Is talk cheap? + Ai Agents and Academic Reality

Welcome to Episode 3 of Adjunct Intelligence, the podcast navigating the intersection of artificial intelligence and higher education. This week, Dale and Nick unpack a whirlwind of announcements from tech giants, dive deep into the world of AI agents, and explore what happens when humans are no longer at the top of the knowledge food chain. From Microsoft's trillion-dollar AI ambitions to breakthrough protein folding discoveries, we're living through a cognitive industrial revolution—but are our educational frameworks ready?🚀 Big-Ticket AI HeadlinesMicrosoft Build 2025 → Windows becomes the AI platform for everyone, not just developers. 30% of Microsoft's code now written by AI, $3 trillion market cap flexing.Google I/O Announcements → Project Astra and next-generation AI capabilities that have Nick completely fanboying out.Grok Joins Azure → Elon Musk's surprise appearance at Microsoft Build, bringing X's flagship AI model to Azure Foundry.Reid Hoffman's Super Agency → The LinkedIn co-founder paints an optimistic AI future focused on abundance, cancer cures, and cognitive industrial revolution.Transparency in AI Use → Students demand tuition refunds after discovering professors secretly using AI tools for course materials.Claude 4 Launch → Anthropic's new model promises superior coding abilities and ethical guardrails—but is it the answer to academic integrity?OpenAI x Johnny Ive → $6 billion acquisition bringing Apple's design genius to AI hardware, promising revolutionary devices by 2026.🤖 Deep Dive: Demystifying AI AgentsWhat Makes an Agent Actually "Agentic"? Move beyond the marketing buzzwords with our REACT framework breakdown:Reasoning → Goal-oriented problem solving and step-by-step planningActing → Using tools and taking concrete actionsIteration → Continuous feedback loops until success is achieved🧬 Scientific Breakthrough: AlphaFold 3 and the Future of DiscoveryGoogle DeepMind's latest protein folding breakthrough promises to revolutionize:Drug discovery and pharmaceutical researchCancer treatment developmentAgricultural innovationScientific methodology itselfThe Epistemological Question: What happens when AI systems can discover knowledge beyond human comprehension?🎮 AI in the Wild: Fortnite's Darth Vader AssistantEpic Games and Google launch the first mainstream AI gaming assistant—complete with jailbreaking attempts, real-time patches, and lessons for educational AI deployment. Our hosts score an exclusive "interview" with the Dark Lord himself.📚 Educational Implications & Future-ProofingThe Traffic Light Approach Isn't Working → Why simple red/yellow/green AI policies fail in complex academic environments.Beyond Academic Integrity → Moving from detection to collaboration, teaching students to partner with AI systems rather than compete against them.Epistemic Humility → Preparing educators and students for a world where AI capabilities exceed human understanding📽️ Episode Timestamps00:00 – Welcome & Opening Thoughts01:02 – Microsoft Build 2025 Highlights02:34 – Google I/O Deep Dive05:18 – Reid Hoffman's Optimistic AI Vision07:42 – Academic Integrity Crisis Discussion10:37 – AI Agents Explained: The REACT Framework15:43 – Andrew Ng's Four-Pillar Approach18:12 – Claude 4 & OpenAI x Johnny Ive Announcements21:19 – AlphaFold 3 Scientific Breakthrough25:17 – Fortnite Darth Vader AI Assistant28:17 – Closing Thoughts & Epistemic Humility🔗 Links & Further ReadingMicrosoft Build 2025 Keynote