GenAI Studio: News, Tools, and Teaching & Learning FAQs
These sixty minute, weekly sessions – facilitated by Technologists and Pedagogy Experts from the CTLT – are designed for faculty and staff at UBC who are using, or thinking about using, Generative AI tools as part of their teaching, researching, or daily work. Each week we discuss the news of the week, highlight a specific tool for use within teaching and learning, and then hold a question and answer session for attendees.
They run on Zoom every Wednesday from 1pm – 2pm and you can register for upcoming events on the CTLT Events Website.
News of the Week
Each week we discuss several new items that happened in the Generative AI space over the past 7 days. There’s usually a flood of new AI-adjacent news every week – as this industry is moving so fast – so we highlight news articles which are relevant to the UBC community.
This week in AI we examined the societal and philosophical impacts of generative AI in a thought-provoking YouTube panel exploring its influence on identity and creativity. Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson drew controversy for admitting to using ChatGPT in official duties, sparking a national conversation on AI’s role in governance. ElevenLabs expanded its platform to include generative music, allowing users to create original audio using simple text prompts. Alibaba introduced Qwen-Image, a new multimodal model designed for high-quality image generation and visual comprehension. Next, Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.1, featuring notable improvements in reasoning, speed, and usability across educational and professional domains. OpenAI launched GPT-OSS, a series of small open-source models designed to balance transparency with performance. Artificial Analysis published a comparative index of these small models, offering insight into the growing open-source ecosystem. Finally, Ollama enabled local deployment of GPT-OSS, making advanced AI models more accessible for offline use and developer experimentation.
Here’s this week’s news:
ChatGPT’s Agent Model Autonomously Completes Online Homework
A recent YouTube demonstration showcases OpenAI’s agent model autonomously completing online homework tasks. In the video, the agent navigates online educational platforms, interprets assignment instructions, and inputs responses with minimal human intervention.
Swedish Prime Minister Consults ChatGPT for Second Opinion in Government Role
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson acknowledged to consulting generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, to assist with his government duties. Technoloy experts have cautioned that relying on AI for decision-making could foster overconfidence in the system and lead to a a “slippery slope.” Kristersson defended the practice, stressing that no sensitive information is shared, and that AI is used solely to provide a secondary perspective.
ElevenLabs Expands AI Voice Platform with Music Capabilities
ElevenLabs, renowned for advanced voice synthesis, has introduced Eleven Music, an AI tool that creates full songs with vocals and instrumentals from text prompts in multiple languages. The platform positions itself as a key player at the crossroads of music and artificial intelligence.
Qwen-Image Released as a High-Fidelity AI Image Generator
Alibaba’s Qwen team has introduced Qwen-Image, a state-of-the-art model for generating photorealistic and richly detailed images from text. Build to compete with leading multi-modal systems, Qwen-Image emphasizes precise visual-text alignment and style flexibility. It supports tasks such as concept art generation, and compositional reasoning, marking a significant step forward in China’s open-source generative AI ecosystem.
Claude Opus 4.1: Faster, More Accurate, More Useful
Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4.1, its latest flagship model, with major improvements in speed, accuracy, and usability. The update brings enhanced reasoning, lower latency, and better tool integration—especially within the Claude API and interface. It builds on Anthropic’s constitutional AI framework while improving real-world reliability across complex tasks. Opus 4.1 positions Claude as a more robust alternative in high-performance AI applications.
Read about Claude Opus 4.1’s upgrades
Introducing GPT-OSS: OpenAI’s New Open-Source Models
OpenAI has introduced GPT-OSS, a family of small, open-source models designed for transparency, adaptability, and community experimentation. Released with permissive licensing, the models aim to foster open research while balancing performance and resource efficiency. GPT-OSS models are suited for lightweight deployment, edge devices, and fine-tuned use cases where larger models are impractical. This marks OpenAI’s strategic step into open-source amid growing pressure for transparency.
Artificial Analysis: Tracking the Open-Source Small Model Ecosystem
Artificial Analysis maintains a curated tracker for open-source small models, comparing size, architecture, performance, and licensing. It provides researchers and developers with an accessible reference point to evaluate trade-offs between open accessibility and capability. The resource highlights the growing competitiveness of lightweight models from organizations like Mistral, Meta, and OpenAI. It reflects the accelerating diversification of the open-source AI landscape.
Browse the open small model tracker
GPT-OSS on Ollama: Easy Deployment for OpenAI’s Models
Ollama now supports GPT-OSS, enabling users to run OpenAI’s new open-source models locally with simple installation and minimal configuration. This integration streamlines testing, customization, and offline deployment for developers seeking performance without dependency on cloud APIs. The collaboration reinforces the role of open infrastructure in bringing advanced AI to personal devices. It represents a key use case for GPT-OSS beyond the research setting.
Check out the GPT-OSS models on Ollama
Tool of The Week: Running GPT-OSS with Ollama’s New Interface
What is GPT-OSS?
GPT-OSS is an open-source implementation of a GPT-style language model available through Ollama’s model library. It is designed to replicate the capabilities of large language models in a freely accessible, community-driven format, enabling experimentation, fine-tuning, and integration without reliance on proprietary systems.
How is it used?
Users can download and run GPT-OSS locally using Ollama’s new interface, allowing for prompt-based interactions, custom training, and offline operation.
What is it used for?
GPT-OSS is designed for developers, researchers, and organizations needing high-performance AI that is transparent, safe, and operable without reliance on closed APIs. It’s typical usage include content generation, data analysis, autonomous agents, and building custom AI applications.
Try GPT-OSS on Ollama
Questions and Answers
Each studio ends with a question and answer session whereby attendees can ask questions of the pedagogy experts and technologists who facilitate the sessions. We have published a full FAQ section on this site. If you have other questions about GenAI usage, please get in touch.
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Assessment Design using Generative AI
Generative AI is reshaping assessment design, requiring faculty to adapt assignments to maintain academic integrity. The GENAI Assessment Scale guides AI use in coursework, from study aids to full collaboration, helping educators create assessments that balance AI integration with skill development, fostering critical thinking and fairness in learning.
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How can I use GenAI in my course?
In education, the integration of GenAI offers a multitude of applications within your courses. Presented is a detailed table categorizing various use cases, outlining the specific roles they play, their pedagogical benefits, and potential risks associated with their implementation. A Complete Breakdown of each use case and the original image can be found here. At […]