Megan McIntyre
@rcmeg.bsky.social
Director, Program in Rhet/Comp, U of Arkansas
English prof
Writing about #WPALife and writing pedagogy
Loves dogs
Before: Sonoma State English & Dartmouth Institute for Writing & Rhetoric
(views only ever mine, obv)
she/her
English prof
Writing about #WPALife and writing pedagogy
Loves dogs
Before: Sonoma State English & Dartmouth Institute for Writing & Rhetoric
(views only ever mine, obv)
she/her
Pinned
Megan McIntyre
@rcmeg.bsky.social
· Jul 12
New from me. Hope you’ll give it a read www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Tech billionaire Trump adviser Marc Andreesen says universities will ‘pay the price’ for DEI
Tech investor and Trump adviser Marc Andreessen in a private group chat attacked colleges for promoting diversity, saying they had discriminated against “native born kids.”
www.washingtonpost.com
I'm genuinely begging folks to read both @timnitgebru.bsky.social and Torres' "TESCREAL Bundle" and @adambecker.bsky.social's _More Everything Forever_ and connect these billionaires' eugenicist dreams to the GenAI products they're pushing onto every educational institution, K-college.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
Given that the administration has stopped trying to defend their EO pushing for more segregation, feels like VT powers that be just want to do this
Virginia Tech Bans University-Funded Identity-Based Graduations
www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
Virginia Tech Bans University-Funded Affinity Graduations
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has banned university-funded, "identity-based Graduation Achievement Ceremonies," the institution announced on its website. The Virginian-Pilot repo...
www.insidehighered.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Given that the administration has stopped trying to defend their EO pushing for more segregation, feels like VT powers that be just want to do this
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
Yep. The market problem writ large is exceptionally true in highered. But it won’t matter — and doesn’t matter — to those in charge right now because the point is to strip the institution.
Faculty have a role to play, but I'm convinced the most recent drive to automate education will fail, just as it has in every decade since the 1950s, because tuition-paying students hate it.
That said, each new iteration of this drive chips away at budgets, at public trust, at institutions, etc.
That said, each new iteration of this drive chips away at budgets, at public trust, at institutions, etc.
February 13, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Yep. The market problem writ large is exceptionally true in highered. But it won’t matter — and doesn’t matter — to those in charge right now because the point is to strip the institution.
In _Atlas of AI_, Crawford says, "The affordances of the tools become the horizon of truth" (p. 133).
In _Algorithms of Oppression_, Noble says, "We have more data and technology than ever in our daily lives and more social, political, and economic inequality and in justice to go with it" (p. 171).
In _Algorithms of Oppression_, Noble says, "We have more data and technology than ever in our daily lives and more social, political, and economic inequality and in justice to go with it" (p. 171).
February 13, 2026 at 3:35 PM
In _Atlas of AI_, Crawford says, "The affordances of the tools become the horizon of truth" (p. 133).
In _Algorithms of Oppression_, Noble says, "We have more data and technology than ever in our daily lives and more social, political, and economic inequality and in justice to go with it" (p. 171).
In _Algorithms of Oppression_, Noble says, "We have more data and technology than ever in our daily lives and more social, political, and economic inequality and in justice to go with it" (p. 171).
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
Also I’m sorry but I don’t think this is Claude developing a personality or ethical values. It is *simulating* those things because that is what humans value and reward. The programmers are falling for their own Clever Hans trick!
February 11, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Also I’m sorry but I don’t think this is Claude developing a personality or ethical values. It is *simulating* those things because that is what humans value and reward. The programmers are falling for their own Clever Hans trick!
"Developers I spoke to said the same incentives that make bots irresistible can stand in the way of reasonable safeguards, making outright abstention the only sure way to stay safe. Some described feeling stuck between protecting users and raising profits."
Opinion | ‘We’re All Polyamorous Now. It’s You, Me and the A.I.’
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:15 PM
"Developers I spoke to said the same incentives that make bots irresistible can stand in the way of reasonable safeguards, making outright abstention the only sure way to stay safe. Some described feeling stuck between protecting users and raising profits."
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
Disaster capitalism.
“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns…”
“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns…”
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Disaster capitalism.
“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns…”
“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns…”
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
I fear that men are about to do what men do. They are about to characterize any sober thinking about power as non-technical and therefore unserious.
We have seen this pattern over and over again in tech criticism. Women and people of color repeatedly lead on understanding tech changes.
We have seen this pattern over and over again in tech criticism. Women and people of color repeatedly lead on understanding tech changes.
February 11, 2026 at 5:55 PM
I fear that men are about to do what men do. They are about to characterize any sober thinking about power as non-technical and therefore unserious.
We have seen this pattern over and over again in tech criticism. Women and people of color repeatedly lead on understanding tech changes.
