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Google just made big changes to Gemini usage limits
Following in the footsteps of GitHub’s Copilot plans, Google’s AI subscriptions are moving to “compute-based” usage limits rather than a fixed number of requests.
Inside the U’s baby science research lab, a look at how the world learns
The University of Minnesota Child Brain and Perception Lab explores how infants and toddlers make sense of the people around them. MPR News spent a day recently at the lab watching one of the “pilot babies” discover their world.
GPT-5.3-Codex is now the base model for Copilot Business and Enterprise
As announced on March 18, 2026, GPT-5.3-Codex is now the base model for all Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise organizations, replacing GPT-4.1. The base model is used when your organization…
Reno council scheduled to consider 18-month pilot program for indoor live entertainment
Reno's independent, online news and events source. Established in 2009.
Business Notes: Virginia Beach disability advocates honored; free mortgage for military family
View the latest business happenings in Hampton Roads.
China unveils a giant rideable robot straight out of sci-fi movie
A Chinese robotics company has started selling a giant pilotable robot. It costs €500,000, walks on two legs, and can also smash through walls. Welcome to the future?
Heart of Midlothian: A 150-1 Long Shot Is Set to Shock the Scottish Premier League
Plus, the World War I pilot who helped shape this week’s PGA Championship, the slugger who lost his home run stroke and Jason Gay.
These Oshkosh residents want you to log off and talk politics — in real life - Wausau Pilot & Review
by Miranda Dunlap / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch May 13, 2026 Click here to read highlights from the story Oshkosh resident Nikolas DeGroot started
UnitedHealth’s AI push now includes employee tracking
UnitedHealth Group is pushing deeper into artificial intelligence—and tracking whether some employees are actually using it, Bloomberg writes. The health care giant is monitoring AI engagement among some Optum workers, including whether they make at least one daily query using tools such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot. The effort is part of a broader companywide […]
How one rural health system is designing targeted AI pilots to ease care delivery pressures
Berkshire Health Systems CIO William Young says artificial intelligence must do more than impress people with new features. It has to save time, cut waste, and help a rural health system survive mounting financial and operational strain.
Cape Coral sitcom: Dixie Roadhouse shoot for 'Jimmy on the Rocks'
The pilot episode of new TV show "Jimmy on the Rocks" was shot in June 2025 at Cape Coral's Dixie Roadhouse. It's been screening at film festivals.
Microsoft starts canceling Claude Code licenses
Thousands of Microsoft developers will use GitHub Copilot CLI instead
Why big digital health players are missing from Medicare's chronic care experiment
In this edition of STAT Health Tech: Why big digital health players skipped Medicare's ACCESS pilot, Isomorphic's big raise, and more.
Microsoft Is Retiring Copilot Mode On Edge, Because Everything Is Copilot Mode Now
Copilot features are now available on Edge for mobile.
Microsoft’s Edge Copilot update uses AI to pull information from across your tabs
Copilotification.
AI Chatbots For Mental Health – What Works, What Harms, and What’s Next
More than half of all Americans have used an AI chatbot like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot, and one in three teenagers use one daily. AI chatbots, which
Mountain View entertainment zones go into effect May 28
Mountain View’s pilot program to create public drinking entertainment zones on Castro Street will go into effect on May 28.
City of Evanston seeks input via survey from business owners for new retail initiative
The City of Evanston and Retail Activation Strategist Claire Seizovic are inviting Evanston business owners to help shape a new Pop-Up and Incubator Pilot
Inside Business Power List 2026: Emeritus
All the people on this Emeritus List are engaged in the community and have been for years, if not decades.
Inside Business Power List 2026: 75 power players
These 75 power players come from various backgrounds and sectors and are visible leaders in their fields.
Inside Business reveals the 2026 Power List and Top 25
Inside Business creates its annual Power List to highlight the people who are influencing the economy in Hampton Roads. This year’s Top 25 influencers are listed in alphabetical order.
Column: America’s broken politics are dragging it down a fiscal black hole
Restoring fiscal control demands a comprehensive plan to raise taxes and cut entitlement spending substantially, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Clive Crook writes.
Business Notes: 128 graduate from Apprentice School; 196 books donated to CHKD
The Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School recently celebrated the graduation of 128 people, Sylvan Learning of North Suffolk has reopened at a new location and more business news.
Day in the life of Headspace CEO Tom Pickett, a former Navy pilot
Headspace CEO Tom Pickett said the first part of his career as a Navy pilot was exhilarating. He still makes time to fly several times a month.
Oneida County State of the County address touches on housing efforts
He said a PILOT agreement will be voted on next week which would include a new tax exemption policy increasing the types of housing that can be incentivized.
Reno tests cutting red tape for live entertainment downtown, Midtown
A pilot program will cut the permitting process for new businesses in Midtown and downtown offering indoor live entertainment.
Winter Sports Club hosting annual bike swap Saturday
The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club is hosting its annual bike swap on Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. until noon. It will be located in the Howelsen Hill parking lot. Every individual is welcome...
Xbox announces leadership changes as it stops development of Gaming Copilot for console
"As part of this shift, you'll see us begin to retire features that don’t align with where we're headed," says Asha Sharma
Asha Sharma admits "Xbox needs to move faster", as new CEO begins "winding down Copilot on mobile" and ceases its development on consoles
Xbox's newly-appointed head Asha Sharma is sunsetting the company's Copilot initiative, which was once envisioned as an AI-driven "personal gaming sidekick".
