Stephen Aguilar
@stephenaguilar.com
Educational researcher focused on EdTech x AI,student engagement and motivation. Associate professor at USC Rossier. Associate Director of USC Center for Generative AI and Society
Pinned
Stephen Aguilar
@stephenaguilar.com
· Feb 8
Authenticating Intelligence Book — Stephen J. Aguilar
Authenticating Intelligence offers a fresh, balanced perspective on the role AI can—and should—play in the classroom. This essential guide explores the opportunities AI presents while highlighting the...
stephenaguilar.com
Good news! Over the next year or so I will be writing my first book, published by @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social.
"Authenticating Intelligence: Preventing AI from Hijacking Education"
Sign up for my newsletter for AI news, book progress, and my musings about how AI will change education.
"Authenticating Intelligence: Preventing AI from Hijacking Education"
Sign up for my newsletter for AI news, book progress, and my musings about how AI will change education.
Something fun to look forward to!
The print edition is signed and really fabulous, and there are only a few left, so if you want one, get it direct from @subpress.bsky.social! The ebook version is also available and you can get it from your favorite online bookseller.
Our pal @scalzi.com's novella, Constituent Service, makes its print debut this week, with fewer than 100 copies still available to order. Your best bet at snagging a copy is, as always, ordering direct through us: subterraneanpress.com/newsjohn-sca...
November 10, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Something fun to look forward to!
Sigh
How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.
November 10, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Sigh
Cats are the best. I just wish I could sleep this soundly.
November 8, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Cats are the best. I just wish I could sleep this soundly.
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
Just so we're clear about how dumb a 1 trillion dollar pay package is.
November 7, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Just so we're clear about how dumb a 1 trillion dollar pay package is.
I mean, I know money is just a construct but who the hell needs ONE THOUSAND BILLIONS.
We're not in the gilded age. We're in the ludicrous age.
We're not in the gilded age. We're in the ludicrous age.
Tesla shareholders approved Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, can't afford to feed their families, and struggle with cuts to the safety net made to finance tax cuts for the super-rich.
American capitalism is off the rails.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, can't afford to feed their families, and struggle with cuts to the safety net made to finance tax cuts for the super-rich.
American capitalism is off the rails.
November 7, 2025 at 3:44 AM
I mean, I know money is just a construct but who the hell needs ONE THOUSAND BILLIONS.
We're not in the gilded age. We're in the ludicrous age.
We're not in the gilded age. We're in the ludicrous age.
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
Really good episode for people who are either really in favor of or really opposed to standardized testing. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/q...
S7E07 Is the SAT Biased and Should be Banned? Maybe...
Podcast Episode · Quantitude · 11/04/2025 · 40m
podcasts.apple.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Really good episode for people who are either really in favor of or really opposed to standardized testing. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/q...
Me after seeing today’s election results. Good job everyone!
a man in a blue shirt with the number 1901027 on the front
ALT: a man in a blue shirt with the number 1901027 on the front
media.tenor.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Me after seeing today’s election results. Good job everyone!
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
The {sf} package continues to blow my mind with how easy it is to make maps with #rstats and ggplot (code for that map here gist.github.com/andrewheiss/...)
November 4, 2025 at 1:34 PM
The {sf} package continues to blow my mind with how easy it is to make maps with #rstats and ggplot (code for that map here gist.github.com/andrewheiss/...)
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
College is still worth it, even with student debt www.brookings.edu/articles/col...
College is still worth it, even with student debt, but we can do better | Brookings
College still pays off as graduates earn about $8,000 more per year even after accounting for student loan payments.
www.brookings.edu
November 4, 2025 at 6:38 PM
College is still worth it, even with student debt www.brookings.edu/articles/col...
My book is complete and in the hands of my publisher.
I'll update here when I have a publication date, but in the meantime consider signing up for my newsletter!
#AI #AIED #booksky
stephenaguilar.com/authenticati...
I'll update here when I have a publication date, but in the meantime consider signing up for my newsletter!
#AI #AIED #booksky
stephenaguilar.com/authenticati...
November 3, 2025 at 11:15 PM
My book is complete and in the hands of my publisher.
I'll update here when I have a publication date, but in the meantime consider signing up for my newsletter!
#AI #AIED #booksky
stephenaguilar.com/authenticati...
I'll update here when I have a publication date, but in the meantime consider signing up for my newsletter!
#AI #AIED #booksky
stephenaguilar.com/authenticati...
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
The academic job market is doing something very good:
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
Dear academics
We could dramatically reduce our administrative workload if we all just agreed not to ask for reference letters until we made our list of finalists.
This is massive collective action problem has already been solved by…
*checks notes*
…every other industry on earth.
We could dramatically reduce our administrative workload if we all just agreed not to ask for reference letters until we made our list of finalists.
This is massive collective action problem has already been solved by…
*checks notes*
…every other industry on earth.
