Hollis Robbins
@anecdotal.bsky.social
AI is disrupting higher ed: how can we be ahead? Writing at https://hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com. Former Dean of Humanities & now Special Advisor for Humanities & AI at UUtah. Former Dean @ Sonoma State University. PhD Princeton, MPP Harvard KSG
AI in Education Is an Unknown, Humans Are Not | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...
AI in Education Is an Unknown, Humans Are Not
A massive re-analysis of findings on AI and learning shows universities may be rebuilding around a technology with no reliable effect.
www.psychologytoday.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:37 PM
AI in Education Is an Unknown, Humans Are Not | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Should universities be about known knowns or unknown unknowns? open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
The Rumsfeld Matrix
Higher Ed is at war, after all
open.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Should universities be about known knowns or unknown unknowns? open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
Should universities be about known knowns or unknown unknowns? open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
The Rumsfeld Matrix
Higher Ed is at war, after all
open.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Should universities be about known knowns or unknown unknowns? open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
interesting read. don’t love the transactional framing and the metaphor breaks down a bit for me (feels more like we are cultivating a garden than letting in and then breeding AI alligators) but I agree with a lot of what’s in here.
AI will transform what the university sells and how it sells it. That is why it is the alligator closest to the boat. I welcome the AI alligator, because mentorship paired with expert judgment is the only defensible value proposition left. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
AI-Forced Restructuring Is Top Risk for Higher Ed (opinion)
AI-forced restructuring is the biggest risk colleges face.
www.insidehighered.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:11 PM
interesting read. don’t love the transactional framing and the metaphor breaks down a bit for me (feels more like we are cultivating a garden than letting in and then breeding AI alligators) but I agree with a lot of what’s in here.
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Good piece, especially because it foregrounds "legitimacy" as the remaining value proposition for universities. In a world where knowledge and skill are not scarce, metacognitive decisions will still be hard — and those decisions are interwoven with questions of social validation. +
AI will transform what the university sells and how it sells it. That is why it is the alligator closest to the boat. I welcome the AI alligator, because mentorship paired with expert judgment is the only defensible value proposition left. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
AI-Forced Restructuring Is Top Risk for Higher Ed (opinion)
AI-forced restructuring is the biggest risk colleges face.
www.insidehighered.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Good piece, especially because it foregrounds "legitimacy" as the remaining value proposition for universities. In a world where knowledge and skill are not scarce, metacognitive decisions will still be hard — and those decisions are interwoven with questions of social validation. +
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Universities won't let faculty fail students. You can't fail a revenue stream and stay in business. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/why-film-p...
Why Film Professors Can't Fail Students Who Won't Watch Films
The ABCs of the higher ed economy
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Universities won't let faculty fail students. You can't fail a revenue stream and stay in business. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/why-film-p...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Re "I challenge you to look at the Arizona State University film program website and figure out who your professor will be and whether you’re required to watch any films to the end." - I accepted this challenge, and I really wish I hadn't
January 31, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Re "I challenge you to look at the Arizona State University film program website and figure out who your professor will be and whether you’re required to watch any films to the end." - I accepted this challenge, and I really wish I hadn't
Universities won't let faculty fail students. You can't fail a revenue stream and stay in business. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/why-film-p...
Why Film Professors Can't Fail Students Who Won't Watch Films
The ABCs of the higher ed economy
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Universities won't let faculty fail students. You can't fail a revenue stream and stay in business. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/why-film-p...
The great paradox of modern AI is that companies like Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI pursue ever-larger models and more centralized data collection while simultaneously promising more "personalized" experiences. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/ai-and-the...
AI and the Last Mile 2.
The principle of subsidiarity
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:51 PM
The great paradox of modern AI is that companies like Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI pursue ever-larger models and more centralized data collection while simultaneously promising more "personalized" experiences. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/ai-and-the...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
AI will transform what the university sells and how it sells it. That is why it is the alligator closest to the boat. I welcome the AI alligator, because mentorship paired with expert judgment is the only defensible value proposition left. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
AI-Forced Restructuring Is Top Risk for Higher Ed (opinion)
AI-forced restructuring is the biggest risk colleges face.
www.insidehighered.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:39 PM
AI will transform what the university sells and how it sells it. That is why it is the alligator closest to the boat. I welcome the AI alligator, because mentorship paired with expert judgment is the only defensible value proposition left. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Local news matters in the AI era. The stories that "escape containment" are the least valuable, especially to LLMs. Support making local news accessible. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/what-escap...
