A college degree in AI for under $10,000?

Good morning.
This week is about words. The letter you haven't sent. The email sitting in your drafts folder. Even a recipe step that made no sense until AI stepped in. We've got prompts, a featured post, and one real-life story to help with all of it.

There's also a bigger story worth reading twice: a full bachelor's degree in applied AI for under $10,000. Real institutions. Real credentials. One catch. Read on.

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FEATURED POST
Using AI to Improve Your Writing Without Losing Your Voice

Most of us write more than we realize. Texts. Emails. The thank-you note that's been sitting in your head for two weeks. The problem isn't knowing what to say. It's the friction between thinking it and saying it well.

AI writing tools can help with that friction when you use them right. Tools like Wispr Flow let you dictate naturally and clean up the result automatically. Others like Gamma take rough notes and shape them into polished presentations. The catch: none of them replace the part where you know what you're actually trying to say.

This post is about using these tools as a thinking partner, not a ghostwriter. There's a difference, and it matters.

Read the full post here 👉 Using AI to Improve Your Writing Without Losing Your Voice

HELPFUL EVERYDAY PROMPTS
DO Try This at Home
Just copy-and-paste into your favorite AI tool. Remember to edit any brackets, then follow up with clarifying questions until you get a response that works for you.

Learning
📚 Learn Anything Faster Without the Overwhelm. "Act as a personal learning coach. I want to learn [subject or skill] but feel overwhelmed getting started. Recommend the best beginner resources, suggest a weekly schedule, and give me small milestones so I can track progress without burning out."

🧠 Finally Understand [Topic] Without the Confusion. "Act as a patient teacher. I want to finally understand [topic or concept] but it never sticks. Break it down using everyday examples, point out where I'm probably getting it wrong, and give me one simple way to practice it this week."

Writing
✉️ Write the Letter You've Been Putting Off. "Act as a personal writing coach. I need to write a [letter or email] to [person] about [situation]. Help me say what I mean without sounding harsh or cold, and give me a short draft I can edit and make my own."

📝 Turn Your Rough Notes Into a Polished Email. "Act as a business writing expert. I have rough notes about [topic] that need to become a clear email to [recipient]. Clean up the message, sharpen the main point, set the right tone, and give me a polished version I can send."

Creativity
🎨 Start a Creative Project You'll Actually Finish. "Act as a creative coach. I want to start a creative project but keep stalling. Based on my interests in [hobbies] and how much time I have, suggest three realistic project ideas with one simple first step for each."

🎁 Design a Meaningful Gift That Feels Personal. "Act as a creative gift designer. I want to give [person] a memorable, personal gift for [occasion]. They love [interests or hobbies]. Suggest one creative idea within my budget of [amount] and include a simple plan to pull it together."

Because you subscribe, you have access to more than 600 Prompts, our Learning Center, Pro Tips and Recommended Tools for home use – Just click Here.

REAL WORLD
How We Used AI This Week
Real people, real uses—here’s how AI is quietly making life better, one small win at a time.

🍗 Sheila, Phoenix, AZ. Sheila snapped a photo of a recipe from an old charity cookbook and asked AI to decode a confusing step. The instructions mentioned preheating the broiler but never said when to use it. AI spotted the gap right away: "broil until bubbly" meant finishing the cheesy chicken topping like a quick gratin. Dinner saved, no guesswork required.

👉How do you use AI at home? Tell us here.

AI INSIGHT
A $10,000 AI Degree. The Catch Is Worth Knowing.

Khan Academy, TED, and ETS just announced the Khan TED Institute, a bachelor's degree in applied AI priced at under $10,000. For comparison, annual tuition at elite schools runs close to $70,000. The announcement came at the TED2026 conference in Vancouver in April.

The program is fully remote and built around three tracks: core knowledge, applied AI skills, and the human skills employers actually want. Communication, judgment, collaboration. Companies like Google, Microsoft, McKinsey, Accenture, and Bain signed on as launch partners.

Here's the part to watch: the institute still needs accreditation before it can legally grant degrees. Applications open in 12 to 18 months, with a 2027 target launch. Some education experts say that until accreditation is in place, the credential's value to traditional employers is an open question.

Still, if you have someone in your life thinking about their next step, or you're thinking about updating your own résumé, this story is worth following closely. In the meantime, platforms like Skillshare let you build real AI skills right now, without waiting for a degree program to open.

READER POLL

NEWS YOU CAN USE
This Matters at Home
Short, practical summaries to help you stay updated on recent AI news—and what it means for everyday life.

🏃 The Nvidia CEO Just Told 5,800 Grads to Stop Waiting on AI. Jensen Huang told Carnegie Mellon's class of 2026 that AI's buildout needs everyone: engineers, electricians, and ironworkers alike. His message: the starting line is the same for all of us. So run.

🎓 AI Is Turning C Students Into A Students. Literally. Since ChatGPT launched, top grades rose 30% in courses where AI helps — writing, coding — and stayed flat where it doesn't, like sculpture and lab work. The transcript looks great. The knowledge may not.

📱 Your iPhone Is About to Let You Choose the AI That Writes with You. iOS 27 will let users pick Claude, Gemini, or other AI models to power Writing Tools and Siri. No more being locked into one option. Apple's choose-your-own-AI experience arrives this fall.

🏆 Hollywood Just Ruled That AI Can't Win an Oscar for Writing. The Academy ruled that AI-generated scripts and synthetic performances are not eligible for Oscars. AI tools are still welcome on set. But for the trophy case, human authorship is the only currency that counts.

📊 Half the Web Is Now Written by AI. Then It Stopped. AI-generated articles went from 1% of the web in 2020 to 50% by late 2025, then growth flatlined. The flood everyone feared hit a wall. For now.

🎨 Turns Out, Nobody Can Tell AI Art From Human Art Anymore. A review of 40 studies finds most people can no longer tell AI-generated art, poetry, or music from human work. The twist: when they find out it's AI, they still like it less anyway.

🖼️ He Posted a Real Monet and Called It AI. The Internet Obliged. Artist SHL0MS tricked thousands into savaging a genuine 1915 Water Lilies painting as "emotionless slop." Turns out the word "AI" is doing more heavy lifting than the actual brushwork. Research already confirmed this months ago.

TOOLS FOR YOU
🛠️ Tool Spotlight: Grammarly

If you've ever sent an email, finished a letter, or handed off a document and immediately wished you'd said it differently, Grammarly can help. It reviews your writing in real time, checking not just spelling and grammar, but tone, clarity, and whether your message actually lands. It works across email, Google Docs, and most apps you already use. Start with the free version here.

AI FAIL
AI Fail of the Week
Because sometimes the future shows up... and immediately trips over itself.