Technology and new media

Essay mill expert likens Georgia Tech’s tactics to entrapment

Universities split over whether data on achievement and engagement should be used to encourage learners to switch majors

Academics are wary of directly verifying whether videos are faked, and warn they need social media companies to cooperate

Europe and Japan take different approach to US and China on potential risks of technology

Continuous retraining is widely seen as the answer to the coming job losses caused by automation and artificial intelligence. But are universities the best places to provide it? And are their courses, structures and funding systems optimised to do so? Anna McKie reports

John Brinnamoor’s floundering doggy-paddle is no match for the voracious jaws of his university’s antiquated data-gobblers 

Tropical breakthrough represents the latest research application for the tiny aircraft

Australian report suggests scholars should ‘focus on areas where AI is ineffective’

More than half of academics surveyed said being videoed makes them less spontaneous, but importance to students is clear

Gallup-Northeastern University report analyses views on AI revolution from survey of 10,000 members of public across US, UK and Canada

‘Irresistible’ network technology raises threat level from crooks and spooks, says Jeff Bleich

The use of anonymous online student forums alarms many tutors. But Patricia Xavier believes universities can make them work for everyone

Editors say episode demonstrates need for humans to review work of software

Donation from philanthropist Stephen Schwarzman is institution’s ‘largest since the Renaissance’

Academics fear women and ethnic minorities will be particularly exposed to abuse on module discussion boards

Shigeru Miyagawa describes how artificial intelligence could transform teaching and assessment

Almost two decades of records accessed in latest attack

New institute intends to marshal all academic fields to nudge artificial intelligence and its uses to more positive place

Artificial intelligence may be threatening employment but it could also be key to helping humans find alternative jobs, argues Shigeru Miyagawa 

Leading professor who backs creation of ‘Cern for AI’ calls lack of decisive government action ‘disturbing’

Software could be adopted across the sector as early warning system for standards issues

David Peña-Guzmán says philosophy undergraduates have enthusiastically embraced experiment designed to ‘reignite their love of attentive reading’

The use of VR in psychology experiments is being driven not just by increasingly affordable technology but also by concerns about the reproducibility of many real-world studies. But do humans really behave in the virtual world as they do in reality? And does it matter? David Matthews investigates

As universities try to demonstrate actions and developers sense an opportunity, researchers express concern about lack of evidence behind mobile tools

The UK’s research excellence framework is slow, expensive and disruptive. The time and technology is ripe for a better alternative, says James Tooley

Those on the ground are often able to recognise the folly of supposed efficiency measures imposed from on high, writes Peter Barry

Members of the public will be able to run their own experiments, producing data that could be valuable for scholars

Students in different cities simultaneously performing version of play interact at six separate points via technology

Report discloses attack by North Korean and Iranian-sponsored criminals on UK higher education institutions

What are university leaders and chief technology officers doing to meet future challenges?

How will the rise of artificial intelligence affect universities’ carbon-based employees? John Gilbey runs the algorithm

Times Higher Education’s poll of artificial intelligence experts defies predictions that university jobs will be cut as technology advances

C$100 million donation from entrepreneurs to fund two-tower downtown complex

Teenagers from deprived areas with slow broadband may be less likely to use internet for studies, and hence less likely to see academically orientated promotions

Technology now enabling rapid expansion of the worldwide sharing of classrooms

Huge price tag demonstrates power of plagiarism-checking company

Winchester apologises after putting address details in ‘to’ or ‘cc’ fields, not ‘bcc’

In a rapidly changing world, is a broader approach to the university curriculum needed to develop the critical thinking and creativity increasingly sought after by employers, Anna McKie asks

But research finds students prefer the mode over more traditional teaching methods

Universities and scholars told to establish ‘the boundaries of acceptable speech’ as staff report meetings with managers over online activities

Star Trek-style headset combines electroencephalography sensors with a video camera

Pledges of huge investments in higher education to secure the tech giant’s second headquarters could strain academic autonomy, says Michelle Dimino

Scholars offer their advice on the art of promoting research online

Higher education institutions who are developing AI have a responsibility to ensure that it is not biased against developing nations, conference hears

In five years, Moocs go from dream of universal education to limited service for higher-end customers

Robots and drones should be part of teaching and learning, says report looking into teaching trends in 2019

Turing Institute and British Library collaborate on project to use artificial intelligence techniques to analyse texts

The residential experience has its attractions for school-leavers, but most US students value low cost and flexibility above all, says Paul LeBlanc

The jury is out on the educational value of recording, but universities prize its ability to project them as accessible and inclusive, says Simon Fokt

Tie-up with public sector provider will reduce ‘duplication of effort, time and money’

Business school’s work with GCHQ and defence employers makes security vigilance a top priority

ProfHub plans to let applicants rate universities – and allow anonymous leaks – about the academic selection process

Investment, not divestment, as university bets the farm on renewables

Hyped technology has delivered mixed access benefits, minor cost reduction and poor quality, conference hears

Round-the-clock demands from students can take a toll on lecturers. With a THE survey highlighting rising expectations, Anna McKie asks where the line should be drawn between professional and private life

If women in particular must watch what they say for fear of a social media mauling, public scholarly fora will be the poorer, warns Charlotte Galpin

Military initiative to connect Amazon communities to the internet will allow students to enrol on distance-learning degree courses through the Open University of Brazil

Academics say that online recordings must be emphasised as a supplementary resource, not an alternative to lectures, or some students lose out

EU-backed project using facial-, voice- and keystroke-identification technology enters final stages

NUS vice-provost on crusade against built-in obsolescence