Dr Lauren Fraser
@walkyouhome.bsky.social
Librarian in HE | Union rep | Maker | Potterer
Out in East Lothian usually
Out in East Lothian usually
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
the good that you do persists in this world
December 14, 2025 at 8:20 PM
the good that you do persists in this world
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
Rob Reiner was a good guy. He made a lot of movies about good guys, in worlds where not everyone was good and you didn’t have to be good. He made movies about people trying. He was angry, as many hopeful people are. He knew the world could be better and he wanted it to be. His death is devastating.
December 15, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Rob Reiner was a good guy. He made a lot of movies about good guys, in worlds where not everyone was good and you didn’t have to be good. He made movies about people trying. He was angry, as many hopeful people are. He knew the world could be better and he wanted it to be. His death is devastating.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
He's also responsible for raising all the money that paid for bringing Hollingsworth v. Perry & even more importantly Bostic v. Schaefer, which created the circuit split that forced SCOTUS to take on Obergefell v. Hodges. The role he played in American marriage equality cannot be overstated.
The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated. Legend isn't big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can't handle the truth. As you wish. I'll have what she's having. I'm your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing.
All from his movies.
All from his movies.
December 15, 2025 at 3:59 AM
He's also responsible for raising all the money that paid for bringing Hollingsworth v. Perry & even more importantly Bostic v. Schaefer, which created the circuit split that forced SCOTUS to take on Obergefell v. Hodges. The role he played in American marriage equality cannot be overstated.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
The thing that annoys me is how the idea of "AI competency" is either hilariously empty OR an impossible bar for most undergraduate students.
The weak version of this seems to be "showing students how to use ChatGPT and telling them that it can hallucinate." The strong version is an MA in ML.
The weak version of this seems to be "showing students how to use ChatGPT and telling them that it can hallucinate." The strong version is an MA in ML.
It’s been fun while it lasted: “Purdue University will begin requiring that all of its undergraduate students demonstrate basic competency in artificial intelligence starting with freshmen who enter the university in 2026.”
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
Purdue University Approves New AI Requirement For All Undergrads
Purdue University will begin requiring that all of its undergraduate students meet an AI competency requirement starting with freshmen who enter the university in 2026.
www.forbes.com
December 14, 2025 at 3:07 PM
The thing that annoys me is how the idea of "AI competency" is either hilariously empty OR an impossible bar for most undergraduate students.
The weak version of this seems to be "showing students how to use ChatGPT and telling them that it can hallucinate." The strong version is an MA in ML.
The weak version of this seems to be "showing students how to use ChatGPT and telling them that it can hallucinate." The strong version is an MA in ML.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
When this guidance is published (given legal standing), as it almost certainly will be, as a trans man I will not be allowed to use non-unisex public toilets. Which is almost every public toilet.
Just want that to sink in, there.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Just want that to sink in, there.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Equality boss expects people to 'follow rules' over single-sex spaces
Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson said
www.bbc.co.uk
December 13, 2025 at 9:40 PM
When this guidance is published (given legal standing), as it almost certainly will be, as a trans man I will not be allowed to use non-unisex public toilets. Which is almost every public toilet.
Just want that to sink in, there.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Just want that to sink in, there.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
frame: estimates of AI water usage are exaggerated / less than other industries
negation: actually these studies show it's still pretty bad and it's hard to make good estimates when they hide all the data
kirby:
negation: actually these studies show it's still pretty bad and it's hard to make good estimates when they hide all the data
kirby:
how much water does it take to disrupt the careers of millions of people? how much water does it take to make deepfakes of underage kids? how much water does it take to exacerbate people's mental health crises? is there a good number? is there an acceptable number?
December 13, 2025 at 11:42 PM
frame: estimates of AI water usage are exaggerated / less than other industries
negation: actually these studies show it's still pretty bad and it's hard to make good estimates when they hide all the data
kirby:
negation: actually these studies show it's still pretty bad and it's hard to make good estimates when they hide all the data
kirby:
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
i made a helpful reference
September 24, 2025 at 3:23 PM
i made a helpful reference
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom
December 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM
There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom
[niche librarian post] OMG EndNote's updated to Cite Them Right 13th ed. I just need to let go of my wasted summer trying to manually format it to 12th & realising I couldn't because of how it and our IT's set up, and *then* I can enjoy the fact they've finally updated after 12 years of new editions
December 12, 2025 at 10:48 AM
[niche librarian post] OMG EndNote's updated to Cite Them Right 13th ed. I just need to let go of my wasted summer trying to manually format it to 12th & realising I couldn't because of how it and our IT's set up, and *then* I can enjoy the fact they've finally updated after 12 years of new editions
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
today’s affirmation: I am within the acceptable range of deviation. I am a perfectly roasted quail. if I was a car the mechanics would find nothing weird or rodent related in my air filter. I am upright. There are no stones or excess debris in my shoes. I still have all my bones.
