AKA Review — May 26, 2023

From Times Higher Education:

Five Ways AI Has Already Changed Higher Education

By Tom Williams & Jack Grove
In contrast to the usual handwringing and utopian thinking about AI’s future in higher education, this down-to-earth article highlights five different areas where AI has been used effectively for several years—from predictive modeling of student success in the admissions process to user-friendly literature search-term visualizations. With these examples as a starting point and links to several new AI tools, the author considers where the technology is likely to augment these already effective applications and where it may hit its limits. Read this article

From The Chronicle of Higher Education:
'Enormous Surge' in Unions Reflects Disconnect Between Colleges and Graduate Employees
By Julian Robert-Grmela
Discussing the historic growth of labor organizing in higher education over the past several years, this article examines why higher education is organizing at a faster rate than other industries. The author suggests that this explosion of labor organization gets at deep questions in contemporary higher education, such as whether graduate student contributions to research and institutional reputation should be compensated and how universities should allocate resources. Read this article

From The New York Times:
This Is Why I Teach My Law Students How to Hack
By Scott J. Shapiro
Pop culture romanticizes cybercrime as a sophisticated high-tech feat and assumes its solutions must be equally glamorous, mysterious, and "techie." In this clear and intentionally non-technical article, Law instructor and Director of Yale’s Cybersecurity Lab, Scott Shapiro, counters that cybercrime threats are rooted fundamentally in human and group behavior, thus requiring solutions that are social, too. "The good news," he concludes, "is that there are promising ways to tackle" these human dimensions. "The bad news is that we have largely failed to pursue them." Read this article

From The New York Times:

There's No Escape From Wildfire Smoke
By David Wallace-Wells
Although most Americans view wildfires as a remote hazard limited to the rugged West, "in recent years, wildfire smoke has caused more harm to the health of Americans living east of the Rockies than to those living west of them." In this disturbing examination of wildfire, New York Times columnist David Wallace-Wells makes a powerful case for examining environmental harms beyond the area of their immediate impact. His implicit argument for viewing societal problems through a similarly wide lens is thought provoking. Read this article

From UChicago News:
Robert J. Zimmer, Chancellor Emeritus and 13th President of the University of Chicago 1947-2023
By Michael Drapa
A reflection on the life and career of longtime University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer, who passed away this month. Zimmer, who spent nearly four decades at Chicago as a faculty member and administrator, greatly expanded the University’s academic breadth and global presence. His greatest legacy, however, may be the prescience of his defense of academic freedom, made at a time when debate on the limits of campus speech was far less heated and polarizing than today. His position was fundamental to his core responsibility as President, ensuring that the University realizes its enduring values. Read this obituary