AI-TINA - There Is No Alternative?

Famously said by Margaret Thatcher about her austerity program (“how is Britain doing these days?”) and it echoes in the way AI had been rammed into every crevice of society, including higher ed. 

I’m grappeling with it myself. I don’t want to just categorically shut it down. I have tasks I’d love to get help with. Faculty used to, you know, from people whose job it was to assist with grant submissions, admin and what have you. So you see the appeal. Replace the support system with AI. And then replace the professor as well if possible. That sportsball coach salary has to come from somewhere! 

It’s hard not to get cynical these days. 

But there is a real chance that higher ed may force people to becoming reverse centaurs - people who take their orders from a machine; their tasks and tempo set algorithmically. 

So what should a faculty member do? It should be an option to just go “nah” and do everything yourself. It should but it won’t be. The pressure to perform ever more tasks is already there. This will make it so much worse. 

What is there to give AI?  

Stuff you don’t want to do. (Reporting, admin, tedious email chains)

Stuff you suspect don’t matter in the long run or you don’t care about (same stuff really). 

Stuff you don’t want to get good at. 

That last one is a much better metric. Do I want to get good at my annual report? Do I want to improve my writing? Do I want to get good at teaching? Do I want to improve my letters of recommendation? 

In principle yes to all of these. I want to put my best work in to pretty much all. But if said pressure to do more more more increases, then what? 

First off is put as much as you can in systems, not AI. Filter emails, have a set of criteria for students before they work with you. Have a set of criteria for you to stop working with them (ie your values). Set up templates and workbooks for recurring tasks. 

And then, maybe include some AI in some of those systems. And because we are talking systems that you are designing, not being pressured into, maybe even adopt local AI/LLM for those tasks. 

I guess I am arguing for intentional AI adoption. There are alternatives!