December 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
today’s affirmation: I am within the acceptable range of deviation. I am a perfectly roasted quail. if I was a car the mechanics would find nothing weird or rodent related in my air filter. I am upright. There are no stones or excess debris in my shoes. I still have all my bones.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
I am brimming with holiday spirit
December 8, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I am brimming with holiday spirit
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
Apparently this is the wrong answer, so Wes Streeting is launching another review by a team picked to deliver a more convenient answer 🙄
Whichever review gives the answer they want will be hailed as "gold standard science", the other will be ignored.
Whichever review gives the answer they want will be hailed as "gold standard science", the other will be ignored.
An independent taskforce *just* did a huge review of ADHD in England, and the conclusion was that it's "under-recognised, under-diagnosed and under-treated."
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/re...
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/re...
NHS England » Report of the independent ADHD Taskforce: Part 1
April 2025
www.england.nhs.uk
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Apparently this is the wrong answer, so Wes Streeting is launching another review by a team picked to deliver a more convenient answer 🙄
Whichever review gives the answer they want will be hailed as "gold standard science", the other will be ignored.
Whichever review gives the answer they want will be hailed as "gold standard science", the other will be ignored.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
We end on "Machine Yearning for a Better Present" because why can't we dream? Why accept that universities are not places of learning? Nothing, except industry and their paid shills amongst us, force us to accept this & this force is not one of reason, but one of regressive values & profit.
10/n
10/n
September 6, 2025 at 8:53 AM
We end on "Machine Yearning for a Better Present" because why can't we dream? Why accept that universities are not places of learning? Nothing, except industry and their paid shills amongst us, force us to accept this & this force is not one of reason, but one of regressive values & profit.
10/n
10/n
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
Sometimes I think I’m too much of an alarmist. Then I recall that I’m actually not doing enough.
bsky.app/profile/ubiq...
bsky.app/profile/ubiq...
At our school (UCLA), we’re told we’re in a budget crisis. And yet central IT is out here buying licenses from OpenAI. As I told the person responsible, if anything, OpenAI should be paying US for beta testing their dangerous, flawed software.
December 11, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Sometimes I think I’m too much of an alarmist. Then I recall that I’m actually not doing enough.
bsky.app/profile/ubiq...
bsky.app/profile/ubiq...
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
I’d like to just circle back around and connect this to the earlier discussion about the administrative class making deals with AI firms and inviting them onto campus, feigning or actually having total lack of knowledge of the ethical material harms that they cause, to include to our students.
December 11, 2025 at 5:21 AM
I’d like to just circle back around and connect this to the earlier discussion about the administrative class making deals with AI firms and inviting them onto campus, feigning or actually having total lack of knowledge of the ethical material harms that they cause, to include to our students.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
When this "AI" bubble pops, the men pretending they weren't pushing the hype, like "critics" whose position is "AGI is real but LLMs aren't the way," who were in eugenicist and "AI existential risk"🙄 circles, will get specials discussing what they saw coming, when its the women who told you so.
December 10, 2025 at 8:52 PM
When this "AI" bubble pops, the men pretending they weren't pushing the hype, like "critics" whose position is "AGI is real but LLMs aren't the way," who were in eugenicist and "AI existential risk"🙄 circles, will get specials discussing what they saw coming, when its the women who told you so.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
I say this as someone whose entire job is finding the narrow use cases in which AI is actually useful:
All the fear about AI, all the reluctance to adopt it, is entirely legitimate, and a product of the fact that it's been foisted on the public with no consideration of its negative externalities.
All the fear about AI, all the reluctance to adopt it, is entirely legitimate, and a product of the fact that it's been foisted on the public with no consideration of its negative externalities.
I continue to have no sympathy left for whinging about how the public are rude about AI and feel threatened by it when the biggest players in the AI space have spent years very vocally and constantly *threatening the public*
December 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I say this as someone whose entire job is finding the narrow use cases in which AI is actually useful:
All the fear about AI, all the reluctance to adopt it, is entirely legitimate, and a product of the fact that it's been foisted on the public with no consideration of its negative externalities.