Xbox Is Ditching Microsoft's Copilot AI
The AI assistant is no longer coming to consoles and will be removed from the Xbox mobile app.
Xbox CEO cancels console AI chatbot Copilot on consoles
Asha Sharma confirms that plans to bring Gaming Copilot to Xbox have been canned
Feeding Texas celebrates Healthy Texan Week, highlights nutrition pilot
Feeding Texas and health-care partners kicked off Healthy Texan Week by highlighting a new pilot program providing medically tailored meals to Texans with chronic conditions.
New Jersey sanctions girls flag football as a high school sport
After four years in pilot program status, girls flag football became New Jersey's newest high school sport on Monday.
Global Health & WASH: May 2026 Funding Opportunities (14 new opportunities!)
The May update for Global Health & WASH brings new calls that cluster around three distinct shifts: LMIC research leadership moving from funder encouragement into a hard eligibility constraint, pharmaceutical and corporate-linked funders running structurally independent education and use-inspired research portfolios at substantial scale, and AI adoption shifting decisively from speculative tool to operational capability across health and WASH systems alike. In LMIC Research Leadership as Eligibility, Not Encouragement, Wellcome anchors the dominant signal of the month with three separate major calls that all require or strongly center LMIC leadership in their basic eligibility architecture. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs (£1.5-£1.9M per hub over 3-5 years) explicitly requires an LMIC-based lead applicant, treating Global South leadership as a design constraint rather than a participation goal. Wellcome’s Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award funds transdisciplinary teams whose lead must be a mid-career or established researcher based at an organization in Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Wellcome’s larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1M-£8M for optimizing licensed interventions) requires the administering organization to be in eligible LMIC regions and at least 50% of applicants based there. Around Wellcome, the same pattern shows up at smaller scale and across funders: CHINNOVA channels $1M into West and Central African research institutions for climate-health work; IBRO’s Neuroscience Training Grants explicitly tier ceilings by region of residence with Africa receiving the highest amount ($5,000); IHME’s GBD Emerging Researcher Award reserves at least one of its two annual awards for an LMIC researcher; Sidaction’s HIV Cure call funds research teams across France, the Netherlands, and eligible African countries with a minimum two-country collaboration requirement. Taken together, these calls signal a meaningful shift in how research equity is being operationalized — not as encouragement language at the bottom of a call, but as a structural feature of who can lead, where the work must be administered, and what proportion of the team must be regionally rooted. In Pharma-Funded Independent Medical Education and Use-Inspired Research, the lineup this month is unusually deep. Pfizer alone runs four parallel calls under independent education and quality improvement frameworks: a Migraine and Women’s Health RFP (200K x 2-year, $500K pool), Migraine IME ($200K, $1M pool), JAK Inhibitor evidence-based education ($100K), and Maternal Vaccination HCP Education in Saudi Arabia ($75K), plus a separate Pediatric Pneumococcal Surveillance research call in Saudi Arabia ($400K per project). Novo Nordisk Foundation runs four parallel calls of its own at substantial scale: Infectious Diseases Catalyst Grants (DKK 60M pool, up to DKK 7M collaborative), Non-Diabetic Endocrinology Collaborative Grants (DKK 53M pool, DKK 5-10M per project), Pioneer Innovator Grant Health (DKK 1.1M), and Distinguished Innovator Grant Health (DKK 6.8M). LEO Foundation deploys DKK 2-4M per project for dermatology research excellence. Pfizer’s framing across calls deliberately separates the funding from product promotion, emphasizing measurable practice-relevant change and structural distance between scientific outputs and commercial activity. Novo Nordisk’s “use-inspired” hard filter pushes researchers toward a credible translation pathway from mechanism to deployable tool. The pattern: industry-aligned funders are running structurally independent portfolios at meaningful $ that fund implementation evidence, not promotion. In AI as Operational Capability, Not Speculation, several calls this month explicitly treat AI adoption as a near-term operational question with real evidence and governance requirements, rather than a speculative trend to be watched. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs frames AI as “the accelerator” for evidence synthesis, asking hubs to translate technical innovation into adoption-ready workflows that can match real-world policy timelines. UNICEF Venture Fund’s new Climate Tech for Children’s Health call funds for-profit startups deploying AI, machine learning, and blockchain in low-resource environments, with a strict requirement that solutions must already have a working prototype with promising pilot results. The Water Research Foundation has launched two simultaneous AI calls treating reproducibility, cybersecurity guardrails, and human-in-the-loop deployments as core design constraints rather than nice-to-haves: one on GenAI and Agentic AI in water utilities ($200K), one on alternatives to water shutoffs that explicitly screens for implementation economics evidence. Nordic Innovation’s quantum technology call (NOK 4.5M) extends the same logic into life science and healthcare, demanding consortium-stage projects mature enough to test with real users. TEF-Health offers €300K in subsidized testing infrastructure for European healthcare AI and robotics SMEs. The pattern: funders are converting AI pilots into playbooks, requiring transfer evidence and risk controls before AI can move from experimentation to sector-wide operational practice. For LMIC-based researchers in infectious disease or evidence synthesis, the three Wellcome calls together represent the deepest concentration of LMIC-led research capital in recent memory — pair the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award (£200K, deadline May 19) as a strategic pipeline feeder into the larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1-£8M, deadline June 2), since the development award functions explicitly as a track into the larger trial scheme. For Nordic researchers, the four Novo Nordisk Foundation calls plus LEO Foundation and Nordic Innovation Quantum represent ~$30M in regional research capital this cycle, all with deadlines clustered in May-August. For WASH practitioners, the three Water Research Foundation calls together (each up to $200K) are a cluster worth reading across — one on AI deployment, one on shutoff alternatives, one rewarding applied innovation — and the strongest applicants will articulate how their work bridges utility operations to policy-relevant evidence. For US-based clinical researchers and educators, the four Pfizer calls plus the APF Portfolio’s 80+ programs form an unusually accessible recurring pipeline; APF’s prohibition on indirect costs is a meaningful structural feature for early-career applicants whose institutions might otherwise absorb significant overhead. Snapshot of New Opportunities Total Estimated Funding Pool: $100 Million+ USD The grants are organized into three categories: Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date. 39 open opportunities- 14 new! Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible). 14 rolling opportunities- 1 new opportunity! Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows. 4 long term opportunities! A quick tip for returning readers: if you want to jump straight to the newest additions, use CTRL F to search for “New!” and navigate quickly to the latest funding opportunities This post is for paid subscribers. This helps support the time and effort it takes to curate and organize these opportunities. Subscribe To keep this accessible to everyone who needs it, we’re happy to offer pay what you can rates. You can find more details here. Open Calls: Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women’s Health (Quality Improvement and/or Research RFP), Pfizer.*Closing soon!* Pfizer, in collaboration with the American Headache Society, is seeking independent quality improvement and research projects that close persistent gaps in migraine care for women across the United States. The funding logic centers on measurable, practice-relevant change: proposals should generate actionable evidence, tools, or system improvements that can be shared and used widely, not just within a single site. Priority areas span menstrual migraine and screening in women’s health settings, the role of hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan, sex-specific risk factors, comorbidities and quality-of-life burden, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The call is structured as a two-step competitive process with an initial Letter of Intent, with the strongest concepts expected to translate scientific insight into implementable improvements in diagnosis, management, and equity. Geographies: United States. Who can apply: U.S.-based organizations (not individuals), including professional schools, healthcare institutions, professional organizations, and other entities focused on healthcare improvement. Funding amount: Up to USD $200,000 total over 2 years; total pool USD $500,000. Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: migraine, women’s health, quality improvement, clinical research, menstrual migraine, health disparities. Deadline: LOI: May 5, 2026; Full proposal (by invitation): August 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This RFP rewards “shareable impact”: the most competitive submissions will pair rigorous methods with a clear plan for system uptake and dissemination beyond the originating institution. ReSSARC: Strengthening the Health Sector and Food Security in the Central African Republic (AID 013381/01/0) Call for Proposals, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). *Closing soon!* AICS is seeking a limited set of high-capacity humanitarian partners to deliver an integrated package that stabilizes essential health services while reducing acute malnutrition and strengthening food security resilience in priority areas of the Central African Republic. The funder’s logic is explicitly nexus-based: proposals should meet urgent, life-saving needs while reinforcing local systems, coordination mechanisms, and community-level capacity so results persist beyond the emergency window. AICS emphasizes inclusion and protection outcomes, expecting gender-sensitive design and explicit measures for groups facing compounded vulnerability, including women, children under five, internally displaced people, and people with disabilities. The call also signals a localization pathway, encouraging stronger collaboration with national NGOs and balanced partnerships, alongside clear coordination with existing cluster and humanitarian actors to minimize duplication and improve coverage. Geographies: Central African Republic (Bangui, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Lim-Pende, Lobaye). Who can apply: Non-profit organizations registered with AICS, plus eligible non-profits without an office in Italy that have a pre-existing collaboration agreement with an AICS-listed organization. Funding amount: Total pool EUR €1,800,000; max EUR €800,000 (single applicant) or EUR €1,000,000 (ATS). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: malnutrition prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, community health services, food security and resilience, localization partnerships Deadline: May 5, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This call is structured to reward partners who can link frontline service delivery to system durability and localization, not just short-term coverage gains. Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, Innovate UK. *Closing soon!* Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences Addiction Healthcare Goals program, is procuring R&D to accelerate innovations that can improve treatment outcomes, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm and deaths linked to drug and alcohol addiction. The competition is positioned as a market-facing readiness push: selected projects are expected to advance solutions toward later-stage validation, generate evidence of user acceptability and UK market fit, and map credible routes through regulatory and certification requirements. Innovate UK signals a preference for innovations that can be field-tested in relevant UK settings and progressed to TRL 6 or 7, with practical plans for commercialization after contract completion. This structure favors applicants that can execute most work in-house, co-develop with service providers and people with lived experience, and translate technical progress into deployable tools for addiction healthcare delivery. Geographies: United Kingdom. Who can apply: Single organizations of any size (including EU, EEA, or international) leading delivery, with most work and key deliverables carried out in the UK; subcontractors for specialist skills only. Funding amount: GBP £200,000–1.5 million per project (inclusive of VAT); Total pool: GBP £20 million (across two strands). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: Mental Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Research & Development, Technology Access. Deadline: May 6, 2026 (11:00am). Learn more and apply here. This call uses procurement to pull near-market addiction innovations toward operational proof and adoption pathways in UK services.
Mental health support for Maidstone domestic abuse hub
A mental health team will offer support at a domestic abuse hub in Kent in new pilot scheme.
