Critical Ethics and AI, with Eric Covey

Jacob and Matt talk with Dr. Eric Covey of Grand Valley State University's Department of History. Compared to many faculty, Eric began talking with his students about generative Ai fairly early in the ChatGPT era. He anchored his discussion not in issues of plagiarism, as many faculty have, but in a discussion about the unseen ethical challenges that generative AI presents.

The conversation broadens to discuss ways in which education can help build learner self-awareness—whether of the global impact of their technological habits or the personal impact of practices of self-care and attention to learning science.

The question of critically engaging with technology leads to how individual educators and their institutions can balance concerns about educational technology with the institutional and societal imperatives to prepare learners for their future careers. The three consider why, compared to previous technological changes, so many in education are rapidly embracing generative AI.

The answer may lie in part with the way neoliberalism has shaped modern education. Considering the imperatives and constraints that neoliberalism places on higher ed leads to a question that will likely reappear in this podcast season: how long will it be until we see the rise of "AIU"—an institution that downplays human faculty, leverages generative AI, and claims to do so for the benefit of all.

The episode (the first of two with Eric) ends with a discussion about whether AIU will be successful, whether technical solutions to some of AI's problems will increase its popularity, and how to counter the fact that for many people a university run by AI will be "good enough."