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Hear hear
I agree with all of this. The threat is really that stark. The only solution is indeed in-class essay exams,…
I’m not sure I’d yet go so far as to call LLMs an existential threat to universities. But I do…
My big problem with LLMs at the present time, apart from being potentially the epitome of Foucault’s panopticon & Big…
I’m also at a British university (in a law school) and my sentiments largely align with the author’s. I see…
If one is genuinely uninterested in engaging with non-human interlocutors, it is unclear why one continues to do so—especially while…
Maybe people are more interested in engaging with human interlocutors than with machine ones, no matter what the argument.
This is a striking set of stories that bode ill for core academic freedom in Australian universities. Too many Australian universities are already struggling with mindless bureaucrats micro-managing university life; add to that the need for Chinese tuition dollars, and it's a dangerous mix of incentives. Curious to hear from others "on the ground" there about what's going on, so comments are open.
There's a further wrinkle to this story. An Australian academic (and member of a prominent left think-tank) claims that Allen & Unwin have delayed publication of his book out of fear of Chinese govt retaliation. Prof. Clive Hamilton was unwilling to wait and the rights to the book have been returned to him. A&U were cautious claiming that they are 'awaiting clarification concerning matters before the courts' at the moment. Hamilton claims that legal has been all over the manuscript to remove anything defamatory, so there can be no rational basis for fearing legal action. Who knows where the truth lies. But if indeed a publisher has caved to pressure, this seems far more worrying than the episodes discussed in the NY Times article.
Story on the ABC website here http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-13/academic-claims-hes-been-silenced-by-chinese-government/9142694
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