LaTrobe University to roll out ChatGpt and integrate AI (probably LLMs) everywhere. Another capitulation to corporate tech desperate to get a return on investment.
This fits with AI spruikers acting as middle-men for AI companies appointed to VC and governance positions in universities.
Plenty of buzzwords to justify this trend-following policy. "cutting edge" justification for #AI signals #OpenAI cut-off from criticism in this case. Academic integrity takes a dive.
Yes, my thoughts too
@craigduncan
why wouldn’t the academic staff just boycott this #GenAISlop #Takeover and refuse to have anything to do with it. That would stop this insanity dead cold. Unions ought to have a go at frustrating the #Managerialists ‘ efforts to turn the #tertiary institution into a laughing stock post #IABubble burst.
And the Q. remains who gains ($$$) from this over-the-cliff decision?
To AI there should be a qualified YES, but to GenAI there must be an uncontroversial NO. We don’t need more #AISlop.
I agree. Academic life in many unis has been increasingly corporatised for some time, so it's not even a uniform population of skeptical thnkers. Some science/tech academics have already aligned their careers with sponsored research and compute time from Microsoft. The others who care about critical perspectives will have been quietly let go, or escaped before this.
The higher-ups are now AI-branded (e.g. the April 2026 Vice-Chancellor at LaTrobe is there specifically for AI integration).
As for $, think short to medium term.
Conferences, STEM awards outside of FOSS are usually big-tech sponsored. They are places for academics to exit when they have stopped jumping from initiative to initiative and need a place to hide from fallout.
@craigduncan @Ooze
It looks hopeless then? Is there no way out of this? Are we all doomed to suffer the insanity of the #TechBros, #Managerialism and a sub-standard #Education sector? Does it all hinge on the downfall of unregulated capitalism? A revolution? World War 3? Another #GreatDepression ? G@d the future looks glum.
Time to tune off for a while to recharge batteries…
No, it's never a zero-sum game, though there will be tiring times. I use this as inspiration to build my own tools that I would otherwise think of reinventing the wheel. But they are not. they allow me to do what I want without interference, and they will probably be useful to like-minded people one day.
To be independent of big-tech is building a resource for yourself. You can be a teacher, a coder, or a food-maker and make choices that are not in line with the crowd now, but are quite sane in the longer term. Quietly encourage people to ask about the motivations of things thrust on them, that were not even thought necessary a few years ago. The sheer ignorance of building data-centres that consume resources without any environmental reckoning is only part of the justification I need. The other part is simply retaining a sense of sane proportion in my life: use only what I need to do things well.
@craigduncan
Sound advice Craig. I agree and I do what I can as well. Sometimes though, the situation gets to me and I rant (too often these days I fear).
Having conversations is a big part of promoting change for the good. Unfortunately, as one get old (very old by genX standards) those conversations are cut short or face an insurmountable wall of BS regurgitated from media propaganda machines. So I do my bit and hope it rubs off.
It would so easy to just let the world run amuck and feel comfortable in my retirement, hermit-like in my comfort… Zen is an attractive model atm.
Thanks Raymond. It's nice to find people who are able to see what's going on, and care enough to be concerned. I think the world works in cycles and finding your tempo to deal with it is important. Quiet spaces, quiet conversations are often needed.
Very similar developments in my own UK institution. Most academic colleagues sadly are riding along, mine is a minority voice.
So much of what I assumed to be common ground turns out to be contested. For instance, using genAI to mark student work or to set assessment tasks used to be explicitly ruled out, then it was allowed under special permission, now it is encouraged. All these changes within 12 months. I fear the moment when I will be required to use these toxic tools. Difficult times.
It's okay to be in the minority, because it's not always a minority: just in those places where they are swayed by marketing and peer pressure. There is a storm to be weathered, not an inevitability.
Very well put. "A storm to be weathered, not an inevitability." We must take the long view, and in the meantime, practice resistance.
Oh, wow, what a mess. They were told by whom? London?
The Starmer governnent fails us on so many levels. Its happy capitulation to big tech is one of its worst betrayals.
The times we live in!
Craig Duncan
Ooze 𓁟
RaymondPierreL3
the roamer
Gareth Kitchen