Low Key Research Preview

In this episode, I talk to Dr Federica Frabetti, associate professor in Digital Media at the University of Roehampton. Federica is a former software engineer, something we have in common, and her interdisciplinary work bridges the gap between technology and the humanities, focusing on Software Studies, critical AI studies, digital media, and cultural theory.

We talk about Federica's experience of the ascent of genAI in HE, the perspective of her students in a new module on AI for the creative industries, and a similar, new MA programme launched next year, and a lot of deep, theory-laden chat, which has prompted me to add references in the chaptering below, as well as a list of references - available here , as they won't fit in this episode description

00:00 Introduction

01:06 The arrival of gen AI in HE

02:31 (Liu et al., 2026)

03:24 (on transparency, q.v. Gonsalves, 2026)

04:02 AI as a pharmakon

05:32 Federica's monograph (Frabetti, 2015)

06:53 (Brooks, 1975 [1995])

07:40 (NATO's 1968/69 Software Engineering Conferences - Naur and Randell, 1968)

09:16 (on technical solutionism, q.v. Morozov, 2013)

10:09 (Frankfurt, 1988)

11:32 On students' perspectives on genAI

15:57 The new MA and its contents

17:01 (Berard, 2026)

17:24 (Minsky and Papert, 1969)

18:20 Federica's work in critical AI studies

18:48: (Drage and Frabetti, 2023)

18:55 (Browne et al., 2023)

19:03 (Drage and Frabetti, 2024b, 2024a)

19:53 (Barad, 2007)

23:54 Performativity in AI, education and research

24:22 (Bender and Koller, 2020)

25:41 (Berard, 2022)

27:32 (Searle, 1980)

29:16 (Stiegler, 1998)

30:41 On communicative intent

32:39 (On episteme and techne, q.v. Parry, 2024)

33:29 On students' criticality

36:01 (On LLM and reflective writing, q.v Li et al., 2023)

A conversation with Gabor Sarlos, head of employability at the University of Roehampton, and senior lecturer in its Faculty of Business. Gabor is very invested in matters of sustainability, at Roehampton and beyond, and hosts Ready, Steady, Green, where he meets a variety of guests to discuss the challenges and opportunities of turning climate awareness into climate action.

This profiles gives me the opportunity to get Gabor's take on generative AI in higher ed on three fronts: pedagogy, employability, and sustainability.

https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/gabor-sarlos/

https://readysteadygreen.buzzsprout.com

00:00 Introduction

00:57 Perspective as a professor

08:05 Appropriate use in assessment

15:37 Employability perspective: the graduate job market

17:00 Social skills and technology

21:30 Development of AI criticality

25:46 What AI skills should HE teach?

28:47 The tension with the environmental harms

33:43 Addressing the whole issue

36:51 Wrap-up

A conversation with Orion Kidder, clinical assistant professor in Humanities, on the Vancouver campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University, where Orion is the coordinator of the academic writing centre and teaches Composition, Professional Writing, Communication, as well as Literary Studies.

Teaching English writing to a student cohort with a majority of non-native writers, Orion has been on the frontline of the attack "generative AI" has carried out on traditional assessment. We discuss his (ongoing) response, his position on AI, his views as to the future of the technology in education - after which chatting about his research on comic books is a welcome respite.

Orion on Mastodon

Chapters:

00:05 Introduction

01:27 Teaching English writing to majority non-native English writers#

02:45 The arrival of generative AI

04:31 Disgression on The Bubble

05:00 Institutional attitude to AI

06:20 Redesigning assessment modalities in response

08:13 Incentive structures for overseas students in Canada

10:24 Misconduct in formative assessment?

11:13 On academics using AI

12:36 The point of essays

13:53 Do profs underestimate the prevalence of AI-misconduct?

14:54 Perspective from the Academic Skills Centre

15:50 Wishing for the collapse of a Bullshit Industry

16:35 But this will deepen educational in equality.

17:01 On the economics of the AI industry

18:46 Co-optation of AI by the higher ed. sector.

19:33 Productivity and 'boss-brained' users

21:34 But isn't there a valid pedagogical use?

24:10 Education reacting rather than responding

25:25 Precedents in failed education trends and education moral panics

27:17 Is there hope for Gen Z students?

31:00 Orion's comic book research

33:21 End bit.

E0 - Prototype - Advay, Jo & Zeke by Will Berard

"Dear / -Sam," by Will Berard