Who is for abolishing grad app letters of rec at the point of application? Would it be so bad if letters were requested AFTER candidates were shortlisted? If we do this at UCSD who will join us?
November 3, 2025 at 7:53 PM
The academic job market is doing something very good:
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
Moments like these are what makes D&D super fun.
Last night at D&D. Final battle. All but two of us making death saves.
The dwarf barbarian slams into the big bad from behind, knocking all 16 feet of it over, toppling it over toward the rogue, who has one chance to hit. He desperately holds up his dagger ... AND HE FUCKING CRITS IT IN THE EYE.
The dwarf barbarian slams into the big bad from behind, knocking all 16 feet of it over, toppling it over toward the rogue, who has one chance to hit. He desperately holds up his dagger ... AND HE FUCKING CRITS IT IN THE EYE.
November 3, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Moments like these are what makes D&D super fun.
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
When ChatGPT was asked to rate 40,000 résumés, it ranked the older male candidates as better quality than the younger female applicants.
Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models - Nature
Stereotypes of age-related gender bias are socially distorted, as evidenced by the age gap in the representations of women and men across various media and algorithms, despite no systematic age differ...
www.nature.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:47 PM
When ChatGPT was asked to rate 40,000 résumés, it ranked the older male candidates as better quality than the younger female applicants.
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
Theory-building in ed psych is messy, collaborative, & needs boldness + humility. With @krisarob.bsky.social, we show how real-world problems spark theories, why supporting deep, creative thinking matters, and why we need to support early career theorists. #PsychSciSky #AcademicSky #EduSky
Bold, Humble, Collaborative, and Virtuous: The Future of Theory Development in Educational Psychology - Educational Psychology Review
Throughout 2023 and 2024, we served as co-guest editors of a topical collection in Educational Psychology Review on The Past, Present, and Future of Theory Development in Educational Psychology. In th...
doi.org
November 2, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Theory-building in ed psych is messy, collaborative, & needs boldness + humility. With @krisarob.bsky.social, we show how real-world problems spark theories, why supporting deep, creative thinking matters, and why we need to support early career theorists. #PsychSciSky #AcademicSky #EduSky
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
SCARY
October 31, 2025 at 4:24 PM
SCARY
Seriously. Stop doing this.
October 31, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Seriously. Stop doing this.
Goes back to the whole "when someone shows you who they are, believe them."
How administrations deploy money tells you all you need to know about what they care about.
How administrations deploy money tells you all you need to know about what they care about.
During Trump’s government shutdown, we should:
1. Stop paying ICE.
They don’t keep us safe, and actually create violence and danger
2. Pay air traffic controllers, who do keep us safe and alive, every day
3. Fund SNAP benefits, so that Americans don’t go hungry
Budgets are ALWAYS moral documents
1. Stop paying ICE.
They don’t keep us safe, and actually create violence and danger
2. Pay air traffic controllers, who do keep us safe and alive, every day
3. Fund SNAP benefits, so that Americans don’t go hungry
Budgets are ALWAYS moral documents
October 30, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Goes back to the whole "when someone shows you who they are, believe them."
How administrations deploy money tells you all you need to know about what they care about.
How administrations deploy money tells you all you need to know about what they care about.
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
"researchers and advocates must embrace and encourage a stronger and more modern NCES, not run away from efforts to examine how dollars are used and whether they are being spent effectively." www.the74million.org/article/fede...
Federal Data Is the Basis for Everything We Know About Schools. It Must Be Saved
Roy & Sibilia: NCES must have the resources to fulfill its mission, or America will be making decisions about schools based on hunches, not facts.
www.the74million.org
October 30, 2025 at 11:02 AM
"researchers and advocates must embrace and encourage a stronger and more modern NCES, not run away from efforts to examine how dollars are used and whether they are being spent effectively." www.the74million.org/article/fede...
Let's not forget that humans do the real intellectual work. AI is just a tool.
October 30, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Let's not forget that humans do the real intellectual work. AI is just a tool.
I use obsidian and it’s so much better than Evernote. I’m not sure it was ever worth paying for.
Don't know if any of you have ever been tempted to use Evernote, but any company that eliminates their free tier AND makes current users subscribe to extract their own data is little better than a protection racket in my book.
October 29, 2025 at 7:13 AM
I use obsidian and it’s so much better than Evernote. I’m not sure it was ever worth paying for.
Because "efficiency"
October 29, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Because "efficiency"
Reposted by Stephen Aguilar
Tapping the sign:
October 28, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Tapping the sign:
This relates to forthcoming work from my lab which examines a very similar phenomenon among college students. More soon!
I’ve played with LLMs a fair amount and noticed something that these studies that show using LLMs degrading intellectual performance may not be picking up: What if having pretty good critical thinking skills makes LLMs less appealing/satisfying to use in the first place?
October 28, 2025 at 9:35 PM
This relates to forthcoming work from my lab which examines a very similar phenomenon among college students. More soon!