We have seen this pattern over and over again in tech criticism. Women and people of color repeatedly lead on understanding tech changes.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
The thing is "take it seriously" often means "accept that we're creating Skynet," rather than grappling with real, concrete, well-established concerns around bias, deskilling, unemployment (not the same as "replacement"), and ecology.
I fear that men are about to do what men do. They are about to characterize any sober thinking about power as non-technical and therefore unserious.
We have seen this pattern over and over again in tech criticism. Women and people of color repeatedly lead on understanding tech changes.
We have seen this pattern over and over again in tech criticism. Women and people of color repeatedly lead on understanding tech changes.
February 13, 2026 at 2:17 PM
The thing is "take it seriously" often means "accept that we're creating Skynet," rather than grappling with real, concrete, well-established concerns around bias, deskilling, unemployment (not the same as "replacement"), and ecology.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
MA giving chatbot to 40,000 state gov't workers. Hope it works better than the NYC chatbot that told users it was okay to serve rat-nibbled cheese in restaurants. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/12/b...
February 13, 2026 at 12:39 AM
MA giving chatbot to 40,000 state gov't workers. Hope it works better than the NYC chatbot that told users it was okay to serve rat-nibbled cheese in restaurants. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/12/b...
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
"Maybe all we do is frustrate," Star said. "Give someone one more day with their daughter or their dad.
"But if you lost your dad, or you lost your daughter, you would give anything to have one more day with them. And that’s what we can do.”
My latest for Slate
"But if you lost your dad, or you lost your daughter, you would give anything to have one more day with them. And that’s what we can do.”
My latest for Slate
Activists Are Fighting ICE Even Though It Could Get Them Killed. Here’s Why.
ICE is still trying to subjugate Minneapolis. It's still failing.
slate.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:18 PM
"Maybe all we do is frustrate," Star said. "Give someone one more day with their daughter or their dad.
"But if you lost your dad, or you lost your daughter, you would give anything to have one more day with them. And that’s what we can do.”
My latest for Slate
"But if you lost your dad, or you lost your daughter, you would give anything to have one more day with them. And that’s what we can do.”
My latest for Slate
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
As I’ve been saying, by the end of the year, you can expect that ChatGPT will be selling a product that lets people generate child sexual abuse material on demand. They will then say “oops” about it violating their TOS, and repeat until everyone caves. Because their leadership is largely ex-Meta.
OpenAI fired one of its top safety execs, on the grounds of sexual discrimination, after she voiced opposition to the controversial rollout of AI erotica in its ChatGPT product.
OpenAI told her the term was related to her sexual discrimination against a male colleague.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/open...
OpenAI told her the term was related to her sexual discrimination against a male colleague.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/open...
Exclusive | OpenAI Executive Who Opposed ‘Adult Mode’ Fired for Sexual Discrimination
Ryan Beiermeister, who served as the vice president leading OpenAI’s product policy team, had raised concerns about the upcoming launch of erotic content.
www.wsj.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:31 PM
As I’ve been saying, by the end of the year, you can expect that ChatGPT will be selling a product that lets people generate child sexual abuse material on demand. They will then say “oops” about it violating their TOS, and repeat until everyone caves. Because their leadership is largely ex-Meta.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
It hurts my heart to see how many people think (demonstrated in their use of generative AI) the only value in writing is producing an end product.
I write foremost because the process of writing teaches me a great deal, much of which is never represented in a single word of the final piece.
I write foremost because the process of writing teaches me a great deal, much of which is never represented in a single word of the final piece.
February 11, 2026 at 11:06 PM
It hurts my heart to see how many people think (demonstrated in their use of generative AI) the only value in writing is producing an end product.
I write foremost because the process of writing teaches me a great deal, much of which is never represented in a single word of the final piece.
I write foremost because the process of writing teaches me a great deal, much of which is never represented in a single word of the final piece.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
what makes something "vulnerable to AI" is not the capacity of machines but the credulity of management.
Of course, it is also true that historians jobs may in practice be vulnerable to AI, because a lot of people who control the money for historian jobs probably haven’t thought much about where history comes from, either.
February 11, 2026 at 8:39 PM
what makes something "vulnerable to AI" is not the capacity of machines but the credulity of management.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
I saw this take before I had to run and teach today, so I've had 4 hrs to build a head of steam about it. Still, I'm gonna try to be nice. All due respect, I expect better from people who have all the resources in the world to research a thing AND a giant megaphone with which to share knowledge. 1/
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 10:19 PM
I saw this take before I had to run and teach today, so I've had 4 hrs to build a head of steam about it. Still, I'm gonna try to be nice. All due respect, I expect better from people who have all the resources in the world to research a thing AND a giant megaphone with which to share knowledge. 1/
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
if AI is so amazing, why can’t its supporters point to one real actual benefit to society it offers?
