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While ChatGPT has recently become very popular, AI has a long history and philosophy. This paper intends to explore the promises and pitfalls of the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) AI and potentially future technologies by adopting a speculative methodology. Speculative future narratives with a specific focus on educational contexts are provided in an attempt to identify emerging themes and discuss their implications for education in the 21st century. Affordances of (using) AI in Education (AIEd) and possible adverse effects are identified and discussed which emerge from the narratives. It is argued that now is the best of times to define human vs AI contribution to education because AI can accomplish more and more educational activities that used to be the prerogative of human educators. Therefore, it is imperative to rethink the respective roles of technology and human educators in education with a future-oriented mindset.

BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used, environmentally ubiquitous, and stable chemicals that have been associated with lower vaccine-induced antibody responses in children; however, data on adults are limited. The drinking water from one of the two waterworks in Ronneby, Sweden, was heavily contaminated for decades with PFAS from firefighting foams, primarily perfluorohexane sulfonic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 offered a unique opportunity to investigate antibody responses to primary vaccination in adults who had been exposed to PFAS. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to evaluate associations between PFAS, across a wide range of exposure levels, and antibody responses in adults 5 wk and 6 months after a two-dose vaccination regime against SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: Adults age 20-60 y from Ronneby (푛 = 309, median PFOS serum level 47 ng/mL, fifth to 95th percentile 4-213 ng/mL) and a group with background exposure (푛 = 47, median PFOS serum level 4 ng/mL) received two doses of the Spikevax (Moderna) mRNA vaccine. The levels of seven PFAS were measured in serum before vaccination. Serum immunoglobulin G antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen (S-Abs) were measured before vaccination and at 5 wk (푛 = 350) and 6 months (푛 = 329) after the second vaccine dose. Linear regression analyses were fitted against current, historical, and prenatal exposure to PFAS, adjusting for sex, age, and smoking, excluding individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2-infection. RESULTS: PFAS exposure, regardless of how it was estimated, was not negatively associated with antibody levels 5 wk [current PFOS: -0.5% S-Abs/PFOS interquartile range (IQR); 95% confidence interval (CI): -8, 7] or 6 months (current PFOS: 3% S-Abs/PFOS IQR; 95% CI: -6, 12) after COVID-19 vaccination. DISCUSSION: Following a strict study protocol, rigorous study design, and few dropouts, we found no indication that PFAS exposure negatively affected antibody responses to COVID-19 mRNA vaccination for up to 6 months after vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Firefighting foam-contaminated ground water, which contains high levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), is frequently found around airports. In 2018 it was detected that employees at a municipal airport in northern Sweden had been exposed to high levels of short-chain PFAS along with legacy PFAS (i.e., PFOA, PFHxS, and PFOS) through drinking water. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to describe the PFAS profile in drinking water and biological samples (paired serum and urine) and to estimate serum half-lives of the short-chain PFAS together with legacy PFAS. METHODS: Within 2 weeks after provision of clean water, blood sampling was performed in all 26 airport employees. Seventeen of them were then followed up monthly for 5 months. PFHxA, PFHpA, PFBS, PFPeS, and PFHpS together with legacy PFAS in water and biological samples were quantified using LC/MS/MS. Half-lives were estimated by assuming one compartment, first-order elimination kinetics. RESULTS: The proportions of PFHxA, PFHpA, and PFBS were higher in drinking water than in serum. The opposite was found for PFHxS and PFOS. The legacy PFAS accounted for about 50% of total PFAS in drinking water and 90% in serum. Urinary PFAS levels were very low compared with serum. PFBS showed the shortest half-life {average 44 d [95% confidence interval (CI): 37, 55 d]}, followed by PFHpA [62 d (95% CI: 51, 80d)]. PFPeS and PFHpS showed average half-lives as 0.63 and 1.46 y, respectively. Branched PFOS isomers had average half-lives ranging from 1.05 to 1.26 y for different isomers. PFOA, PFHxS, and linear PFOS isomers showed average half-lives of 1.77, 2.87, and 2.93 y, respectively. DISCUSSION: A general pattern of increasing half-lives with increasing chain length was observed. Branched PFOS isomers had shorter half-lives than linear PFOS isomers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]