there's little reason to think this time will be much different in that regard.


The questions around jobs, wages, and who ultimately benefits from technological growth are ones that will keep coming up — and they deserve more than a quick take. Understanding what's actually known today, separate from what's still being worked out, is a reasonable place to start.




Watch the full conversation here.

OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:


Amazon Supports New AI Efficiency Projects

/UC Merced Newsroom


Amazon is backing new academic research aimed at making AI training faster and more energy-efficient. Two professors from University of California, Merced received Amazon Research Awards to explore performance gains using AWS Trainium chips. Their work focuses on improving large-model training speed, memory efficiency, and power usage — key challenges as generative AI systems scale. The initiative reflects growing industry interest in reducing the cost and infrastructure demands of advanced AI.



Read more here.


Claude Skills Aim to Boost Task Accuracy

/Claude team


Anthropic has rolled out Skills for Claude, enabling the assistant to learn repeatable workflows and apply them automatically when needed. The feature bundles instructions, scripts, and resources into modular packages that improve consistency and speed on specialized tasks. Skills load dynamically based on the user’s request, helping preserve context while enabling deeper customization for individuals and organizations. The update signals a broader shift toward AI assistants that can operationalize knowledge, not just generate answers.



Check it out here.

SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:


  • Notra – Turns shipped work into publish-ready content automatically.

  • Martini Art – Infinite canvas for building AI video and image workflows visually.

  • Brainator – Creates custom worksheets and learning materials in seconds.

That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.


Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉

EXCITING NEWS:

The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is on LinkedIn!!!



Wowza, Inc.

Leveraging AI for Enhanced Content: As part of our commitment to exploring new technologies, we used AI to help curate and refine our newsletters. This enriches our content and keeps us at the forefront of digital innovation, ensuring you stay informed with the latest trends and developments.





Another Crazy Day in AI: An Almost Daily Newsletter

Hello, AI Enthusiasts.



Here's another crazy day in AI:

  • Notion just gave your team a new kind of coworker

  • Nano Banana 2 boosts speed and visual quality

  • Stripe eyes potential deal for PayPal

  • Some AI tools to try out


🎧 Listen to a quick breakdown of today’s stories.

Audio cover
Your Notion Workspace Can Now Run on AutopilotAnother Crazy Day In AI: The Podcast

TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: Notion Launches Custom Agents

A robotic scientist in a classic white coat with 'AI Scientist' on its back stands beside a human scientist with 'Human Scientist' on their coat, looking towards the AI Scientist.

Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)


How much of your workday is spent on tasks that could run just fine without you?


Notion's Co-founder Akshay Kothari just announced the public launch of Custom Agents. A new feature designed to automate recurring team workflows. The write-up explains how these autonomous tools can monitor activity, answer common questions, route requests, and compile updates across connected apps. The focus is on reducing the manual coordination that often takes up a large portion of team time. Kothari also shares how these agents are already transforming workflows at companies like Ramp, Braintrust, Clay, and Remote, and outlines everything teams need to know to get started.





A few things the article walks through:

  • Custom Agents run based on triggers you set — they don't need to be prompted each time

  • They connect with Notion, Slack, Gmail, Calendar, Figma, Linear, and custom MCP servers

  • Setting one up starts with a plain description of what you need; the agent handles its own instructions and tool connections from there

  • More than 21,000 agents were built during early testing — Ramp runs over 300, including one that answers product roadmap questions daily

  • Remote replaced their IT help desk with a single agent and saved around 20 hours per week

  • Admins get usage dashboards, logged runs, detailed permissions, reversible actions, and auto-pause when credits are running low

  • Starting May 4, 2026, Custom Agents move to a usage-based credit model — current seat pricing stays the same, and other Notion AI features remain included

  • Free to use through May 3, 2026 for Business and Enterprise plan users

  • Notion acknowledges prompt injection as a real security risk and is building detection guardrails — they advise limiting agent access and being deliberate about what content agents are exposed to

  • Notion does not train on your content, and Enterprise plans include zero data retention





Automation tools like this tend to look straightforward on paper, but the real test is always in day-to-day use — how reliable they are, how much oversight they actually need, and whether the time saved justifies the setup involved. Those are questions worth sitting with, especially before the free period ends and credits start counting.


What's useful about this article, regardless of whether you use Notion, is that it surfaces a practical conversation most teams haven't had yet — which parts of your workflow genuinely benefit from running on autopilot, and which ones carry enough nuance that a human still needs to be involved.




Read the full article here.

OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:


Nano Banana 2 Boosts Speed and Visual Quality

/Naina Raisinghani, (Google DeepMind Product Manager), on Google Blogs - The Keyword


Google is rolling out Nano Banana 2, a new image generation model designed to deliver Pro-level quality at much faster speeds. The update brings stronger world knowledge, improved instruction following, and more consistent multi-character outputs into a Flash-tier workflow. It also expands availability across Gemini, Search, Ads, and Google Cloud, signaling Google’s push to make advanced visual AI more broadly accessible. The release underscores the company’s focus on narrowing the gap between speed and production-ready quality.



Read more here.


Stripe Eyes Potential Deal for PayPal

/Bloomberg Television


Stripe is reportedly exploring a potential acquisition of all or parts of PayPal, a move that would mark a major shift in the digital payments landscape. The interest comes as PayPal’s market value has dropped sharply, making it a more plausible takeover target. Analysts say the talks reflect intensifying competition in fintech and a regulatory climate that may be more open to large tech deals. If pursued, the move could reshape how major payment platforms compete and consolidate.



Check it out here.

SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:


  • Typeless – AI dictation app that turns natural speech into polished text in real time.

  • Reloop – AI tool that creates high-performing ad creatives with avatars and auto editing.

  • Gro – AI sales copilot that finds leads, personalizes outreach, and automates pipelines.

That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.


Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉

EXCITING NEWS:

The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is on LinkedIn!!!



Wowza, Inc.

Leveraging AI for Enhanced Content: As part of our commitment to exploring new technologies, we used AI to help curate and refine our newsletters. This enriches our content and keeps us at the forefront of digital innovation, ensuring you stay informed with the latest trends and developments.





Copyright Wowza, inc 2025
bottom of page