"You need to be a hacker to use Windows": This free tool lets you rebuild Windows 11 without Copilot or any other AI
NTLite lets you strip AI features like Copilot and Recall from Windows 11, giving you back control over your PC.
‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field
‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field ‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field A field that once seemed like a direct path to stable, lucrative work is becoming less certain under AI, students and faculty told Spectator. By Ria Vasishtha and Arjun Menon May 3, 2026 Shanying Liu / Deputy Illustrations Editor Asia Genawi, SEAS ’29, first encountered artificial intelligence during her sophomore year at her high school in Indiana. Back in 2023, policies on AI varied widely—even within the same district—and some schools had no guidance at all. As Genawi began to see the effects of AI trickle into her classroom, she turned to guidance from her home state’s Department of Education, which she said she found “outdated and inaccessible.” Genawi spent the rest of her high school career dedicated to the issue, including writing a 15-page memo exploring varying AI policies across Indiana schools, which she sent to every Indiana state senator and representative whose contact information she was able to find. She later helped draft a bill that would have required public high schools to establish and share their own AI policies with students in an accessible format. But with so many other bills already awaiting referral, hers never made it to committee. When Genawi arrived at Columbia to study computer science, she found that the gaps she had spent years trying to address in Indiana had followed her there. Many students and professors were also grappling with what AI meant for the field. Across Columbia’s undergraduate schools, computer science has become the most popular major—accounting for around 11 percent of degrees awarded in Columbia College, 32 percent in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and 12 percent in the School of General Studies in 2024. While the number of computer science majors in SEAS grew from 166 to 173 during the 2024-25 academic year, the total number across the three schools fell around 4.5 percent from 393 to 375, driven by declines at Columbia College and General Studies. At Barnard, it has grown to become the second most popular major as of 2025, up from third the year prior. The number of degrees awarded have grown fivefold since 2016. Faculty members and students in the department told Spectator that the surge in the major’s popularity has been driven in large part by its apparent promise of a secure, well-paid career path. However, they noted that the recent rise of generative AI has compromised the sense of stability that once defined the field, even as interest in technical skills among students persists. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2024, out of 74 majors tracked, computer science had the fifth highest unemployment rate among majors at 7 percent, while computer engineering had the second highest at 7.8 percent. “Anecdotally, people are moving away from CS as a major,” Daniel Bauer, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, said. “They’re still taking some of our classes, right, because they think they need that, but they’re instead majoring in other things.” Bauer described a field that had shifted from what he called a “nerdy outlier discipline” to one that “everyone needs,” a sign that technical skills have become a baseline expectation across industries with the emergence of AI. “A lot of people thought, ‘Oh, it’s a guaranteed path to a stable income. You get a six-figure job right out of your undergrad,’” Bauer said. Now, companies may see AI as a way to reduce demand for entry-level programmers, especially in what he calls “code monkey jobs,” roles where a large number of employees are “just writing out code nine-to-five.” Chris Murphy, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, described the current moment as the convergence of two forces: the downturn of the job market and generative AI coming onto the scene. “Things kind of started to really pick up in 2014, 16,” he said, recalling the years after the weaker 2010 market. Murphy added that this was also a period where “students were getting more experience outside of class than they were inside of class” through internships, jobs, and side projects. Murphy suggested that the earlier momentum helped make computer science feel like both an academic program and a reliable pathway into work. That feeling is harder to sustain now as the industry reconfigures, which is a shift that students are seeing firsthand. Rebecca Yu, SEAS ’27, said that during a recent internship in Big Tech, she saw that “every single tech company was racing to integrate” large language models. She added that her manager said her intern class was the first to complete their assigned projects, which she attributed to the increased efficiency that comes with AI. Frank Liu, SEAS ’29, said that with AI lowering the barrier to coding, companies now expect everyone to write code. “A lot of companies outright say if you’re not using coding in your job, you might get fired for not being productive enough,” Liu said. Yu similarly expressed that students increasingly have to accept AI being a part of industry workflow, adding that many also “make use of it to maximize their productivity.” Richard Li, CC ’28, described a “franticness” among his peers as the pace of change accelerates. He explained how “some new tool” is released regularly, noting that tools rise and fall in prominence within weeks. He has come to believe that he doesn’t need to “match that speed all the time” and keep up with every development. Li has learned that AI tools allow him to “take a breath” and “get back into the loop much easier than before” when he needs to. While some companies specifically target Columbia when hiring, sending representatives to campus career fairs and recruiting large numbers from Columbia, a computer science degree cannot be treated as a static credential, Yu described. “You can’t just get your degree and stop learning after that. You have to always be learning,” Yu said. “That is something you basically have to expect for your job.” AI has not only affected students’ decisions to major in computer science, but also reshaped how the subject is taught. Across departments, faculty members no longer treat work done outside the classroom as a reliable measure of understanding, shifting instead toward in-person exams, quizzes, and attendance checks. While homework once made up as much as 60 to 70 percent of a student’s grade in computer science classes, Murphy said that breakdown has since flipped, with exams and quizzes now accounting for the majority. “The assumption—especially among pessimists—is that they’re using it to do their homework,” Murphy said. “They take the homework assignment. They put it into generative AI. Out comes the solution. Submit solution. The end.” Murphy said that faculty members ranged in their responses from fully prohibiting AI use to actively teaching students how to effectively work with AI. He said he shifted his approach this year after his teaching assistants called his belief that students weren’t using the technology “naïve,” and now permits students to use AI on assignments. His surveys of students in his introductory classes have told a more complicated story than