Educational researcher focused on EdTech x AI,student engagement and motivation. Associate professor at USC Rossier. Associate Director of USC Center for Generative AI and Societyhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3msthbklahc2fMy author copies are here, and I've decided to make them unique by signing and embossing them with a custom stamp. I thought it would be nice for folks to receive something special, especially in a world filled with synthetic products made by AI. Cool poster by @reforest-kelley.bsky.social11 Aug 2026 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3msthbklahc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mq2wgdbzs225The same AI tool can produce brilliant work or useless slop. The difference is rarely the tool. Heck, even us experts get fooled by a confident wrong answer, especially if it's at the edges of what we know. Hopefully soon we'll learn that AI doesn't lower the bar for expertise. It raises it.07 Jul 2026 15:32 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq2wgdbzs225https://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mpoigyb2fk2rLAUSD just named its third superintendent in four years, but that's not even the headline. The last one resigned amid an FBI probe into a $6.2 million AI chatbot deal. The company folded. Half a million students got left holding the bag.02 Jul 2026 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpoigyb2fk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mplyyuiutk2eMy book Authenticating Intelligence comes out in under two months. My editing hack: read every page out loud. Awkward sentences sound ten times worse spoken. Brutal, but it was worth it. Did it catch every typo? Nope. Probably added a few. Perfection's overrated.01 Jul 2026 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mplyyuiutk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mpjetzhldc24A German court just held Google responsible for false info from AI Overviews. Good. Treat AI like food or cars. Set tolerances. Measure real outputs. Publish the error rates companies bury in fine print. https://www.wired.com/story/a-court-has-ruled-that-google-is-liable-for-false-statements-generated-by-ai-overviews/30 Jun 2026 16:02 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpjetzhldc24https://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mphqznehv226EdTech keeps selling promises. Administrators keep buying without asking hard questions. What do you need to know before investing in AI for your school? I laid it out. https://www.the74million.org/article/what-school-and-district-leaders-need-to-know-before-they-invest-in-ai/30 Jun 2026 00:35 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mphqznehv226https://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mphlop2eek24NSF is cutting basic science 20-30% to fund a $1.5B AI initiative. That's cannibalism. Google, CRISPR, barcodes—none funded with a commercial application in mind. Basic science is the foundation of the AI revolution. Gut it now. The breakthroughs stop too. www.nsf.gov/impacts/google https://www.nsf.gov/impacts/google29 Jun 2026 22:59 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mphlop2eek24https://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3molakt7p2s2tMy latest for @the74.bsky.social. As EdTech continues to sell promises, administrators and school leaders should be asking these questions. https://www.the74million.org/article/what-school-and-district-leaders-need-to-know-before-they-invest-in-ai/18 Jun 2026 16:25 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3molakt7p2s2thttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mlu4wezg3c2zAuthenticating Intelligence still isn’t out, but it’s good to see it indexed!15 May 2026 00:59 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlu4wezg3c2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3ml2guwwuu22nAuthenticating Intelligence has 100 plays on Spotify! It may not be a lot, but we all have to start somewhere. Plus, I have similar numbers on YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Give it a listen. Spotify: bit.ly/AuthIntelSp Apple: apple.co/4a4lVjG YouTube: bit.ly/AuthIntelYT04 May 2026 19:48 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml2guwwuu22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mknzki2oz22hStay tuned for a report from @uscrossier.bsky.social and my center that will help folks navigate these things better. [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Apr 2026 21:17 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknzki2oz22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mjipyulxnc2eOh good. More AI stuff founded on gut feelings because there isn't enough AI stuff already. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Apr 2026 01:18 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjipyulxnc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mjimuja4bs2eI mean self-indulgent love powered by sycophantic AI is still a type of love, I suppose. We just used to think that it was a bad thing. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Apr 2026 00:22 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjimuja4bs2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mjfiamccvk2vJoin my this Sunday! Creativity and Curiosity in the Age of AI: From the Arts to Education Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Wallis Annen-berg Hall, presented by USC13 Apr 2026 18:21 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjfiamccvk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mjfhsklmx22v"There are some baseline tasks that can be offloaded, but we can’t just, you know, undercut all of the entry-level positions, because then there won’t be people who develop the experience to really understand what happens when AI fails.” https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5826091-ai-college-majors-job-market/13 Apr 2026 18:13 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjfhsklmx22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mjfdmnqp7k2kFrom Authenticating Intelligence: [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Apr 2026 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjfdmnqp7k2khttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mj5xzkolg224It’s not impossible to build a distributed community. I’m in many outside of my profession. The trouble is that in person communities are superior when it comes to learning, and it’s proven tough to re-establish them post-pandemic. [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 Apr 2026 18:42 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj5xzkolg224https://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mj5uxyekfc2oJoin me Sun, 4/19-1:30pm - 2:30pm at the @latimes.com Festival of Books! Session Title: Creativity and Curiosity in the Age of AI: From the Arts to Education Grab tickets online at latimes.com/fob starting Sunday, April 12, or at ticket booth #390 on the day of, while supplies last.10 Apr 2026 17:48 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj5uxyekfc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mj3sztzmmc2iGiven the current climate, Sal can be wrong infinity times—it won't matter. That said, calling out EdTech over hype that is never realized is like shooting fish in a barrel. It's their job to sell things, not make a difference. I just wish more folks knew that. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Apr 2026 22:07 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3sztzmmc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mizj7nlch22cListen us academics reach DOZENS of people with our work. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Apr 2026 00:06 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mizj7nlch22chttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3miyu45q3lk2kI have similar thoughts on Ed Research. It's easy enough to find disparities/inequities and show that they are statistically significant and/or people talk about them coherently (e.g., Qual work). But such findings are meaningless unless they're paired theories of action or contribute to theory. [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 Apr 2026 17:49 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3miyu45q3lk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3miwdjmzlrk2eThis week on the Authenticating Intelligence Podcast I sit down with Dan O’Brien (former Blue Sky Studios animator) to talk about the "homogenization" of animation and the quiet threat to entry-level craft. youtu.be/dIY99L0zPvM https://youtu.be/dIY99L0zPvM07 Apr 2026 17:47 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3miwdjmzlrk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3miha3sbyic2kCreativity isn't simply taking that initial spark and making it "real." It's refining; rendering the clumsy into expression. It takes time. Sure, you can try to prompt your way there, but that process is crude—especially if you don't really know what you're doing. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Apr 2026 17:35 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3miha3sbyic2khttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mi7zb3dp6c2sNothing humans make is neutral. That includes EdTech. Tools are extensions of our cognition, and make plain what we value when we use them to engage with the world around us. I dig into this concept a fair bit in Authenticating Intelligence. [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Mar 2026 20:44 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi7zb3dp6c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mhrbw774as2zI felt the same. Also Project Hail Mary is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. It's ALSO very true to the book (won't spoil it). If you liked the book you'll really enjoy this movie. Breath of fresh air. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Mar 2026 00:09 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhrbw774as2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/stephenaguilar.com/post/3mhj74nmlns2kICQ was the best. [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Mar 2026 18:58 +0000at://did:plc:276dbhrmvdkmaze4gdrovvds/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhj74nmlns2k