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As seen in the table & figure above, we dissect and explain how terminology is abused and contorted by industry — terms like 'generative' or 'agentic' are not able to isolate what is being critiqued. We have seen this countless times before; flitting from one nonsense buzzword to another. 2/n

We also go through many arguments that can be used as counters to typical false frames forced upon us, such as:

1. the powerful nonsense that we as experts know nothing

(Section 3.1 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099)

3/n

2. the strange but often repeated cultish mantra that we need to "embrace the future" — this is so bizarre given, e.g. how destructive industry forces have proven to be in science, from petroleum to tobacco to pharmaceutical companies.

(Section 3.2 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099)
4/n

3. the obsession with denying and rewriting history, pretending AI only appeared in the last 3 years or that it has no history before the last few decades, etc.

(Section 3.3 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099)
5/n

4. the disregard for the corrosive power of anthropomorphism, which is taken advantage of by industry to sell & steal our data, in the base case scenario, and in the worst to abuse and push vulnerable groups to dependance and worse.

(Section 3.4 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099)
6/n

5. the nonsense refrain that somehow everybody — every one of our students — is cheating now and we need to police them more and more.

(Section 3.5 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099)
7/n

6. the extremely unhinged series of claims that without training them on how to be users of such systems that we somehow fail as teachers — truly ludicrous, utterly bizarre, and in fact directly contradicts other industry selling points.

(Section 3.6 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099)

8/n

7. the kinda appealing, but substantively indefensible, idea that somehow AI is different to other technology, like calculators, in a pedagogical context — but we totally ban a great deal of technology in the classroom.

(Section 3.7 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099)

9/n

We end on "Machine Yearning for a Better Present" because why can't we dream? Why accept that universities are not places of learning? Nothing, except industry and their paid shills amongst us, force us to accept this & this force is not one of reason, but one of regressive values & profit.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099

10/n

Also very important

HUGE thank you to all my co-authors @Iris @Felienne @rdehaan @jedbrown @mariekewoe; full list here for those not on mastodon: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099 — sorry if I did not tag anybody! 11/n

@Iris @Felienne @rdehaan @jedbrown @mariekewoe Oh, and of course let me replug this https://openletter.earth/open-letter-stop-the-uncritical-adoption-of-ai-technologies-in-academia-b65bba1e?limit=0

12/n

@ArchaeoIain thank you

@uncouple8720 as we say in the paper it's an Euler diagram

@snowless hope it's also a fun read, thanks