the roamer

A senior academic writes an opinion piece, advising students not to cut corners. It turns out she didn't actually write it. LLMs wrote the piece for her.

I treasure the fact that at the present moment, we can still see the absurdity in this story.

We can still find this story funny. We can still laugh at this pompous cheat, Professor #CathEllis, a Pro Vice-Chancellor at #WesternSydneyUniversity. In a year's time, Professor Ellis's lazy inauthenticity will be standard. Very likely I will have to meet HR to explain why I don't do the same.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/05/trust-in-ai-roy-morgan-australia-university-professor-opinion-piece-technology

#noLLM #HigherEducation #StopTheAICorruption

A uni professor admitted using AI to write an opinion piece. Here’s what it revealed about trust in the technology

Without disclosing that work has been generated using the technology, faith in existing industries will continue to be undermined

The Guardian
Jun 6 at 12:47pmWeb
Show threadhgrsd1d ago

@the_roamer It's very scary isn't it?

There are many people that I respect very highly and consider ethical and thoughtful who are finding it _so_ hard to withstand the temptation of rolling the stochastic dice to see if they can turn their idea into an end product without having to expend any energy. Even though we might have moral and/or intellectual issues with AI, many of us (myself included) are also deeply flawed and weak-willed 😅. Hence the absurdity of cutting corners in a piece about cutting corners...

Show threadthe roamer1d ago

@hgrsd

Indeed, very well said. Though for me personally, writing things in _my own words_ is the one thing that keeps me alive and on edge, so for me personally there never has been any temptation to use LLM tools. If there had been a temptation, given how very flawed and very weak-willed I am, no doubt I would have succumbed! :-) I am fortunate in just not feeling the appeal of outsourcing my own writing.

Show threadHelen LH1d ago
@the_roamer You could always claim to be catholic and say it's against your religion. 😜 The Pope has handed people a convenient excuse not to use AI.
Show threadargonaut1d ago

@the_roamer

and what about the anti-slop slop?

https://www.404media.co/ai-grifters-are-making-anti-data-center-slop-with-ai/

AI Grifters Are Making Anti-Data Center Slop With AI

There are hundreds of anti-data center Facebook pages churning out AI-generated slopaganda.

404 Media
Show threadthe roamer1d ago

@argonaut

(Can't seem to have access on my system.)

Show threadargonaut1d ago
@the_roamer the preview tells the whole story
Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥1d ago

@the_roamer
The Guardian sure buried the lede about the anti-laziness anti-ai opinion piece being the paper that the "educator" had the parrot shit out.

If this person is student-facing, every single student should call them on their bullshit CONSTANTLY.

Show threadthe roamer1d ago

@xinit

In my experience, Pro Vice-Chancellors no longer teach. They write policies on how actual teachers ought to teach, and they run workshops giving us tips on how to teach well. Mostly they sit in committee rooms, enjoying their importance. The chances of Prof Ellis being exposed to real students are minimal.

Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥1d ago

@the_roamer I'm not familiar with the system they're in, but that was sort of what I assumed by context.

All "kids these days" complaints seem to be confessions of some sort.

Show threadHollieK1d ago

@the_roamer

"Why would we bother to engage with something that people didn’t put much effort into?"

Show threadHollieK1d ago

@the_roamer

"Western Sydney University’s pro vice-chancellor for quality and integrity, Prof Cath Ellis." More like pro vice-chancellor for bad quality and no integrity.

Show threadthermonuclear small claims9h ago

@the_roamer It's one of the biggest issues at universities right now. Students are being penalised, including being stripped of degrees, after computer programs determine they've used AI.

Meanwhile, the subjects they're paying thousands for are often written using generative AI tools, and gen AI tools are being used to mark their work without teachers or the university disclosing it.

Show threadthe roamer7h ago

@fullfathomfive

Yes, the genAI challenge is the defining current issue for higher education. As you can see in my #StopTheAICorruption posts, I am not happy. But things aren't quite as bad as your post might suggest. Most of my worries are about the direction of travel, not the actual current practice.

Things vary between countries and institutions. I am in the UK, in a research+teaching university (Russell Group). My university is probably more pro-AI than most.

Plagiarism: my institution has systematic procedures for dealing with the unauthorised use of AI in a student's submitted work. These are entirely human-based, involving personal interviews and academic judgement. Automated AI detection tools play a very minor role.

Marking: for certain small course components, staff may experiment with AI-supported feedback loops. All major assessments are marked unaided by human markers, and that marking is double-checked by human moderators.

The battle hasn't been lost yet.