Mary O'Connell
@mary1010.bsky.social
Lecturer in English at UCC. Mama to Dylan. Loves Victorian lit, the Romantics, crime fiction, football. Not necessarily in that order.
Absolutely loved Wake Up Dead Man. It has what I loved about the first one, it's a love letter to crime fiction. #wakeupdeadman
December 9, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Absolutely loved Wake Up Dead Man. It has what I loved about the first one, it's a love letter to crime fiction. #wakeupdeadman
No.
This is the end, or one of many ends >> www.thebookseller.com/news/waterst...
Waterstones would stock AI books if 'clearly labelled and customers wanted them', says CEO
Waterstones would stock books created by AI if customers wanted them and they were clearly labelled, CEO James Daunt has said, but it is “something that we would recoil [from]”.
www.thebookseller.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:49 AM
No.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
Worth reading for lots of reasons, but particularly because it closes with something I see in my work and travels speaking on writing and AI. Many, maybe most students do not want AI-mediated schooling or lives. We can offer them something better. www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Worth reading for lots of reasons, but particularly because it closes with something I see in my work and travels speaking on writing and AI. Many, maybe most students do not want AI-mediated schooling or lives. We can offer them something better. www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
Administrators pay $$$ for AI built into every part of students' online learning platforms, and then turn to faculty and say, "Uh, you guys figure out how to make academic integrity work. Byeee!"
In a way, the epitome of contemporary university governance.
In a way, the epitome of contemporary university governance.
"a breakdown of shared governance around implementing AI has implications for the future of teaching, learning and job security."
#HigherED #edtech
#AcademicSky #PhdChat #education
#research #policy #humanities #arts
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
#HigherED #edtech
#AcademicSky #PhdChat #education
#research #policy #humanities #arts
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Faculty Often Missing From University Decisions on AI
A new survey from the AAUP shows that a breakdown of shared governance around implementing AI has implications for the future of teaching, learning and job security.
www.insidehighered.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Administrators pay $$$ for AI built into every part of students' online learning platforms, and then turn to faculty and say, "Uh, you guys figure out how to make academic integrity work. Byeee!"
In a way, the epitome of contemporary university governance.
In a way, the epitome of contemporary university governance.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
First year selling my art at Christmas without the Other site, where most of my sales came from, as well as losing US orders to new tariffs, so it'll be a tough one - I put huge work into every order, so even if you can't buy, shares help get them in front of eyes. GRMA! www.ciaraioch.com/artprints
December 3, 2025 at 10:05 AM
First year selling my art at Christmas without the Other site, where most of my sales came from, as well as losing US orders to new tariffs, so it'll be a tough one - I put huge work into every order, so even if you can't buy, shares help get them in front of eyes. GRMA! www.ciaraioch.com/artprints
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
A not insignificant part of the fatalistic adoption of AI in Higher Ed, I think, is because we have stripped thinking, learning, reading, writing from the idea of pleasure; it has become pure utilitarian product, rather than joyful--and difficult--process.
December 3, 2025 at 3:30 PM
A not insignificant part of the fatalistic adoption of AI in Higher Ed, I think, is because we have stripped thinking, learning, reading, writing from the idea of pleasure; it has become pure utilitarian product, rather than joyful--and difficult--process.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
A joy of the job is blowing students' minds by telling them "yes you CAN introduce new material in a conclusion"
December 2, 2025 at 6:25 PM
A joy of the job is blowing students' minds by telling them "yes you CAN introduce new material in a conclusion"
This is incredible. Reading Arcadia at the moment and just read this bit last night.
December 2, 2025 at 10:35 AM
This is incredible. Reading Arcadia at the moment and just read this bit last night.
I believe this entirely.
And, necessarily connected to this, we should relentlessly advocate for the kinds of systems where teachers feel joy and inspiration in the material they bring to students bc there is no greater force for learning than a curious instructor excited about the topic they are teaching.
December 1, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I believe this entirely.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
And, necessarily connected to this, we should relentlessly advocate for the kinds of systems where teachers feel joy and inspiration in the material they bring to students bc there is no greater force for learning than a curious instructor excited about the topic they are teaching.
December 1, 2025 at 3:40 PM
And, necessarily connected to this, we should relentlessly advocate for the kinds of systems where teachers feel joy and inspiration in the material they bring to students bc there is no greater force for learning than a curious instructor excited about the topic they are teaching.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
December 1, 2025 at 11:09 AM
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
Also, complain long and loud, when GenAI screws up your interaction with a company - obtaining/using their products, contacting customer service, whatever. Do this direct and on social media. Employees may well be unable to push back against directives to use this garbage without risking their jobs.
This!
You DON’T HAVE TO USE IT!
It’s so easy NOT to use it.
They can’t force us to use it.
stop rolling over & saying “Well, you just have to get used to it. You can’t stop it”… how’d that work for <insert absolute garbage tech or even any insidious, violent movement (like the NF or N*zis) here>?
You DON’T HAVE TO USE IT!
It’s so easy NOT to use it.
They can’t force us to use it.
stop rolling over & saying “Well, you just have to get used to it. You can’t stop it”… how’d that work for <insert absolute garbage tech or even any insidious, violent movement (like the NF or N*zis) here>?
ALL you have to do is just not use it, tell these companies you aren't using it, and make fun of people who do. We need a mass collective effort to make genAI extremely uncool, lame, embarrassing, cringe. Everyone needs to react to it with a MOUNTAIN of hostility until they run out of steam.
