1. First up tonight, a good news, bad news piece from The Guardian, Energy demands from AI datacentres to quadruple by 2030, says report https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/10/energy-demands-from-ai-datacentres-to-quadruple-by-2030-says-report

The IEA forecast indicates a sharp rise in the requirements of AI, but said threat to the climate was ‘overstated’

2. An interesting, related report from Teacher Tapp on teacher use of AI in the UK, AI Spy: Tracking the AI Tools Teachers Use , https://teachertapp.com/app/uploads/2025/01/AI-Spy-Tracking-the-AI-Tools-Teachers-Use.pdf

Key Findings:

1. Most AI brands are still in their infancy and teachers’ use, recognition and likelihood of

recommending them is relatively low, although there are outlier brands that are doing very

well. But this is a fast moving space and teachers’ adoption of AI is growing.

2. Many AI brands offer multiple tools and functions. Given the recent growth in brands

offering these functions, along with many having low recognition and usage amongst

teachers, it seems likely that the market will not support all of them in the longer term.

3. Teachers who use generic AI tools, such as Chat GPT, are more likely to also use

education-specific AI brands and products. Brands offering AI education solutions may

find it useful to promote the benefits of their tools, such as enhanced privacy settings or

training on specific curricular models, to regular AI users in order to grow usage.

4. Teachers use AI tools to generate a wide range of resources, including lesson plans,

worksheets, model answers, comprehension questions, and assessments. Many teachers also

use AI tools to differentiate learning materials for students.

3. A piece from BOLD that confirms what many of us may have suspected, Children’s awareness of stereotypes about school pathways https://boldscience.org/childrens-awareness-of-stereotypes-about-school-pathways/

And here’s the npj Science of Learning article by Lisa Bardach and her colleagues discussed in the piece Does students’ awareness of school-track-related stereotypes exacerbate inequalities in education? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-023-00203-9 PDF below as well.

4. A ‘benefit of the doubt’ piece for Chatham House by Heather Hurlburt, Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs are likely just the beginning of a longer-term vision https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/04/trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-are-likely-just-beginning-longer-term-vision

Amid strident rhetoric and shifting targets, many observers have written off Trump’s tariff agenda either as a thoughtless time bomb that may wreck the global economy or as a negotiating tactic. But they are missing the bigger picture.

Did someone mention Humpty Dumpty? https://youtu.be/iyIDg6m4gA0

5. And, finally, not free but at a serious discount from the good people in Norwich with whom I now work part-time, in celebration of NILE’s thirtieth birthday, 30% off ALL their courses AND the matching accommodation https://www.nile-elt.com/