January 2026

In November 2022, generative artificial intelligence (AI) burst into everyday life in homes, classrooms, workplaces, and communities. For education, the rapid acceleration of this technology provided new opportunities that could transform assessments, personalize learning, and support instruction, but it also raised uncertainty and concerns about policies that would impact professional development, access and equity, data privacy, and student safety.

When you think of Big Tech these days, Yahoo is probably not top of mind. But for a 62-year-old Chinese dissident named Xu Wanping, the company still looms large—and has for nearly two decades. In 2005, Xu was arrested for signing online petitions relating to anti-Japanese protests. He didn’t use his real name, but he did use his Yahoo email address. At the time, Yahoo was among Silicon Valley’s largest and most influential technology companies. And Yahoo China, its Chinese subsidiary, was busy tapping into the country’s nascent but potentially enormous internet market.