December 1, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Also, complain long and loud, when GenAI screws up your interaction with a company - obtaining/using their products, contacting customer service, whatever. Do this direct and on social media. Employees may well be unable to push back against directives to use this garbage without risking their jobs.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
ALL you have to do is just not use it, tell these companies you aren't using it, and make fun of people who do. We need a mass collective effort to make genAI extremely uncool, lame, embarrassing, cringe. Everyone needs to react to it with a MOUNTAIN of hostility until they run out of steam.
November 30, 2025 at 9:27 PM
ALL you have to do is just not use it, tell these companies you aren't using it, and make fun of people who do. We need a mass collective effort to make genAI extremely uncool, lame, embarrassing, cringe. Everyone needs to react to it with a MOUNTAIN of hostility until they run out of steam.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
This is one of those times where societal pressure can really work. I disengage with anything I see using AI and I tell them so. If we don't fight this, we could end up in a terrifying new paradigm of digital slavery an order of magnitude worse than we currently have.
November 30, 2025 at 9:29 PM
This is one of those times where societal pressure can really work. I disengage with anything I see using AI and I tell them so. If we don't fight this, we could end up in a terrifying new paradigm of digital slavery an order of magnitude worse than we currently have.
THIS!!! I ban it, I tell them why I ban it, and yet they have it shoved down their throat as exciting, wave of the future etc. The mixed messages are a killer.
Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
November 30, 2025 at 9:35 PM
THIS!!! I ban it, I tell them why I ban it, and yet they have it shoved down their throat as exciting, wave of the future etc. The mixed messages are a killer.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
And this is why we fight. This shit won't last long at this rate. If they keep racking up half-TRILLION dollar loss projections, even the most bullish, fascist-ass weirdo billionaire is going to have to stop to keep from losing his shirt.
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:47 PM
And this is why we fight. This shit won't last long at this rate. If they keep racking up half-TRILLION dollar loss projections, even the most bullish, fascist-ass weirdo billionaire is going to have to stop to keep from losing his shirt.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
We can't really say this enough...
> Anastasia Berg [at UCL Irvine] said that new research — and what she's hearing directly from colleagues across various industries — shows that employees who heavily rely on AI are losing core skills at a startling rate.
www.businessinsider.com/ai-tools-are...
> Anastasia Berg [at UCL Irvine] said that new research — and what she's hearing directly from colleagues across various industries — shows that employees who heavily rely on AI are losing core skills at a startling rate.
www.businessinsider.com/ai-tools-are...
AI tools are 'deskilling' workers, philosophy professor says
A philosophy professor warns that AI reliance is weakening workers' judgment, creativity, and problem-solving.
www.businessinsider.com
November 30, 2025 at 6:09 PM
We can't really say this enough...
> Anastasia Berg [at UCL Irvine] said that new research — and what she's hearing directly from colleagues across various industries — shows that employees who heavily rely on AI are losing core skills at a startling rate.
www.businessinsider.com/ai-tools-are...
> Anastasia Berg [at UCL Irvine] said that new research — and what she's hearing directly from colleagues across various industries — shows that employees who heavily rely on AI are losing core skills at a startling rate.
www.businessinsider.com/ai-tools-are...
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
i dont use generative ai because i actually really like being able to think and reason and solve problems
November 30, 2025 at 7:18 PM
i dont use generative ai because i actually really like being able to think and reason and solve problems
Ha.
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Ha.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
“Based on the available evidence, the skills that future graduates will most need in the AI era—creative thinking, the capacity to learn new things, flexible modes of analysis—are precisely those that are likely to be eroded by inserting AI into the educational process.”
“When you allow a machine to summarize your reading, to generate the ideas for your essay, and then to write that essay, you’re not learning how to read, think, or write.“
November 30, 2025 at 11:10 AM
“Based on the available evidence, the skills that future graduates will most need in the AI era—creative thinking, the capacity to learn new things, flexible modes of analysis—are precisely those that are likely to be eroded by inserting AI into the educational process.”
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
And this is why we shouldn’t be letting Sam Altman or his company or his ilk infect higher education with their crappy products.
"They're trying to change our habits, because all of the projections rely on people becoming truly dependent on the technology. Whether or not it's actually a good thing for society isn't considered to be a factor."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:43 PM
And this is why we shouldn’t be letting Sam Altman or his company or his ilk infect higher education with their crappy products.
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
Imagine if they just subsidized newspapers and magazines the way they’re subsidizing this slop
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Imagine if they just subsidized newspapers and magazines the way they’re subsidizing this slop
Reposted by Mary O'Connell
“AI sceptics” who work on policy and education continue to overestimate the utility of LLMs—portraying it as a potential revolution even as they warn against overhype—simply because they can’t see that generating seemingly coherent text has very little economic value, all evidence to the contrary
November 30, 2025 at 10:20 AM
“AI sceptics” who work on policy and education continue to overestimate the utility of LLMs—portraying it as a potential revolution even as they warn against overhype—simply because they can’t see that generating seemingly coherent text has very little economic value, all evidence to the contrary
Because this is AI doing its job. Wiping out critical thinking skills, wiping out literacy (why read a novel when it can give you a mangled summary). I say to my students just ask yourself why they have such an issue with books. With reading. If what we do is worthless why do they steal it?
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 30, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Because this is AI doing its job. Wiping out critical thinking skills, wiping out literacy (why read a novel when it can give you a mangled summary). I say to my students just ask yourself why they have such an issue with books. With reading. If what we do is worthless why do they steal it?