Degenerative AI and the management of Higher Education: from the matrix of metrics to Marx

Citation

Galanos V (2025) Degenerative AI and the management of Higher Education: from the matrix of metrics to Marx. Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) seminar series, King's College London, 18.11.2025. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/degenerative-ai-and-the-management-of-higher-education-from-the-matrix-of-metrics-to-marx

Abstract
This talk reflects on more than two years of closely engaging with the introduction of generative AI (GenAI) in the social science and business studies classroom and the management of Higher Education, offering insights as to (1) what GenAI can tell us about learning objectives based on a systematic understanding of AI technologies, (2) the status of Higher Education as symptomatic of a metrics-oriented culture and a long history of "automated classrooms," and (3) potential routes for 'otherwising' the academic landscape. These will be done with some help from Karl Marx's Capital, as well as theorisations by Jean Baudrillard, Paul Virilio, and Félix Guattari, offering pathways for an ecological HE that challenges the velocity of educational simulacra, currently expressed in the form of AI hype and proclaimed GenAI adoption rates. The talk places particular emphasis on labour intensification realities as opposed to labour alleviation promises, and various modes of resisting AI use in a creative and inclusive manner.