AI Goes to School

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Wednesday Deep Dive

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The Wednesday Deep Dive takes a detailed look at what's new in AI. Each week, we share in-depth insights on new tools, proven prompts, and significant developments - helping tech professionals work smarter and stay ahead.

This week, we look at two very different (but equally urgent) AI developments. In politics, there’s little defense against well-crafted fakes. In education, there’s a scramble to catch up, even as tools race ahead. The question is no longer whether AI will reshape how we live and govern—it already is. The new question is how quickly our systems can adapt:

📱 A scammer used AI to impersonate the U.S. Secretary of State
🏫 Tech giants and teachers join forces to build AI literacy in schools

Let's dive in.

🌐 AI News

🎭 AI Voice Cloning Used to Impersonate U.S. Secretary of State

A new AI-powered impersonation scam has targeted some of the world’s most influential political leaders, this time mimicking U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

According to a July 3 State Department cable obtained by the Washington Post and confirmed by The Guardian, an unidentified actor used generative AI to replicate Rubio’s voice and writing style, sending both audio messages and texts via the encrypted app Signal.

🎯 Who Was Targeted:

• Three foreign ministers

• One U.S. governor

• One member of Congress

In at least two cases, the scammer left fake voicemails; others received messages inviting them to continue private communications over Signal.

🔍 What’s Known:

• The impersonator account was created in mid-June.

• The style and methods mirrored a May incident involving a fake White House Chief of Staff.

• The goal, according to the cable, was to “gain access to information or accounts.”

🛡️ Ongoing Response:

A State Department official confirmed an active investigation, emphasizing that the department is “taking steps to improve cybersecurity posture.”

📣 Expert Commentary:

David Axelrod, former senior advisor to Barack Obama, weighed in on X:

🤔 Why It Matters

AI voice and text cloning are now advanced enough to fool global leadership. This isn't hypothetical or theoretical, it's operational.

✅ Low-cost, high-impact: Tools for cloning voices and writing styles are widely available.

🚨 No attribution trail: Attackers remain anonymous and hard to trace.

⚖️ No legal framework: There’s currently no international standard for preventing or punishing AI-enabled political impersonation.

🎯 Strategic Risks:

• Erosion of diplomatic trust between nations.

• Spear phishing attacks on decision-makers using AI-generated authenticity.

• Undermining of democratic processes, particularly during elections.

📉 What Needs Watching:

As impersonation tools spread, governments and tech companies will face growing pressure to introduce biometric verification, authenticated communication channels, and stricter platform-level controls.

Until then, even the highest offices remain vulnerable to what are, in effect, AI-powered con jobs.

🌐 AI News

🏫 Microsoft, OpenAI, and Teachers Launch National AI Training Academy

While scammers exploit AI to imitate leaders, another initiative aims to empower educators: Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic have teamed up with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to launch a new national AI training academy.

The National Academy for AI Instruction will open in New York City later this year. It’s backed by a $23 million investment from the participating companies and is designed to train K–12 teachers on integrating AI into classrooms.

🧑‍🏫 Who It’s For:

• 400,000 AFT members over 5 years (10% of all U.S. teachers)

• K–12 instructors, school nurses, and college staff

🧰 What It Offers:

• Online courses and in-person workshops

• Continuing education credits

• Curriculum developed by “leading AI experts and experienced educators”

• Led by AFT with support from public and private partners

📣 Key Voice:

Randi Weingarten, President of AFT:

⚖️ Not Without Controversy:

While the program aims to bridge AI literacy gaps, it’s already drawing skepticism from some union members wary of Big Tech’s commercial incentives in public education.

This follows similar critiques in Europe. Last week, Dutch professors called on universities to ban AI tools in classrooms over ethics and influence concerns.

🤔 Why It Matters

This is the first large-scale U.S. initiative giving educators formal resources and institutional support to teach, adapt, and use AI.

📘 Most teachers currently learn about AI on their own.

⚖️ The Academy offers structure, certification, and standards.

📊 It could become a national model for AI teacher training if successful.

🧠 Strategic Implications:

• School districts may increasingly align AI curricula with academic outputs.

• Tech companies gain influence over future generations of knowledge workers.

• Union-led governance of AI programs could become a template for other sectors.

📉 Challenges to Watch:

• Local school board policies may clash with academy goals.

• Tension remains between open access and vendor-specific tools (e.g. Microsoft Copilot vs. Google Gemini).

• Equity of access across rural and underfunded districts is still unclear.

🎯 Big Picture:

With 4 million educators in the U.S., building AI literacy at scale is a massive undertaking. But if done right, the initiative could do what no AI tool alone can, prepare the next generation not just to use these systems, but to understand and challenge them.

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