Derek Hunt
@derekhunt.bsky.social
Designer of digitally mediated learning at CTSI, the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation, University of Toronto - teaching.utoronto.ca
older twitter posts circa 2023 can be found on - twitter.com/HuntDerek
older twitter posts circa 2023 can be found on - twitter.com/HuntDerek
I interviewed for a TATP (Teaching Assistants' Training Program) podcast. You can check it out here -
Short:
youtube.com/shorts/1p0d8...
Full podcast:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUn0...
TATP website:
tatp.utoronto.ca/resources/th...
Short:
youtube.com/shorts/1p0d8...
Full podcast:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUn0...
TATP website:
tatp.utoronto.ca/resources/th...
S2E4 Human Learning in the Age of AI: Supporting Educators at U of T
How is generative AI changing the way educators teach, design courses, and support student learning? This episode features insights from the Teaching, Learning & Technology team at the University of…
www.youtube.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I interviewed for a TATP (Teaching Assistants' Training Program) podcast. You can check it out here -
Short:
youtube.com/shorts/1p0d8...
Full podcast:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUn0...
TATP website:
tatp.utoronto.ca/resources/th...
Short:
youtube.com/shorts/1p0d8...
Full podcast:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUn0...
TATP website:
tatp.utoronto.ca/resources/th...
Reposted by Derek Hunt
you know a series is going to rock when this is the parental advisory
November 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
you know a series is going to rock when this is the parental advisory
Science of Learning has some overlap with "back to the basics", but also key evidence about how brains process and retain information:
- Working memory is limited.
- Students forget.
- Learning requires effort.
- Understanding builds on prior knowledge.
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
- Working memory is limited.
- Students forget.
- Learning requires effort.
- Understanding builds on prior knowledge.
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
The science of learning is not the same as “back to basics”
How teachers can move past educational pendulum swings to a more evidence-informed future.
scienceoflearning.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Science of Learning has some overlap with "back to the basics", but also key evidence about how brains process and retain information:
- Working memory is limited.
- Students forget.
- Learning requires effort.
- Understanding builds on prior knowledge.
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
- Working memory is limited.
- Students forget.
- Learning requires effort.
- Understanding builds on prior knowledge.
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/the-scienc...
Information about risks to the #UofT community around agentic browsers - intelligent assistants that can act on your behalf. Read through good and bad scenarios to understand how this transformation brings new possibilities and challenges.
security.utoronto.ca/best-practic...
security.utoronto.ca/best-practic...
AI on autopilot: Navigating the risks of an automated web - Information Security at University of Toronto
The way you interact with your browser is fundamentally changing. Forget traditional browsers that just show you a page; agentic browsers are intelligent assistants that can understand your goals and…
security.utoronto.ca
October 28, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Information about risks to the #UofT community around agentic browsers - intelligent assistants that can act on your behalf. Read through good and bad scenarios to understand how this transformation brings new possibilities and challenges.
security.utoronto.ca/best-practic...
security.utoronto.ca/best-practic...
Unsurprisingly, the misinformation sites are happy to welcome AI while AI-blocking by reputable sites (increased) from 23% in September 2023 to nearly 60% by May 2025... raising essential questions for web transparency, data ethics, and the future of AI training practices."
www.downes.ca/post/78392
www.downes.ca/post/78392
Is Misinformation More Open? A Study of robots.txt Gatekeeping on the Web
Commentary on Is Misinformation More Open? A Study of robots.txt Gatekeeping on the Web by Stephen Downes. Online learning, e-learning, new media, connectivism, MOOCs, personal learning environments,…
www.downes.ca
October 27, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Unsurprisingly, the misinformation sites are happy to welcome AI while AI-blocking by reputable sites (increased) from 23% in September 2023 to nearly 60% by May 2025... raising essential questions for web transparency, data ethics, and the future of AI training practices."
www.downes.ca/post/78392
www.downes.ca/post/78392
Friday tee hee -
"as these disposable vapes have begun to incorporate more elaborate electronics, these too have become an interesting target for reusability. [BogdanTheGeek] decided to turn one of these vapes into a webserver, appropriately called the vapeserver."
hackaday.com/2025/09/15/h...