the one so-called pessimists offer: Around 60 to 70 percent of students who reported using AI said they used it to have concepts explained to them, to clarify assignment instructions, to generate test cases, or to create practice questions. “Those are all ways that you might have had a tutor in the past to do that, and now you have this AI essentially as your tutor,” he said. Bauer has taken a different approach, teaching students how to use AI productively without sacrificing the core principles of the discipline. “People who are trained to actually use AI tools productively, while being in charge of designing the overall project, will be very much in demand in the next couple of years,” he said. Over the past year, a working group of computer science faculty has been redesigning the introductory and intermediate programming sequence to integrate generative AI as both a subject and a tool, representatives from SEAS wrote in a statement to Spectator. The effort is “coordinated” across the department, “not course-by-course,” with a systematic assessment of how AI integration is affecting student outcomes underway to shape the next round of changes. The goal, the department explained, is for students to be able to “read, verify, and reason about code, whether they or a model wrote it.” Tony Dear, senior lecturer in the computer science department, is piloting individualized AI feedback in a discrete mathematics course, while a machine learning course is also testing a Socratic AI dialogue system designed to “guide inquiry rather than supply answers,” the statement reads. Beyond individual courses, SEAS funded seven cross-departmental faculty projects in generative AI this past academic year, spanning biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science, according to the statement. This phenomenon extends beyond the computer science department. SEAS’ new AI minor, which it announced in November 2025, reflects the University’s attempt to adapt. The minor is specifically designed for noncomputer science majors and aims to provide “essential AI knowledge” while emphasizing practical and responsible use across disciplines, according to the SEAS website. At the center of the minor is AI in Context, a course taught by a team of faculty from the departments of computer science, applied mathematics, philosophy, music, literature, and the Writing Center, the representatives told Spectator. Bauer described it as targeted at students who want to bring AI into fields like economics or biology, rather than as a path into software engineering itself. At the graduate level, SEAS announced a new Master of Science in artificial intelligence in February, with the inaugural cohort starting in the fall. While recognizing how AI has helped them navigate coursework, students also described its rise as isolating, even among members of the Application Development Initiative, one of Columbia’s largest computer science clubs. “As people start to ask AI for questions that they would normally ask students and members, it starts to isolate people” Li said. Alexa Kafka, BC ’27, echoed Li’s sentiment, pointing out that computer science has always been a collaborative discipline with code reviews and pull requests, even as AI makes independent work easier. Despite this, Kafka noted that she hasn’t been to office hours “in at least a year.” Bauer added that faculty are exploring long-term solutions to the assessment problem. “One of the things that we’re trying to do at the department or school level is to maybe move towards computerized testing facilities,” Bauer said, referring to ideas in the department to revitalize computer labs as an alternative to pen-and-paper exams. “We have to accept that this is the reality, for better or worse.” But more exams, students say, does not mean better learning, nor does it reflect how computer science is actually done. “Code is so variable and can be approached in so many directions, there’s never just going to be one correct answer. There can be multiple optimal solutions,” Kafka said. Students also expressed concern that the shift toward exam-heavy grading pulls focus away from the applied, project-based work that better reflects both discipline and industry expectations. ADI has tried to respond more quickly than the curriculum can. Through a vibe coding workshop this past semester, club members said they wanted to help students understand not just that AI exists, but how to use it deliberately. “Vibe coding” refers to the practice of prompting AI to write code for a task or project, and has become widespread enough that ADI felt the gap in formal instruction was worth addressing, according to Sophia Huang, BC ’29. The workshop introduced students to the concept of context engineering, which Shaina Sahu, SEAS ’27, described as not just writing a prompt, but optimizing “the rest of the relevant information that you would feed into the model.” Without that, students said that AI-generated code can fail at scale or introduce difficult-to-detect bugs. Genawi said the shift toward AI has changed what it means to be good at computer science. “I think the shift has kind of gone towards what can you create and what can you do, instead of, what do you know,” she said. Indeed, during ADI DevFest, its annual hackathon, Li said more teams are trying to complete their projects than in years past. While sign-ups have historically outpaced submissions, Li said this is beginning to change because teams “have a tool that completes the vision for them.” While many students see AI as an equalizer that lowers the barrier to entry for coding and technical work, Murphy said it also creates new equity concerns inside the classroom around who can afford stronger tools and who already knows how to use them. “The equity issues I worry about are students who have access to paid versions of things versus free versions of things,” he said. Although popular AI models like ChatGPT and Claude have free versions available, both have paid models that can reach over $100 per month, which output different qualities of code. Murphy also pointed to differences in prior exposure to AI literacy itself. “Students who go to high schools or K-12 education, where they’re taught AI literacy, prompt engineering, context engineering, they understand how to do this, as opposed to students who go to schools who don’t teach that,” he said. “Then they come in, and then they’re somehow expected to know how to use these tools.” For Genawi, those disparities begin long before students arrive on campus. “It’s very interesting to consider how lucky you were geographically,” she said. “To be born where you were is influencing your ability to get access to these spaces.” Students like Yu, though broadly apprehensive about the future of computer science, are not without hope. “I’m optimistic, because I think if you’re truly passionate about CS, there will definitely be a place in the field to do something you want to do,” she said. Senior Staff Writer Ria Vasishtha can be contacted at ria.vasishtha@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Staff Writer Arjun Menon can be contacted at arjun.menon@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter and like Spectator on Facebook. Produced with Spectate by Emily Ta
Column: Mental Health Awareness Month demands more than awareness
Virginia’s behavioral health providers should deepen partnerships with public universities, William & Mary’s Kathleen Jabs and David Gosling write in a guest column.
