1. First up today, the latest version of Ethan Mollick’s (Opinionated) Guide to Using AI https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/an-opinionated-guide-to-using-ai Click on the images to enlarge them.

Every few months I write an opinionated guide to how to use AI, but now I write it in a world where about 10% of humanity uses AI weekly. The vast majority of that use involves free AI tools, which is often fine… except when it isn’t. OpenAI recently released a breakdown of what people actually use ChatGPT for (way less casual chat than you’d think, way more information-seeking than you expected). This means I can finally give you advice based on real usage patterns instead of hunches. I annotated OpenAI’s chart with some suggestions about when to use free versus advanced models.

2. Here’s the new Cambridge University Assessment Good Practice Guide https://www.cctl.cam.ac.uk/files/assessment-good-practice-guidance.pdf

Plus, a very useful Assessment Glossary https://www.cctl.cam.ac.uk/enhancing-education/assessment/glossary

and the Ordinance for Assessment Formats (more fun than it sounds) https://www.educationalpolicy.admin.cam.ac.uk/ordinance-assessment-formats

PDF of the Good Practice Guide below.

The Assessment Good Practice Guide complements the University’s new Ordinance for Assessment Formats. Written in consultation with colleagues across the collegiate University, and including case studies from a diverse range of disciplines, the guidance provides an overview of key considerations for designing assessments.

3. Should you need it, here’s guidance from The New York Times on how to rob The Louvre, How the Louvre Jewelry Heist Unfolded https://tinyurl.com/hyyw6raj

4. Two pieces from the Engelsberg Ideas archive that President Trump has probably not read:

The true sources of Soviet conduct by Rodric Braithwaite https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-true-sources-of-soviet-conduct/

Russian history rhymes — from Soviet collapse to Putin’s folly by Vladislav Zubok https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/russian-history-rhymes-from-soviet-collapse-to-putins-folly/

5. And, finally, the results of this year’s Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition https://www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery

The overall winner was Wim van den Heever for his picture of a brown hyena in the abandoned town of Kolmanskop, Namibia https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2025/october/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2025-winning-images.html