"as these disposable vapes have begun to incorporate more elaborate electronics, these too have become an interesting target for reusability. [BogdanTheGeek] decided to turn one of these vapes into a webserver, appropriately called the vapeserver."
hackaday.com/2025/09/15/h...
Hosting A Website On A Disposable Vape
For the past years people have been collecting disposable vapes primarily for their lithium-ion batteries, but as these disposable vapes have begun to incorporate more elaborate electronics, these …
hackaday.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Friday tee hee -
"as these disposable vapes have begun to incorporate more elaborate electronics, these too have become an interesting target for reusability. [BogdanTheGeek] decided to turn one of these vapes into a webserver, appropriately called the vapeserver."
hackaday.com/2025/09/15/h...
"as these disposable vapes have begun to incorporate more elaborate electronics, these too have become an interesting target for reusability. [BogdanTheGeek] decided to turn one of these vapes into a webserver, appropriately called the vapeserver."
hackaday.com/2025/09/15/h...
Asking a More Productive Question about AI and Assessment - "Given that AI exists in the world, and that students are likely to use it, what evidence of learning would I now find persuasive?'"
www.downes.ca/post/78140
www.downes.ca/post/78140
Asking a More Productive Question about AI and Assessment
Commentary on Asking a More Productive Question about AI and Assessment by Stephen Downes. Online learning, e-learning, new media, connectivism, MOOCs, personal learning environments, new literacy,…
www.downes.ca
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Asking a More Productive Question about AI and Assessment - "Given that AI exists in the world, and that students are likely to use it, what evidence of learning would I now find persuasive?'"
www.downes.ca/post/78140
www.downes.ca/post/78140
www.oneusefulthing.org/p/an-opinion...
Notable ideas from this article:
- the AI doesn’t know “why” it did something, so asking it to explain its logic will not get you anywhere.
- Sycophancy: act as a critic. Otherwise, you might be talking to a very sophisticated yes-man.
Notable ideas from this article:
- the AI doesn’t know “why” it did something, so asking it to explain its logic will not get you anywhere.
- Sycophancy: act as a critic. Otherwise, you might be talking to a very sophisticated yes-man.
An Opinionated Guide to Using AI Right Now
What AI to use in late 2025
www.oneusefulthing.org
October 20, 2025 at 5:03 PM
www.oneusefulthing.org/p/an-opinion...
Notable ideas from this article:
- the AI doesn’t know “why” it did something, so asking it to explain its logic will not get you anywhere.
- Sycophancy: act as a critic. Otherwise, you might be talking to a very sophisticated yes-man.
Notable ideas from this article:
- the AI doesn’t know “why” it did something, so asking it to explain its logic will not get you anywhere.
- Sycophancy: act as a critic. Otherwise, you might be talking to a very sophisticated yes-man.
"it’s a call for balance: to use digital tools to augment our thinking rather than to offload the mental processes that we need to learn and develop expertise. Learners can't think critically with knowledge they don’t have."
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/edu-snippe...
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/edu-snippe...
Edu-Snippets
Why knowledge matters in the age of AI; What happens to learners' neural activity with prolonged use of LLMs for writing
scienceoflearning.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:39 PM
"it’s a call for balance: to use digital tools to augment our thinking rather than to offload the mental processes that we need to learn and develop expertise. Learners can't think critically with knowledge they don’t have."
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/edu-snippe...
scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/edu-snippe...
Economic Futures Symposium, interesting observations: "The productivity story looks simple. The cultural story is not."
- Roles are shifting: engineers now see themselves as managers of AI agents
- Mentorship is eroding: junior staff turn first to Claude for answers
www.linkedin.com/posts/adrian...
- Roles are shifting: engineers now see themselves as managers of AI agents
- Mentorship is eroding: junior staff turn first to Claude for answers
www.linkedin.com/posts/adrian...
October 1, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Economic Futures Symposium, interesting observations: "The productivity story looks simple. The cultural story is not."
- Roles are shifting: engineers now see themselves as managers of AI agents
- Mentorship is eroding: junior staff turn first to Claude for answers
www.linkedin.com/posts/adrian...
