So a brand new MOOC platform? In 2026? Okay, well, have fun with that.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is now owned by @thebaltimorebanner.com's parent company, which will turn it into a non-profit news organization. Honestly the best possible outcome for a newspaper that's been bedeviled by its billionaire [former] owners. Good riddance to the Blocks.

This detector is especially bad. Ensured it was plaintext only before posting a sample. 4 invisible unicode characters that aren't there. 11 em dashes - two hyphens, no em dashes 7 paragraphs starting with emojis - 1 paragraph, no emojis People get kicked out of college because of this shit.

Looked up some of the research and, yeah, people are really bad at identifying AI writing, at coin flip or slightly better. Not surprisingly, professionals are often worse than lay people, especially if they don't get objective feedback if they were right. Saw a post by someone who reviewed the

Also saw a thread on how LLM detectors don't work, so therefore we should rely on human intuition. LLM detectors aren't great, but they're much more accurate than humans. Again, people have unearned confidence in their own unproven abilities.

FIRST PERSON: "All I could think was that I just wanted a full-time job, like the ones you hear about in fairy tales — one with health insurance, PTO and a 401(k)." From freelance to full time, then unemployment due to AI. A writer asks: what's next?

We were stoked to see nearly 100 people at our town hall last night, share our vision for a multi-stakeholder daily news co-op, and hear what you all need in one for the future of journalism in Pittsburgh. The desire for local, representative news we all own was clear! OurPaperNow.org

This is an Instructure exec talking about their new AI grading tools. Allow me to translate from this corporate doublespeak: "We have totally made a thing so faculty can remove themselves from the responsibility of providing authentic feedback, and we're sure they'll pinky swear to not do that."

I've had some conversations lately that I have led me to believe that we still need much more education in #academicsky about what LLMs are and can do. A mircoblogging site is not the ideal place for long exegeses, but I want to do a quick thread of just the facts:

As someone who nearly got into a fist fight in a rural Maryland liquor store over some jag's comments about marriage equality (it was 2003) and had to be escorted out by my husband... I feel very called out.

This is absolutely the intent--faculty need to be united in rejecting this kind of automation (more accurately: abdication), no matter how "safe" you think your position might be now.

For my @pittteaching.bsky.social follows: We have no plans to implement this feature at Pitt. Canvas allows us granular control over the features we can enable or disable, and we will not be enabling this.

Opinion | Creative writing, at its best, is inefficient. It requires false starts, dead ends, and bad metaphors you have to live with long enough to recognize them as bad. https://chroni.cl/3NNokaj

Yeppers. "several professors spoke about concerns that AI will exacerbate a widening divide in US higher education and that small numbers of elite students will have access to a more traditional, largely tech-free liberal arts education,

I find this chart by Anthropic about theoretical vs. actual AI usage, from @pbump.com's latest newsletter, very funny, and I think it's worth explaining why, and also please push back on any of this if you disagree, as I may write about it in the future. 🧵

CAIL = prerequisite knowledge for a critical perspective, such as to tell apart nonsense hype from true theoretical computer scientific claims. For example, the idea that human-like systems are a sensible or possible goal is the result of circular reasoning and anthropomorphism. olivia.science/ai 🧵

Hi #academicsky, long time no see, I forgot I created this professional account for myself. Anyway, decided to reboot and get myself out there a bit more. Today's message: AI "detectors" do not work. They are actively harmful to student learning. 🧵

OMETs ARE GETTING BETTER and we can't wait to show you! Join the spring term pilot to see the new teaching survey platform by March 2! Learn more at teaching.pitt.edu/omet/

Career Advice | Beyond the Research Michel Estefan offers a road map for helping graduate student instructors cultivate their distinct teaching style. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/3EBAXjS

Samuel Carew-Jones is a technical systems designer on our learning space design team. In this week's staff spotlight, you'll learn more about Sam, his work, and some of his biggest passions and hobbies! About Sam » teaching.pitt.edu/staff-spotli...

Early progress reports (EPR) allow faculty members to identify students of concern and share that information with advisors and other student support staff on campus. The EPR period closes on Feb. 16. 🔗 » www.pathways.pitt.edu/early-progre...

Because Pennsylvania elected a Republican AG last year, Pitt, Penn State, Penn etc are not part of this injunction. Let AG Dave Sunday know that he's dooming the PA economy with his failure to act: www.attorneygeneral.gov/contact/

Anecdotally, I feel much more optimism after meeting folks attending my community outreach programs about digital media studies/ literacy, information integrity, etc. at public libraries. My next one is 11am on Tuesday, Jan. 28th at the Carrick branch of CLPGH www.carnegielibrary.org/event/univer...

I'd argue that this survey doesn't indicate a slowness at addressing the benefits, but instead a possible skepticism that there are any. My reluctance to jump on board with sticking genAI into everything isn't because I'm slow, it's because I'm highly, highly skeptical that it's actually useful.

Started off this morning emailing my Senators and Congressman about the NIH and the potential damage being done by unnecessary disruptions. They need to hear from us loud and clear. Constituents matter to them as one of the primary purposes of a politician is to get re-elected (and its their job).

Some students arrive in college thinking they are bad writers, so they default to using AI because it sounds clearer or more professional. How can professors counteract that impulse? chroni.cl/4gZ9fvJ

Without ignoring the harsh realities of, well, reality, we can still make some space for joy & claim our right as educators and learners to be delighted. Thank you Eugene Korsunkiy for curating & thank you @liznorell.bsky.social for posting about #JoyCards. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Faculty Fellowship in Emerging Learning Technologies (FFELT) is a 2-term program designed to help Pitt faculty transform their teaching by incorporating hands-on learning and emerging technologies. Learn more » teaching.pitt.edu/open-lab/ffe...

At @pittteaching.bsky.social we put together a Grading Gathering for the end of term, a quiet place for instructors to come and complete their marking together, with snacks and free chair massages. It was met with such enthusiasm, we will be making it a regular event at the end of every term.

Pitt Senior Vice Chancellor Rob Rutenbar's Annual Research Report is out: pittresearchannualreport.com with Neural Engineering featured on pages 40 and 41 of the PDF link (top right)

NEW: Over 60 German & Austrian universities have announced today they are quitting X/Twitter. The backlash against Musk is growing after he endorsed Germany’s Far Right. Germany’s Feberal Court of Justice has also quit the platform, as well as top German football clubs & labour unions.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you, FL higher ed colleagues. "Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference three years ago, Yenor called for a 'sexual counterrevolution' and described career-oriented women as, quote, 'medicated, meddlesome, and quarrelsome.'" www.wuwf.org/local-news/2...

Gentle reminder that GenAI is built off of copyrighted works. Think carefully about the message you send to others when you tout its use. techcrunch.com/2025/01/09/m...

Opinion | Academic Freedom Requires DEI The @aaup.bsky.social gets it, Jonathan Feingold writes. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4fXlsQ1

The Provost’s Advisory Council on Instructional Excellence invites proposals from Pitt faculty for projects to enhance teaching by fostering new instructional approaches, techniques, or activities that promote and support student learning. Details » www.provost.pitt.edu/acie/awards