Exactly. And bonus points for "Cyrano as service". This is why we need enforced limits and strong policies that do not acquiesce to big tech. And why I am unimpressed by the academic trend of "look at the AI tool I made which is ok really but no one will ever use" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/o...

It was not

The only surprising part of this article is the correction at the end, which is truly a work of art www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...

Bless you, graduate applications systems that only require an uploaded letter of recommendation without asking a bunch of pointless ranking questions. #academicsky

This is incoherent hype. They find that "AI" products diminish critical thinking, knowledge, and creativity; increase inequity; and threaten social and emotional development. So the solution is ... make more of them and force "AI literacy" on everyone? www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...

I got one paragraph in to find: "Teachers surveyed for the report said AI can be useful ... for students learning a second language. For example, AI can adjust the complexity of a passage depending on the reader's skill, and it offers privacy for students who struggle in large-group settings."

So much would be gained from teaching #sfl rather than structuralist grammar (subject, object, passive voice). The Participant responsible for an action verb is the Agent. The Participant responsible for a saying/thinking verb (verbal/mental process) is the Sayer. So ask yourself: can this thing 1/3

Bad writing from the Graudian. "Grok" can't be the agent of the verb "turn off" unless the AI product has the capacity to disable its own functions. It's the CORPORATION behind it which has the CHOICE whether to turn "features" like this on or off. Ascribe agency. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Nope. "Grok" doesn't "say" shit. Actually, it does say shit. That's all it can. But it certainly can't be trusted to provide an accurate account of corporate policy. Ask the bleedin' company for confirmation. That's literally your job.

Every journalist and editor who prints "[AI product] says/claims/thinks" should be forced to take a writing class or reassigned to the cooking section, or something. No not cooking, they'll print slop recipes. FFS, it's not hard. AI generators make shit up. Ask the *company* what it's doing.

Ten archaic English slang phrases… 10. Got the morbs (sad) 9. Bumpsy (drunk) 8. Whittled as a penguin (very drunk) 8. Scandal water (tea) 7. Bitch the pot (pour the tea) 5. Sauce-box (mouth) 4. Cupid’s kettle drums (breasts) 3. Dash my wig (OMG) 2. Poked up (embarrassed) 1. Not up to dick (unwell)

Again, the first University to do this will absolutely clean up. I hope it's mine. What do you say, Delaware? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...

This is of course dumb and horrifying and a sad reflection of our inability to regulate and ban actual guns. But the irony of "AI" seeing arts, culture, and human experience as a threat is pretty spectacular. I doubt WaPo sees it.

best new student coinage of the semester: "discourse sematintics" - Tintin aux profs d'Anglais?

As the parent of a HS senior, I can tell you that this is completely insane and insulting. The Common App is already a summary. Students have limited "slots" to enter extracurricular activities, achievements, etc, and the essay is, what 500 words? Diligent students spend hours crafting their app

Turns out plagiarism really is the sincerest form of flattery for the egotist

And most appropriately, sadly, today: Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead

The Lion King

Feature not bug. Bonus points for using the phrase "old fashioned web search" theconversation.com/learning-wit...

Sometimes my grammar lessons write themselves

I've lived in DE long enough not to even blink at "a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill." That's just called Friday here.

TESOL's position statement on "AI" is, as usual, a day late and a dollar short. It fails to define its terms, nods vaguely to "limitations and biases", and presupposes that "AI can sharpen and enhance our learning experiences" despite all evidence to the contrary. www.tesol.org/media/myuncu...

Excellent. The EU has a long, inglorious history of trying to regulate food and its language (cf straight bananas). Should cause chaos on Germany where vegetarian alternatives seem to be rigidly engineered to resemble the original. I drew the line at vegetarian cordon bleu

These are not the geniuses the media has made them out to be. If I steal your work, use it, and the throw it away, it's fine, right guv?

Good. Spend it on people not tech

Ok friends, buckle up, it’s funny story time! I’m teaching a unit where my students have to learn how to describe people in Spanish. We use famous people to keep it fun and interesting. But because I’m old and out of touch, and I don’t know what celebs these young’uns know…

Applies to teachers, researchers, conference presenters, too. Shaming sloppy work is a powerful tool and a glimmer of hope

Yeah then search the list of books actually included in the anthropic settlement and find out just how far under the bus the Authors' Guild threw you

The only passive verb in this bizarre exchange is "was born". I guess he should have written "when my mother bore me." Unless this actually a subtle linguistic argument about whether "rid" in "get rid" is a past participle - thus better: "when the T*** administration rid the country of ...".

He's so close to getting the point, isn't he?

Just saw a great ad on here for my linguistics courses. Apparently "she landed on the ground" is passive voice but "she was thrown to the ground by federal agents" is not. Yes, it's lousy writing but the first is active and the second clause is actually psssive.

I'm not a lawyer, just a writer whose work was stolen and an educator trying to do my job, but I wish they'd actually brought down Anthropic. We don't need "AI." We do need creators. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/o...

You mean it's not inevitable? Gasp.

I appreciate universities who tell me so clearly where not to send my son's tuition dollars. First major school to announce its education is 100% human will clean up. Come on, Delaware. After 250 years, it's time to be the first state again

I needed a good laugh. It is not indicative of a "restrictive worldview" to describe this column as a steaming pile of narrow minded, linguistically flawed, old man shouting at the wind bullshit www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/o...

Happy hysterical ed reporting day, to all who celebrate. A few reminders about NAEP: it tests a sample of students, not all of them. Each student takes a part of the test, not the whole thing. The test is inconsequential to the student, teacher, and school. And it's not based on any curriculum.

Good. This deal is good for Big Tech and lawyers. As a member of the class, I say no deal. Run these "AI" vultures into the ground.

This is a well balanced piece, but I think we can actually find consensus (well, Haidt can't b/c its not in his self interest): we need to divest from most ed-tech because many reasons while still teaching digital and media literacy. Just doing it more on paper. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Trinity understands the assignment

Funny how the tech hypists are so close to understanding: yes, if every "AI" company followed the law in collecting training data, they would be unable to develop their products and make $$$ (exactly, they shouldn't); if every author sued, they would destroy these predators (we should)

Friends don't let friends accept bad deals. Authors, including academic authors, register for the class action and demand that the case go to trial and bring down Anthropic and these other predatory corporations. authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...

I don't understand why the Authors' Guild would give these corporations a lifeline. They broke the law. They are harming people. They are wrong. We are right. Take them down. Reject the deal.

Yes, this. As a wonderful Professor of medieval French literature used to tells, we need to beware of the modern tendency to patronize the middle ages. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

Come for the cultural criticism. Stay for the ethno nationalism.

I'm glad WaPo is drawing attention to the hypocrisy and racism at the heart of the administration's chaotic approach to multilingual learners, but yet again I am begging them to talk to an actual expert so they can frame language acquisition as an asset not a deficit. wapo.st/4nfNKcX

See my previous post. Shot and chaser! Well said

Very funny but next time perhaps they could ask a linguist to write this rather than just speed reading The Prodigal Tongue and declaring themselves experts? The methodology is, um, well

For anyone who thinks my adopted state of Delaware is boring, this article has it all. Including a magnificent Spinal Tap description: it's not his best piece of art, but it is his biggest www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/a...

I know my colleague just said "who's running this ship?" but I definitely heard "who's running this shit?" and it worked perfectly

The Post's article is mistaken. Rescinding the "dear colleague" letter does not change the requirements for schools and districts. The doc in question was a clear, concise summary of responsibilities under existing law and SCOTUS rules. They have not changed. What has changed is enforcement