Readers of my recent blogs will have worked out (!) that I am concerned about how reliance on AI prevents students learning basic skills, depletes the number of people capable of supervising AI , and robs students of voice and authorship. Of course, I acknowledge that students reading these posts may roll their eyes! YetContinue reading “AI and Universities: students and AI”
Author Archives: Richard Shearmur
AI and universities: teaching how to fake voice and inner-life
Voice and authorship are important A few years ago I took the night train from Amsterdam to Prague, and then on to Budapest. I was reading Imre Kertesz’ book, Fatelessness. The train ride was eerie, as I was riding South on some of the same tracks that Kertesz’ character had been taken North on, inContinue reading “AI and universities: teaching how to fake voice and inner-life”
AI and universities: Who will oversee AI?
AI in universities: short-term gains AI is inevitable in the sense that it has been forced upon us by tech oligarchs, and that it provides practical tools for short-circuiting lengthy processes such as writing, synthesis, programming, cleaning data, and so on. In the short-term, and from a purely pragmatic perspective, there are many reasons toContinue reading “AI and universities: Who will oversee AI?”
AI and universities: towards a generation of credentialed idiots?
Thinking about new technology When powerful oligopolistic corporations force a technology upon us, telling us that there is no alternative, shoe-horning it into search engines, answering services, operating systems, etc…, it is sensible to take a step back and think about it. It is sensible to wonder why these oligopolies are doing this, who willContinue reading “AI and universities: towards a generation of credentialed idiots?”
Born-again traditional media? Some thoughts on Substack ‘journalism’
As traditional media fizzles out, overtaken by billionnaires such as Murdoch, Bezos and Ellisson unashamedly peddling their ideological and technological agendas as journalistic fact, and as social media cannibalizes what is left, channeling us into echo-chambers, many independent analysts have turned towards platforms such as Substack or Patreon (which allow for paid subscriptions). These contributorsContinue reading “Born-again traditional media? Some thoughts on Substack ‘journalism’”
Why winter cycling feels hard
A couple of evenings ago I was enjoying a drink with some colleagues, and a core existential question arose: why is it so much harder to cycle when its -15C than when it’s a balmy +10 or +20C? This question is existential, because it dominates the existence of winter cyclists in Montreal. As I toiledContinue reading “Why winter cycling feels hard”
The (many) questions AI can’t address
This morning I read an interesting series of three articles in La Presse. They ask whether Artificial Intelligence (admittedly a wide-ranging and vague concept) will be salutary or catastrophic. One article puts the case for AI, one makes the case against, and the final one tries to balance the two. The limited case for AIContinue reading “The (many) questions AI can’t address”
Belief in stats and algorithms : an illusion of objectivity
Algorithms: or how to make responsibility disappear I am reading a fascinating book (Revolutionary Mathematics, by Justin Joque, Verso, 2022) in which he develops the idea that the current takeover of many everyday processes by algorithms (of which he explains the logic and maths – which I find fascinating!) is a form of objectification inContinue reading “Belief in stats and algorithms : an illusion of objectivity”
Abu-Dhabi desert
My comments so far have been about Abu-Dhabi as a city. But the greatest proportion of its territory is desert. I have a fondness for remote places: the desert – even just an hour out of town – is beautiful. Some of my research focusses on the multiple locations from which work activities are conducted.Continue reading “Abu-Dhabi desert”
Masdar City: a partial eco-neighbourhood?
What is Masdar City? Masdar City is a well-hyped suburban development close to Abu-Dhabi airport, about 30 minutes from the (rather amorphous) centre of the metropolitan area. It is hyped as : “A ground-breaking sustainable urban community and a world-class business free zone and technology hub, with innovation in [its] DNA. Driven by the UAE’sContinue reading “Masdar City: a partial eco-neighbourhood?”
Richard Shearmur 