All the fear about AI, all the reluctance to adopt it, is entirely legitimate, and a product of the fact that it's been foisted on the public with no consideration of its negative externalities.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
This is one of the most important documents produced this year.
At a time when many of our professional organizations are punting, @aaup.org has been leading on EdTech, AI, academic freedom & faculty governance.
I'm humbled to be joining the team that authored this report.
At a time when many of our professional organizations are punting, @aaup.org has been leading on EdTech, AI, academic freedom & faculty governance.
I'm humbled to be joining the team that authored this report.
Artificial Intelligence and Academic Professions
Educational technology, or ed-tech, including artificial intelligence (AI), continues to become more integrated into teaching and research in higher education, with minimal oversight. The AAUP’s ad ho...
www.aaup.org
December 10, 2025 at 3:09 PM
This is one of the most important documents produced this year.
At a time when many of our professional organizations are punting, @aaup.org has been leading on EdTech, AI, academic freedom & faculty governance.
I'm humbled to be joining the team that authored this report.
At a time when many of our professional organizations are punting, @aaup.org has been leading on EdTech, AI, academic freedom & faculty governance.
I'm humbled to be joining the team that authored this report.
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
"ai is inevitable" is a high accuracy indicator of "I am a sucker"
"the tech is inevitable" is not the winning argument you think it is in this debate*
*applies to many debates
*applies to many debates
December 10, 2025 at 6:39 AM
"ai is inevitable" is a high accuracy indicator of "I am a sucker"
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
This piece gets at one of the underlying reasons students turn to LLMs - because they think it makes them sound like they belong in a university setting. It's the same motive that had students overusing the thesaurus pre-ChatGPT. theimportantwork.substack.com/p/chatgpt-an...
ChatGPT and "Inventing the University"
What we can learn from the em dash debate
theimportantwork.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM
This piece gets at one of the underlying reasons students turn to LLMs - because they think it makes them sound like they belong in a university setting. It's the same motive that had students overusing the thesaurus pre-ChatGPT. theimportantwork.substack.com/p/chatgpt-an...
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
In M&S buying jeans and wondering when they stopped selling old people clothes and started selling clothes for young hip people like myself
December 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
In M&S buying jeans and wondering when they stopped selling old people clothes and started selling clothes for young hip people like myself
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Students use LLMs because they have never, not just now, had enough time & space for learning.
And they are frequently missing knowledge about how the various resources work. We just skipped right over that to "they're going to use it anyway so we have to integrate it into pedagogy."
Students use LLMs because they have never, not just now, had enough time & space for learning.
And they are frequently missing knowledge about how the various resources work. We just skipped right over that to "they're going to use it anyway so we have to integrate it into pedagogy."
In early 2024, I got to speak to Deans from up & down the West Coast of the US & Canada about "AI". I told them that the only value of ChatGPT for university administrators is as a contrast-dye test to show where resources are lacking.
December 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Students use LLMs because they have never, not just now, had enough time & space for learning.
And they are frequently missing knowledge about how the various resources work. We just skipped right over that to "they're going to use it anyway so we have to integrate it into pedagogy."
Students use LLMs because they have never, not just now, had enough time & space for learning.
And they are frequently missing knowledge about how the various resources work. We just skipped right over that to "they're going to use it anyway so we have to integrate it into pedagogy."
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
my one very sincere piece of business advice to universities:
it takes *a lot* of indignities to kill the goodwill of people who choose to work at universities but managing to do so is not something to be proud of
it takes *a lot* of indignities to kill the goodwill of people who choose to work at universities but managing to do so is not something to be proud of
December 8, 2025 at 7:49 AM
my one very sincere piece of business advice to universities:
it takes *a lot* of indignities to kill the goodwill of people who choose to work at universities but managing to do so is not something to be proud of
it takes *a lot* of indignities to kill the goodwill of people who choose to work at universities but managing to do so is not something to be proud of
Reposted by Dr Lauren Fraser
if I see another academic describe LLMs - a tech owned by a small elite of white billionaires, built from extracting data from humans and minerals from the earth, and refined by the labor of underpaid workers in the global south - as an ‘important tool for decolonization’ I may simply just explode
December 9, 2025 at 2:32 AM
if I see another academic describe LLMs - a tech owned by a small elite of white billionaires, built from extracting data from humans and minerals from the earth, and refined by the labor of underpaid workers in the global south - as an ‘important tool for decolonization’ I may simply just explode