Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.

So really everything our minister thinks she knows about the financing and incentive structure of this truly enormous sector is... wrong. Completely wrong at the most basic and most important of levels.

Asked about impact of Teacher's Pension Scheme, Smith says she's talked to some folks. They are, apparently, "looking", and "discussing", "what we can do to support the sector", "no easy way".

At this point I wail in despair: HOW do we keep getting landed with these people as our HE ministers?

Anyone who can look at the current underfunded state of UK universities and think there's half a billion quid you can take out of the sector without doing catastrophic damage is just not fit for office.