I mean, as fighting words as it gets here from a GOP official against the White House.

And I don't know if the answer is: everyone is too traumatized to do work and we need to reinvent society. Or if it's more like: generations are losing their cognitive abilities and willpower due to destructive technologies. Or: we all have post-viral brain damage. Or: all of the above.

Admin are continually pressuring us to make the course "more accessible," by which they mean "devastatingly easy to complete," but it's not about access. Many students refuse to read or write in any capacity that isn't tech-aided, no matter how simple the assignment, no matter how process-based.

It's only a matter of time before humanities departments will be forced to accept AI-authored assignments, as part of revised university policy to cooperate with these billionaires. It's already happening, and our response needs to be decisive. Because our students' ability to *think* is at stake.

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.

And I swear, once again, this is not dunking on kids. We are seeing this at all levels--even grad students. AI + social media has had a profound impact on how we think and process our world, and we can't stop to reflect on it, because billionaires keep hurling addictive tech at us.

When I ask them: "What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to?" Often, the answer is: nothing. Which has a direct effect on their over-use of prompts and AI, because they can't think of ideas, because they are literally not engaging with a single figurative thing.

It's like they just keep...forgetting? Or they read the instructions and completely disregard them, even knowing that they can't pass the assignment without demonstrating really clear skills (citing material, writing on a course text, etc.). They just...don't do it. And don't seem to care.

This is not a "students today" post--it's more "this is a new form of dysfunction" that doesn't look exactly like it's been in previous decades. It's more than just "first-year chaos." It's an across-the-board inability to process instructions, engage with longer texts, and *connect* with others.

We keep adjusting our goalposts, trying to meet students where they're at--but for some, that place is a kind of non-place, where they don't complete any work or engage with the class, but still receive a high grade. Emails are ignored. They can't meet a deadline or keep an appointment.