- Roles are shifting: engineers now see themselves as managers of AI agents
- Mentorship is eroding: junior staff turn first to Claude for answers
www.linkedin.com/posts/adrian...
AI Slop Fatigue and Analog Intelligence -
marketoonist.com/2025/09/ai-s...
marketoonist.com/2025/09/ai-s...
September 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
AI Slop Fatigue and Analog Intelligence -
marketoonist.com/2025/09/ai-s...
marketoonist.com/2025/09/ai-s...
“We must prepare students for a world where the question is not, ‘Can you use AI?’ But rather, ‘Can I trust your thinking without using AI?’”
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Professors experiment as AI becomes part of student life
As AI use surges among students, Canadian educators are finding ways to integrate AI responsibly while preserving critical thinking to best prepare the students for the working world
www.theglobeandmail.com
September 16, 2025 at 3:05 PM
“We must prepare students for a world where the question is not, ‘Can you use AI?’ But rather, ‘Can I trust your thinking without using AI?’”
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Reposted by Derek Hunt
“The Left” and “the Right” aren’t real.
They’re made-up clubs, invented and sold to the public by the people in power…
and by the loudest people with the most to gain.
They’re made-up clubs, invented and sold to the public by the people in power…
and by the loudest people with the most to gain.
Your Politics Are Not a Costco Membership
Why Left and Right Are Less Real Than a $1.50 Hot Dog
open.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 9:29 PM
“The Left” and “the Right” aren’t real.
They’re made-up clubs, invented and sold to the public by the people in power…
and by the loudest people with the most to gain.
They’re made-up clubs, invented and sold to the public by the people in power…
and by the loudest people with the most to gain.
- AI use is increasing for cheating, but was high before GenAI.
- Students being incorrectly accused leading to unexpected behaviours like using AI so it looks like they didn’t use AI.
- Confusion about when AI is permissible (varies from teacher to teacher).
www.vox.com/technology/4...
- Students being incorrectly accused leading to unexpected behaviours like using AI so it looks like they didn’t use AI.
- Confusion about when AI is permissible (varies from teacher to teacher).
www.vox.com/technology/4...
I study AI cheating. Here’s what the data actually says.
What the panic about kids using AI to cheat gets wrong.
www.vox.com
September 12, 2025 at 2:42 PM
- AI use is increasing for cheating, but was high before GenAI.
- Students being incorrectly accused leading to unexpected behaviours like using AI so it looks like they didn’t use AI.
- Confusion about when AI is permissible (varies from teacher to teacher).
www.vox.com/technology/4...
- Students being incorrectly accused leading to unexpected behaviours like using AI so it looks like they didn’t use AI.
- Confusion about when AI is permissible (varies from teacher to teacher).
www.vox.com/technology/4...
"Sycophancy" - a new term I learned today that describes one of the main things that bug me about ChatGPT / GenAI chatbots - "Sycophancy, in which chatbots agree with and excessively praise users"
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/t...
Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.
Over 21 days of talking with ChatGPT, an otherwise perfectly sane man became convinced that he was a real-life superhero. We analyzed the conversation.
www.nytimes.com
September 9, 2025 at 4:40 PM
"Sycophancy" - a new term I learned today that describes one of the main things that bug me about ChatGPT / GenAI chatbots - "Sycophancy, in which chatbots agree with and excessively praise users"
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/t...
This post was very helpful for me to understand why custom GPTs do not always give the greatest results, despite having a clear system prompt asking it to use the included resources. It also points out that well structured documents perform the best -
www.linkedin.com/posts/huntde...
www.linkedin.com/posts/huntde...
This is very helpful to understand why custom GPTs using resources do not always give the greatest results, despite having a clear system prompt asking it to use the included resources. It also… | Der...
This is very helpful to understand why custom GPTs using resources do not always give the greatest results, despite having a clear system prompt asking it to use the included resources. It also points...
www.linkedin.com
September 4, 2025 at 4:50 PM
This post was very helpful for me to understand why custom GPTs do not always give the greatest results, despite having a clear system prompt asking it to use the included resources. It also points out that well structured documents perform the best -
www.linkedin.com/posts/huntde...
www.linkedin.com/posts/huntde...
