Kerim's Triptych ❧ Ponzi Austerity, Peppa Pig, Octopus Piano

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1️⃣ Ponzi Austerity

The casual observer might be under the mistaken assumption that the biggest driver of generative-AI use in academia is students using it to cheat, but it is actually the school administrators who are forcing AI on faculty and students alike, as explained in this article by Justin Raden for Defector.

As with many other AI related endeavors, the technology is a cover for pushing through changes long desired by corporate school managers:

faculty have been systematically circumvented in this decision-making process, that power instead seemingly being handed over to donor-funded initiatives. This circumvention appears to be part of a broader effort to snatch away decision-making power over teaching, learning, and research from subject matter and pedagogy experts and give it to donors and administrators.

And it is part of a push to turn universities into "glorified job-training centers":

Most schools are treating their AI procurements as vocational training, in some cases directly transferring university resources toward this perceived demand for AI-literate workers. In an extreme case, Utah cut $60 million in statewide education funding, with the caveat that funding could be restored if schools shifted focus to high-wage majors, including AI training, effectively holding schools hostage.

This "Ed Tech grift" offers “AI literacy” training instead of a real education, enriching outside companies who provide this service. "American Literature professor Matt Seybold describes this as a 'Ponzi austerity scheme.'”

2️⃣ Peppa Pig

The AI industry may be 90% grift, but I've found it personally very helpful for learning Hindi. I've written a blog post about all the different ways I have used it, including transcription, text-to-speech, grammar drills, and even writing software plugins. I'm especially proud of the last one, even if an LLM did most of the work. The plugin I wrote made it possible to click on the Hindi subtitles I'd generated for Peppa Pig. None of the standard desktop video players allow you to do this, but it is essential for language learners since you need to select text in order to use a dictionary or translation software. I really wish I'd had tools like this back when I was first studying Chinese . . .

3️⃣ Octopus Piano

Do you want to watch Mattias Krantz teach his octopus how to play the piano? Yes you do.

Endnote

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