February 11, 2026 at 8:11 PM
if AI is so amazing, why can’t its supporters point to one real actual benefit to society it offers?
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
No one has seriously said LLMs aren’t important or that AI is categorically junk.
Some of us have said that there is something bigger than tech. It’s called power — governance, civic norms, etc — & refusal is absolutely part of how we think soberly about that power. Who has it & how they use it.
Some of us have said that there is something bigger than tech. It’s called power — governance, civic norms, etc — & refusal is absolutely part of how we think soberly about that power. Who has it & how they use it.
February 11, 2026 at 5:53 PM
No one has seriously said LLMs aren’t important or that AI is categorically junk.
Some of us have said that there is something bigger than tech. It’s called power — governance, civic norms, etc — & refusal is absolutely part of how we think soberly about that power. Who has it & how they use it.
Some of us have said that there is something bigger than tech. It’s called power — governance, civic norms, etc — & refusal is absolutely part of how we think soberly about that power. Who has it & how they use it.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
I don’t really pay attention to charges of doomerism. I don’t know what it means offline.
I do know that refusing a version of how the future will unfold forecloses on the power that actually shapes that future. That’s not disavowing that tech changes are happening but they are in now a given.
I do know that refusing a version of how the future will unfold forecloses on the power that actually shapes that future. That’s not disavowing that tech changes are happening but they are in now a given.
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 5:51 PM
I don’t really pay attention to charges of doomerism. I don’t know what it means offline.
I do know that refusing a version of how the future will unfold forecloses on the power that actually shapes that future. That’s not disavowing that tech changes are happening but they are in now a given.
I do know that refusing a version of how the future will unfold forecloses on the power that actually shapes that future. That’s not disavowing that tech changes are happening but they are in now a given.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
I am exhausted by AI hype. AI doomerism is 100% more AI hype.
A *lot* of harm is being done in the name of AI.
If that harm is too hard to keep looking at, then you get this kind of nonsense:
A *lot* of harm is being done in the name of AI.
If that harm is too hard to keep looking at, then you get this kind of nonsense:
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 6:40 PM
I am exhausted by AI hype. AI doomerism is 100% more AI hype.
A *lot* of harm is being done in the name of AI.
If that harm is too hard to keep looking at, then you get this kind of nonsense:
A *lot* of harm is being done in the name of AI.
If that harm is too hard to keep looking at, then you get this kind of nonsense:
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
No. What people on the left need to see is journalists informing the public rather than performing press release as a service.
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 6:28 PM
No. What people on the left need to see is journalists informing the public rather than performing press release as a service.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
My initial impression of this list is it demonstrates two things:
1. The continued overselling of AI and grandiose wishcasting about what it is/will be capable of doing
2. The wild misunderstanding of what these jobs actually do, by smug techbros who don't care about what they don't know
1. The continued overselling of AI and grandiose wishcasting about what it is/will be capable of doing
2. The wild misunderstanding of what these jobs actually do, by smug techbros who don't care about what they don't know
Microsoft released a study showing the 40 jobs most at risk by AI:
February 11, 2026 at 2:14 PM
My initial impression of this list is it demonstrates two things:
1. The continued overselling of AI and grandiose wishcasting about what it is/will be capable of doing
2. The wild misunderstanding of what these jobs actually do, by smug techbros who don't care about what they don't know
1. The continued overselling of AI and grandiose wishcasting about what it is/will be capable of doing
2. The wild misunderstanding of what these jobs actually do, by smug techbros who don't care about what they don't know
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
every single one of these articles.
February 11, 2026 at 2:19 PM
every single one of these articles.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
A point I make in my work on this subject is that we need to reject the insistance that convos abt commercial AI products should be about the tech. Determining whether AI is “conscious” is a Smartwashing exercise in solipcism that distracts from the material conditions of the product’s distribution
February 11, 2026 at 2:07 PM
A point I make in my work on this subject is that we need to reject the insistance that convos abt commercial AI products should be about the tech. Determining whether AI is “conscious” is a Smartwashing exercise in solipcism that distracts from the material conditions of the product’s distribution
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet:
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet
Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet:
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
This article immediately labels @emilymbender.bsky.social and I as "curmudgeons" because we don't think that the spicy auto complete has a concept of the self.
Experiments conducted with the A.I. system Claude are producing fascinating results—and raising questions about the nature of selfhood. Gideon Lewis-Kraus reports from inside the company that designed it, Anthropic. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rOfXjg
February 11, 2026 at 3:01 PM
This article immediately labels @emilymbender.bsky.social and I as "curmudgeons" because we don't think that the spicy auto complete has a concept of the self.
Reposted by Megan McIntyre
My god.
I keep rereading this paragraph expecting the words to change
February 11, 2026 at 12:24 AM
My god.