What escapes containment is least valuable
More on the value of local news in the AI era
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Local news matters in the AI era. The stories that "escape containment" are the least valuable, especially to LLMs. Support making local news accessible. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/what-escap...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Can AI write great poetry? If a prompt engineer is also a poet, it can come mighty close. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/llm-poetry...
LLM poetry and the "greatness" question
Experiments by Gwern and Mercor
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Can AI write great poetry? If a prompt engineer is also a poet, it can come mighty close. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/llm-poetry...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Local news matters. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
The First Rough Draft of History
Local news in the AI era
open.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Local news matters. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
AI will transform what the university sells and how it sells it. That is why it is the alligator closest to the boat. I welcome the AI alligator, because mentorship paired with expert judgment is the only defensible value proposition left. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
AI-Forced Restructuring Is Top Risk for Higher Ed (opinion)
AI-forced restructuring is the biggest risk colleges face.
www.insidehighered.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:39 PM
AI will transform what the university sells and how it sells it. That is why it is the alligator closest to the boat. I welcome the AI alligator, because mentorship paired with expert judgment is the only defensible value proposition left. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Local news matters. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
The First Rough Draft of History
Local news in the AI era
open.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Local news matters. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Wondering why those new university "civics centers" are silent on the deadly constitutional crisis happening in Minnesota.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
Civics Centers as Ivory Towers
Federalism in the classroom, silence on the street
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Wondering why those new university "civics centers" are silent on the deadly constitutional crisis happening in Minnesota.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
Wondering why those new university "civics centers" are silent on the deadly constitutional crisis happening in Minnesota.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
Civics Centers as Ivory Towers
Federalism in the classroom, silence on the street
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Wondering why those new university "civics centers" are silent on the deadly constitutional crisis happening in Minnesota.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/civics-cen...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Why you should hire recent college graduates. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
LLMs are lagging indicators
Why you should hire recent graduates
open.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Why you should hire recent college graduates. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
Why you should hire recent college graduates. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
LLMs are lagging indicators
Why you should hire recent graduates
open.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Why you should hire recent college graduates. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
The future does not arrive with a tracking number. A first mile advantage is the ability to be in the right community, in the right room, in the right conversation, to recognize that a signal is worth capturing before it has a name.
January 17, 2026 at 12:06 AM
The future does not arrive with a tracking number. A first mile advantage is the ability to be in the right community, in the right room, in the right conversation, to recognize that a signal is worth capturing before it has a name.
Both of my kids with bar and bat mitzvahed at Beth Israel synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi. It was a local kid who torched it, not a college protester. The loudness on the left has kept a lot of national voices from focusing on antisemitism on the right.
January 13, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Both of my kids with bar and bat mitzvahed at Beth Israel synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi. It was a local kid who torched it, not a college protester. The loudness on the left has kept a lot of national voices from focusing on antisemitism on the right.
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
Pluribus offers a counterargument to the techno-optimist view that connecting all minds would lead to a cultural explosion. It leads to silence.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
Embrace your lack
Pluribus, culture, language models, performance
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Pluribus offers a counterargument to the techno-optimist view that connecting all minds would lead to a cultural explosion. It leads to silence.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
Pluribus offers a counterargument to the techno-optimist view that connecting all minds would lead to a cultural explosion. It leads to silence.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
Embrace your lack
Pluribus, culture, language models, performance
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Pluribus offers a counterargument to the techno-optimist view that connecting all minds would lead to a cultural explosion. It leads to silence.
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/embrace-yo...
People still ask me about this post because it is the most prescient thing I've written about AI and higher ed that nobody is acting upon yet. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/ai-aced-yo...
AI Aced Your State’s Gen Ed. Now What?
Time to Move Upstream
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:27 PM
People still ask me about this post because it is the most prescient thing I've written about AI and higher ed that nobody is acting upon yet. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/ai-aced-yo...
Reposted by Hollis Robbins
what do you want a poem about
Can AI write great poetry? If a prompt engineer is also a poet, it can come mighty close. hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/llm-poetry...
LLM poetry and the "greatness" question
Experiments by Gwern and Mercor
hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:27 PM
what do you want a poem about