Excellent op-ed, Dawson!
I value academic freedom. In the case of AI, though, it's being used as an angle by Task Force members and senior administration to 'punt' on developing and enacting meaningful solutions to what may be an actual existential threat to higher education. I couldn't agree more about the need for basics, particularly clear department-level guidelines on appropriate use.
We've embraced and facilitated a pedagogy at BU where even those who begin their degree programs with a serious hunger to learn can't help but get caught up in the many easy shortcuts that can turn higher education into a transactional certification. At $100k a year, it was already leaning that way.
Students aren't to blame. They're being failed by senior administrators whose priorities seem to always drag on ROI, feckless tenured faculty, and, yes, big tech interests. Dawson and others deserve better.
I'm grateful to have received my BU education when I did, and at a third of the cost.