Friday Fragments: March 21st
A couple interesting essays on AI plus a few "'how will USED firings impact higher ed" articles
What I’m reading…
This week, two essays on GenAI - with opposing perspectives - caught my attention. I appreciate being able to pause from reading about what’s new in AI and take time to think about the ethical implications of all that newness, and these two essays offer plenty of food for thought.
I’ve also included several articles that describe possible impacts, specifically on higher education, we might see as the U.S. Department of Education faces layoffs this week.
AI, Language and the Right to Be Understood (The Evolllution site, March 19)
Jarek Janio, Faculty Coordinator at Santa Ana College, argues for more acceptance - or at least not immediate rejection - of prose that seems AI-generated as an inclusive practice.
If AI tools like ChatGPT help level the playing field by refining grammar and adapting ideas to the cultural and rhetorical expectations of American English, why should the authenticity of those ideas be questioned?
As a former English as a second language instructor, I really feel for this argument - immigrants and multilingual speakers already face discrimination (and worse!), so if there are spaces where technology can help level the playing field by polishing their ideas, that’s all to the good. But it’s a slippery slope, too, and I worry that at the end of the slope are our students who wonder why they should work hard to learn (English, math, etc) when there are so many tools to help them appear as if they have this knowledge.
In the Age of AI, Is Education Just an Illusion? (Chronicle of Higher Education, March 19)
Although the author, Dan Sarofian-Butin, professor in the School of Education and Social Policy at Merrimack College, has written previously about using AI in teaching, this essay takes a far less optimistic view of students’ use of GenAI.
Let me put it starkly: We are not facing a cheating crisis. We are in the midst of a crisis of purpose…Yes, a few students may cheat and a few professors may cut corners, but higher education is not a performative spectacle! But if you believe that, I really don’t know where you’ve been these last two long years. Probably not in a classroom.
A few articles on the impacts the latest executive order calling for layoffs at the U.S. Dept. of Ed might have on higher education:
Assessing the Damage After the Education Department’s Mass Layoffs (Chronicle of Higher Education)
How Gutting the U.S. Department of Education Would Hurt Students and Their Families (The Century Foundation)
and, because I was at first shocked to see it, an article from Snopes.com: The potential impacts of closing the Department of Education, explained. Sharing because I think this one might be good to share with folks - perhaps students - who are skeptical about why we might think shutting down the Dept. of Ed. is a bad thing.
I’d love to hear what you thought of these articles, or anything else that grabbed your attention this week.
Happy reading!
AI is so scary. I work a university in a STEM lab and a faculty member noted that so many essays coming into the grad programs admissions seemed to be written by AI. She felt it was "Fine" since it "equalized" writing since some students may not have access to editing. I was shocked. PHD students NEED to be able to write competent essays first of all, and it shows how academic institutions are starting to DEVALUE writing skills. There are so many ethical issues with AI. This paper gives great insight into how AI bots make students anxious https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39729617/