I'm preparing to host our fourth faculty institute on generative AI tomorrow at UM with 90+ colleagues attending. I've been thinking about how harmful the "us vs. them" narratives about AI can be, and how they miss bigger issues in education.
Marc - there is also the enormous disconnect between education and journalism and businesses where, essentially the mantra at some companies is "use AI" or you will be out of a job (think Shopify). You mention law (where I can assure you that AI is used for all sorts of things ... ditto with any business or organization that relies on massive amounts of repeat paperwork which is basically all of them) as well as some other use cases. Students are not stupid - the same kid who feels like they need to self-monitor their AI use at college if they don't want to get caught is going to head into a career where the opposite will occur. If something takes them too long at work they will be asked why they didn't use AI. Something is going to have to give.
I appreciate you pointing out the structural issues with higher education that make some instructors choose AI for grading. It's still not right, but I can understand where the choice came from.
I had a student like Drew last term. I was at a loss!
There's a trend that I was already observing with phones and social media addiction: some people talk as if only children or young people are struggling with these or at risk of developing them. Parents will complain about the time that their children spend in front of a screen (and probably rightly so) but without truly questioning their own use of technology and the kind of example that they are giving.
Concerning AI, it's similar: everybody feels entitled to police minors or college students and by extension teachers / professors. However, as you said, AI goes much beyond all that and certainly most people are giving highly contradictory signals when they condemn AI usage as cheating, on the one hand, but enthusiastically adopt all sorts of AI tools, on the other, even if the effects of such adoption are still highly uncertain and despite all the ethical and legal questions still haunting generative AI.
The "nearly 70%" stat for contingent faculty includes TAs, student instructors, community colleges and many folks who teach a class because they enjoy it. It's kind of BS stat
Marc, thoughtful... thank you. I have read many of the articles cited and often talk with faculty about AI. The faculty have varying opinions on the best approach. Yes, some practices, like cheating, are not new but have been exacerbated by AI. However, many students are grappling with how to use AI as a tool. The downside of their efforts is that they often lack sufficient depth in ethical or moral reasoning, making this work relatively "thin" and easily confused. What I find fascinating about AI at present is that it serves as a fitting foil for our current moment and maladies. It provokes symptoms that reveal deeper issues within ourselves and our institutions. Will we dig deep enough to uncover the root causes?
In a recent conversation with students I was surprised to find that most are afraid of AI, to one degree or another. In a later online discussion there were more positive comments, particularly regarding using AI to check spelling/grammar. I would be encouraged by that, were it not for research indicating that even minor AI polishing can cause work to be flagged https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.15666
Work by Kate Crawford and AINow on the sustainability issues has me rethinking the use of AI for minor time saving stuff - and for personal amusement. Just one more thing to include in the AI education program we don't have.
Marc - there is also the enormous disconnect between education and journalism and businesses where, essentially the mantra at some companies is "use AI" or you will be out of a job (think Shopify). You mention law (where I can assure you that AI is used for all sorts of things ... ditto with any business or organization that relies on massive amounts of repeat paperwork which is basically all of them) as well as some other use cases. Students are not stupid - the same kid who feels like they need to self-monitor their AI use at college if they don't want to get caught is going to head into a career where the opposite will occur. If something takes them too long at work they will be asked why they didn't use AI. Something is going to have to give.
Thank you - invaluable work at these UM conferences for the rest of us not there. Please post what you can that comes out of it!
I appreciate you pointing out the structural issues with higher education that make some instructors choose AI for grading. It's still not right, but I can understand where the choice came from.
I had a student like Drew last term. I was at a loss!
Solid article. I especially like the part about it being time to stop grieving what we've lost. Like it or not, the world has changed.
Yes to all of this. Thank you.
Thanks for writing this article.
There's a trend that I was already observing with phones and social media addiction: some people talk as if only children or young people are struggling with these or at risk of developing them. Parents will complain about the time that their children spend in front of a screen (and probably rightly so) but without truly questioning their own use of technology and the kind of example that they are giving.
Concerning AI, it's similar: everybody feels entitled to police minors or college students and by extension teachers / professors. However, as you said, AI goes much beyond all that and certainly most people are giving highly contradictory signals when they condemn AI usage as cheating, on the one hand, but enthusiastically adopt all sorts of AI tools, on the other, even if the effects of such adoption are still highly uncertain and despite all the ethical and legal questions still haunting generative AI.
Quick typo i spotted - You used “undo friction” instead of “undue friction”
The "nearly 70%" stat for contingent faculty includes TAs, student instructors, community colleges and many folks who teach a class because they enjoy it. It's kind of BS stat
Marc, thoughtful... thank you. I have read many of the articles cited and often talk with faculty about AI. The faculty have varying opinions on the best approach. Yes, some practices, like cheating, are not new but have been exacerbated by AI. However, many students are grappling with how to use AI as a tool. The downside of their efforts is that they often lack sufficient depth in ethical or moral reasoning, making this work relatively "thin" and easily confused. What I find fascinating about AI at present is that it serves as a fitting foil for our current moment and maladies. It provokes symptoms that reveal deeper issues within ourselves and our institutions. Will we dig deep enough to uncover the root causes?
In a recent conversation with students I was surprised to find that most are afraid of AI, to one degree or another. In a later online discussion there were more positive comments, particularly regarding using AI to check spelling/grammar. I would be encouraged by that, were it not for research indicating that even minor AI polishing can cause work to be flagged https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.15666
Work by Kate Crawford and AINow on the sustainability issues has me rethinking the use of AI for minor time saving stuff - and for personal amusement. Just one more thing to include in the AI education program we don't have.