Spirit Airlines goes out of business after 34 years, ceases operations immediately
Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.
Spirit Airlines goes out of business after 34 years, ending operations immediately - Wausau Pilot & Review
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced
Rice students bring health care to rural regions through new app
Three Rice University students spent their spring break piloting a mobile health platform designed to support community health workers in underserved regions, including Guatemala, Kenya and Colombia.
Kevin Bacon is back in Atlanta to film pilot for Hulu’s ‘Southern Bastards’
Kevin Bacon is filming a pilot for a Hulu drama in Atlanta, marking his return to Georgia as the region’s film industry navigates a slower period.
Port of San Diego expanding Blue Economy Business Incubator program
The Port of San Diego’s ECOncrete pilot project is a one-of-a-kind coastal protection project that has attracted 60 different species of marine life and is now being expanded around San Diego…
COLUMN: Spring sports RoundUP
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Smile also because the spring season of Pilot athletics has been one heck of a ride. To celebrate the sweet end of 2025-26 classes and the bitter close of spring sports, I’ve created a comprehensive review of the last semester of Pilot athletics and most valuable player (MVP) nominations for each squad.
Unlocking human ambition to drive business growth with AI - The Official Microsoft Blog
As our customers progress toward becoming Frontier Firms, they are using AI not only to optimize how work gets done, but to reinvent their business on the promise of growth. Organizations can now unlock creativity, accelerate innovation and democratize intelligence by bringing Copilots and agents directly into the tools people love and use every day....
Hegseth and Kid Rock went ‘for a ride’ with Army helicopter pilots weeks after previous Apache incident sparked criticism
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that he and Kid Rock went “for a ride” Monday with US Army Apache helicopter pilots — less than a month after the military sparked criticism when Army pilots flew Apaches over the entertainer’s Nashville-area home.
Restoring Hope in Housing
Two pilot programs are helping Hawai‘i families overcome the financial barriers standing between them and a place to call home.
Microsoft shares official group policy and its requirements to remove Windows 11 Copilot
Microsoft has released the new Windows 11 group policy to remove Copilot with the latest KB5083769 update.
Microsoft drops Copilot branding in Notepad for Windows 11 for everyone, but it’s really just a rename
I noticed that Notepad on my production PC was auto-updated, and it no longer has any reference to Copilot, but AI integration is not gone.
NBCUniversal TV Chief Pearlena Igbokwe on the Return of Pilots
On today’s 'Strictly Business' podcast, NBCUniversal's Pearlena Igbokwe details the return of pilots and leveraging shows across NBC and Peacock.
Michigan Health System Reports Reduced Caregiver Strain Through Toolkit Pilot - MHA | Michigan Health & Hospital Association
The MHA Keystone Center, in partnership with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, released findings from a two-year pilot implementing the Michigan Caregiver Navigation Toolkit in acute care settings. Results show reductions in caregiver strain and stronger caregiver support infrastructure across two Michigan health systems. Both organizations implemented the toolkit and…
Microsoft now lets admins uninstall Copilot on enterprise devices
Microsoft says IT administrators can now uninstall the AI-powered Copilot digital assistant from enterprise devices using a new policy setting, which has become broadly available after the April 2026 Patch Tuesday.
Microsoft gives your Word documents an AI co-author you didn’t ask for
: Also rolls out agentic Copilot in Excel and PowerPoint, letting 21st century Clippy lend a... hand
DJI’s new Lito Series beginner drones start at less than $400
The Lito X1 might be worth the upgrade for amateur pilots with its obstacle-avoiding LIDAR sensor.
Microsoft launches ‘vibe working’ in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
A new Copilot experience is rolling out
Walnut Creek City Council Agrees to Downtown Entertainment Zone
On Tuesday, the Walnut Creek City Council agreed on a two-year pilot that would allow for a “entertainment zone” in the downtown area.
‘I will never support another curfew’: Virginia Beach councilman wants to cancel Oceanfront restriction
At a community meeting Monday night, Remick said he’s not proud of the City Council’s near unanimous vote to approve the curfew and wants to eliminate the last one scheduled for Friday night.
3 business owners file lawsuit to end Oceanfront curfew
Five Oceanfront businesses joined together on Monday to file a temporary restraining order in Virginia Beach Circuit Court to block the enforcement of the Virginia Beach City Council’s curfew. The com...
OVPR Launches Business Development Pilot Program
The program helps UConn researchers pivot to industry partnerships to offset funding challenges
CFC pilots agentic AI system that underwrites in seconds
London firm is testing AI on live cyber business, marking what it calls a first for the industry
Microsoft Teams and Outlook are getting significant changes soon
Teams is about to feel very different with major UI changes for the toolbar and performance tweaks, while Outlook quietly adds smart Copilot features you might rely on daily.