"To the class of 2025: Will you let AI think for you, or learn how to think for yourself?: The challenges and frustrations that can come with thinking deeply - a skill that’s more valuable than ever - are a feature, not a bug."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: To the freshman class of 2025: Will you let AI think for you, or learn how to think for yourself?
The challenges and frustrations that can come with thinking deeply - a skill that’s more valuable than ever - are a feature, not a bug
www.theglobeandmail.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:18 PM
"To the class of 2025: Will you let AI think for you, or learn how to think for yourself?: The challenges and frustrations that can come with thinking deeply - a skill that’s more valuable than ever - are a feature, not a bug."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Derek Hunt
Chapter 3 – Knock Things Over Strategically
"Knock things over strategically. Start with their illusions of control."
📖 MagnaCata.com
#CatLogic #TinyActsOfRebellion #SurvivalLessons
August 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Chapter 3 – Knock Things Over Strategically
"Knock things over strategically. Start with their illusions of control."
📖 MagnaCata.com
#CatLogic #TinyActsOfRebellion #SurvivalLessons
" 'Can I see some ID?' As online age verification spreads, so do privacy concerns "
www.cbc.ca/news/online-...
www.cbc.ca/news/online-...
'Can I see some ID?' As online age verification spreads, so do privacy concerns | CBC News
The U.K.'s Online Safety Act took effect last Friday, putting age gates on content deemed unsuitable for minors, including pornography and content about suicide and self harm. While some sites have pulled...
www.cbc.ca
August 3, 2025 at 7:09 PM
" 'Can I see some ID?' As online age verification spreads, so do privacy concerns "
www.cbc.ca/news/online-...
www.cbc.ca/news/online-...
"What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer"
July 4, 2025 at 12:46 PM
"What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer"
"structural changes frequently involve reorienting assessment from output to process. Rather than evaluating only the final product, which could potentially be AI-generated, assessment may be designed to capture the student’s development and attainment of understanding and skill over time."
June 26, 2025 at 5:52 PM
"structural changes frequently involve reorienting assessment from output to process. Rather than evaluating only the final product, which could potentially be AI-generated, assessment may be designed to capture the student’s development and attainment of understanding and skill over time."
My brain had not brained this before 🤯 (re: how to scale education with personalized learning).
- "How do you scale a personal trainer? How do you scale a plumber? How do you scale an electrician? You don't. You just have lots of them.
Derek Muller (Veritasium).
youtu.be/0xS68sl2D70?...
- "How do you scale a personal trainer? How do you scale a plumber? How do you scale an electrician? You don't. You just have lots of them.
Derek Muller (Veritasium).
youtu.be/0xS68sl2D70?...
June 24, 2025 at 5:07 PM
My brain had not brained this before 🤯 (re: how to scale education with personalized learning).
- "How do you scale a personal trainer? How do you scale a plumber? How do you scale an electrician? You don't. You just have lots of them.
Derek Muller (Veritasium).
youtu.be/0xS68sl2D70?...
- "How do you scale a personal trainer? How do you scale a plumber? How do you scale an electrician? You don't. You just have lots of them.
Derek Muller (Veritasium).
youtu.be/0xS68sl2D70?...
Reposted by Derek Hunt
just checking in on the financial revolution that was meant to sidestep banks, tech giants, and the state
June 17, 2025 at 8:56 PM
just checking in on the financial revolution that was meant to sidestep banks, tech giants, and the state
"ChatGPT’s vision for campuses. My biggest complaint for universities is the weak response of leaders to meaningfully plan for AI’s impact on learners and on the future of society." George Siemens' Sensemaking, AI, and Learning (SAIL) newsletter - buttondown.com/SAIL/archive...
June 16, 2025 at 9:33 PM
"ChatGPT’s vision for campuses. My biggest complaint for universities is the weak response of leaders to meaningfully plan for AI’s impact on learners and on the future of society." George Siemens' Sensemaking, AI, and Learning (SAIL) newsletter - buttondown.com/SAIL/archive...