Chamber names Small Business of the Year Award recipients - Wausau Pilot & Review
WAUSAU — The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce has announced the recipients of the 2026 Small Business of the Year Awards. The Awards were presented
Advancing epidemic and pandemic preparedness through research readiness: SEAR Unity Studies Network Sites chart the way forward in 2026
On 25 March 2026, WHO Regional Office for the South‑East Asia Region (SEARO) convened the first meeting of the SEAR Chapter of the Unity Studies Network Meeting in 2026 to take stock of progress and plan next steps for strengthening epidemic and pandemic preparedness across the Region. The meeting focused on reviewing the ongoing adaptation of selected, standard Unity Study methodologies, sharing field implementation experiences from 2025, and identifying key priorities to guide collaborative work in 2026.Held virtually, the meeting brought together representatives from six Unity Studies network sites across five countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) as well as participants from all three levels of WHO.The meeting took place against the backdrop of ongoing regional efforts in South‑East Asia to strengthen early investigations and studies for epidemic and pandemic preparedness, with a focus on pandemic influenza and other emerging respiratory pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential. In this context, and as part of preparedness for the rapid generation of evidence, the WHO Health Emergencies Programme in SEAR (WHE/SEAR) encourages Unity Studies sites to adapt prioritized, standardized Unity Study protocols to their national contexts. This approach supports the generation of timely and reliable evidence to inform public health decision‑making during epidemics and pandemics.These efforts are supported through a combination of experience sharing, participation in the global Unity Studies network webinars, capacity‑building of the national public health workforce, and regional collaboration that promotes inter‑country, inter‑agency, and inter‑ministerial action. In parallel, sites are encouraged to explore diversified funding sources to help sustain research preparedness over the long term.Discussions highlighted the importance of WHO’s catalytic financial support through the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Partnership Contributions (PIP‑PC). When combined with national and institutional resources, this support enables countries and sites to maintain continuity of activities at a core level and remain prepared to respond rapidly and effectively to future epidemics and pandemics.Regional and Global Updates: Opening the session, Dr Pushpa Ranjan Wijesinghe, Programme Area Manager, Pandemic and Epidemic Management (PEM) Unit, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, highlighted the progress made in operationalizing the Unity Studies Network across the Region and acknowledged the collaborative efforts of WHO at all three levels, together with country unity studies sites. He emphasized the availability of limited but catalytic funding through the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Partnership Contribution (PIP‑PC) workplan at SEARO to sustain network activities in 2026, while encouraging sites to leverage additional funding sources to expand implementation.Representing SEARO, Dr Ashok Basnet, consultant, Pandemic Influenza Preparedness reported that, at the regional level, the Unity Studies Network currently includes six sites across five countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. He noted that in 2025, catalytic funding supported protocol adaptation, training, and pilot implementation. In addition, a regional Unity Studies symposium held during the Global Public Health Summit in Sri Lanka strengthened and advocated collaboration between the Unity Studies site, national decision‑making forum, relevant technical units of the ministry of health, WHO and other partners.The symposium also highlighted the role of early investigations and studies as a key component of a multi‑source surveillance system needed at country level to generate a broad range of evidence. It underscored the critical role of country Unity Studies sites and similar research entities in generating evidence to support public health decision‑making during epidemics and pandemics.Participants of the WHO GISRS Unity Studies Sites Network- SEAR Chapter Meeting 2026 (Photo credit- PEM/WHE/SEARO). SEARO also updated participants on ongoing efforts to develop a regional Unity Studies webpage and to promote participation in global knowledge‑sharing platforms, including webinars and the WHO Community of Practice. Priorities for 2026 include supporting the implementation of Unity protocols, strengthening collaboration and experience sharing across sites, documenting and publishing findings, integrating Unity Studies activities as a component of multi-source national surveillance systems, and building workforce capacity.Dr Nickle Boddington of the Global Influenza Programme (GIP) at WHO Headquarters, which coordinates the Unity Studies Network globally, provided updates on global Unity Studies activities, noting that the network has expanded to 16 sites worldwide. New and updated protocols, including rapid clinical severity assessment tools and standardized data platforms, are being developed to support implementation. The global Community of Practice has also been launched to facilitate technical exchange, and continued support will be provided to sites for protocol adaptation, ethical approvals, and readiness for early investigation during outbreaks. Updates from Unity Studies sites in SEAR in 2025Unity Studies sites shared progress and experiences in implementing protocols across diverse country contexts. Sites initiated activities in 2025 using catalytic funding from SEARO, complemented by the mobilization of internal national resources. The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Bangladesh, reported the adoption and piloting of investigation protocols on non‑seasonal influenza and emerging respiratory diseases during recent avian influenza outbreaks, demonstrating a multi‑source funding approach involving government, WHO and One Health partners.The Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (HIMSR), New Delhi, India, highlighted the piloting of household transmission investigation studies, the expansion of the national Unity Studies network, and the contribution of study findings to global evidence through published outputs. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India, shared experiences from large‑scale seroprevalence studies conducted during the COVID‑19 pandemic, recent efforts to strengthen national Unity network sites through training activities, and plans to initiate multi‑centre studies on respiratory viruses.Similarly, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, highlighted its experience in developing integrated surveillance and diagnostic protocols for multiple respiratory pathogens, enhancing readiness for targeted investigations of emerging threats. The University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, reported ongoing engagement with the Ministry of Health and exploration of additional funding sources to initiate studies. Meanwhile, the National Public Health Laboratory, Nepal, provided updates on continued coordination with national stakeholders to initiate implementation, despite delays related to the country context.Across sites, shared experiences underscored the importance of protocol adaptation, multisectoral collaboration, and sustainable funding to operationalize Unity Studies and generate evidence for public health action.Discussions and Way ForwardThe meeting reinforced key priorities for 2026, including strengthening unity studies protocol implementation, enhancing collaboration, knowledge sharing, integrating research as a component of national multi-source surveillance systems, and ensuring that generated evidence informs public health decision‑making. Participants also emphasized the importance of documentation, visibility, and leveraging multiple funding sources, and agreed on the following action points.Unity Studies Sites and WHO Country Offices:Advance adoption and implementation of at least one Unity protocol, continuing activities initiated in 2025 with catalytic funding, supplemented with other sources of funding where feasible.Document site-specific experiences, outcomes, and lessons learned; participate in regional and global knowledge-sharing platforms including WHO webinars and the Community of Practice.Work closely with ministries of health to establish unified national platforms for translating generated evidence into national public health decision-making. WHO Country Offices may facilitate technical support and complementary, synergistic funding opportunities where feasible. WHO Regional OfficeCoordinate with WHO Country Offices to support implementation of core unity studies activities by network sites through catalytic funding and provide technical guidance and virtual engagement opportunities throughout 2026.Facilitate the participation of all Unity Studies sites in the regional meeting on Unity Studies implementation in October 2026, to be held back‑to‑back with the Annual SEAR Regional PIP‑PC Meeting; develop and host a SEAR Unity Studies website; and mobilize support from academic institutions within the SEAR Unity Studies Network to support the development of regional manuscripts that showcase Unity Studies activities to scientific audiences and promote knowledge‑sharing.Explore complementary funding opportunities and partnerships to sustain and expand network activities across the Region.WHO HeadquartersProvide global technical guidance, updated protocols, and toolkits to support the implementation of Unity Studies in SEAR.Facilitate engagement of SEAR sites in global webinars, the Community of Practice, and opportunities to showcase their work.Support joint publications, inclusion of SEAR experiences in global outputs, and identification of additional funding and collaborative opportunities to strengthen Unity Studies activities.
Homelessness update expected to lead discussion at Wausau Public Health and Safety meeting - Wausau Pilot & Review
By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review Homelessness, shelter trends and public safety pressures downtown are expected to draw close attention when
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Healthcare Briefs: Medical City Frisco and Plano Unveil Mobile ECPR Program
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Get Real With SOMD Politics: Chuck Borges Discusses Housing Affordability, Economic Development And Tax Reform
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Pilot in Deadly Plane Crash Was Being Filmed for Apple Vision Pro Video
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Fighter pilot Rumen Radev looks to break Bulgaria’s political deadlock
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Great Texas Balloon Race announces 2026 entertainment lineup, new event
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Every Gift Counts: UT Health Sciences Giving Day Returns April 21
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They Want to Drop a Bomb in Iran in Honor of My Father, Peter Rodrick
My father died while serving as a squadron commander and Navy pilot. When a request was made to attack Iran in his honor, I decided to take a road trip
Great Texas Balloon Race lands country music icon for entertainment lineup
LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) — Longview is gearing up for its annual hot air balloon race, bringing dozens of hot air balloon pilots, a drone show and several iconic East Texas musicians. The 49th …
Great Texas Balloon Race lands country music icon for entertainment lineup
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Hospitals offer chatbots to fight off ChatGPT
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Microsoft Plans to Bring Copilot Into the Agentic AI Age
An always-on Copilot could sort out your inbox and calendar.
Anthropic's AI Assistant Claude Is Now Available in Microsoft Word
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Microsoft is working on yet another OpenClaw-like agent
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Microsoft is testing OpenClaw-like AI bots for 365 Copilot
The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.
Business Notes: NSU raises $147M; McDonald’s to open in Virginia Beach
Norfolk State University’s Now Is Our Time campaign raised $147 million, exceeding its original $90 million goal. View the latest business news in Hampton Roads.
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Microsoft Starts Removing Copilot from Notepad, Snipping Tool, and More in Windows 11
Microsoft's Copilot AI has generated significant negative sentiment among Windows 11 users, to the extent that even Microsoft has recognized the need to scale back some of the Copilot functionality it has long promoted. According to Windows Latest, Microsoft has updated core Windows applications suc...
Microsoft starts removing unnecessary Copilot buttons in Windows 11
Microsoft has rolled out a Notepad update for Windows Insiders that removes the Copilot branding and icon from within the app, Windows Central has reported.
Microsoft starts removing Copilot buttons from Windows 11 apps
The underlying AI features are here to stay, though
OpenAI has quietly launched its ads manager as it races to build out its ads business
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Microsoft Mocked for Terms of Service That Admit Copilot Is for “Entertainment Purposes Only”
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Microsoft says Copilot AI is intended for 'entertainment purposes'
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Microsoft plans tweaks to Copilot terms claiming chatbot is for ‘entertainment purposes only’
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Microsoft: Copilot AI is for 'entertainment purposes only,' not 'important advice'
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Microsoft says Copilot isn't just 'for entertainment purposes'
Microsoft said it will update the terms of use for Copilot after they went viral.
Microsoft says Copilot isn't just 'for entertainment purposes'
Microsoft said it will update the terms of use for Copilot after they went viral.
Microsoft Labels Copilot “Entertainment Only” While Selling It as a Business Tool
Microsoft is currently facing criticism on social media over the wording in Copilot's terms of service. The company heavily markets its AI services to
Forensic nurses provide survivor-centered care across Aspirus Health System - Wausau Pilot & Review
In rural Wisconsin, access to specially trained forensic nurses can be limited. Aspirus Health forensic nurses coordinate a mobile team that supports