Stacy Wittstock
@curiousmagpie.bsky.social
Pacific Northwesterner. Writing teacher. 📚✍️ PhD in Education & Writing Studies. TT Assistant Prof & Writing Center Director @ Marist University. She/her. Come talk to me re: writing assessment, higher ed labor politics, institutional ethnography, & more.
Pinned
Constructivist Writing Placement: Repositioning Agency for More Equitable Placement through Collaborative Writing Placement Practices | ncte.org
This article presents a constructivist writing placement framework, developed from the study of two pilot iterations of a local writing placement mechanism at a large public research university. Throu...
publicationsncte.org
Thrilled that our article “Constructivist Writing Placement: Repositioning Agency for More Equitable Placement through Collaborative Writing Placement Practices” has come out in CCC!! @ncte.org @jburkereifman.bsky.social #WritingStudies #TeamRhetoric #AcademicSky publicationsncte.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
If you'll be in Albany next week, I'll try to connect threads on anti-democratic parents' rights groups, AI, democracy, and education at a talk I'm giving at SUNY-Albany on Thursday afternoon as part of the AI and Democracy: Critical Questions Speaker Series.
November 7, 2025 at 1:41 AM
If you'll be in Albany next week, I'll try to connect threads on anti-democratic parents' rights groups, AI, democracy, and education at a talk I'm giving at SUNY-Albany on Thursday afternoon as part of the AI and Democracy: Critical Questions Speaker Series.
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
OSCAR ISAAC, on whether he'd return to "Star Wars":
".. Yeah. I mean, I’d be open to it, although right now I’m not so open to working with Disney. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great."
@variety.com $DIS
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
".. Yeah. I mean, I’d be open to it, although right now I’m not so open to working with Disney. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great."
@variety.com $DIS
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
Oscar Isaac Was ‘Not So Open to Working With Disney’ After Jimmy Kimmel Suspension, Said He’d Return to ‘Star Wars’ if Disney Does ‘Not Succumb to Fascism’
Oscar Isaac was not open to working with Disney after Jimmy Kimmel's suspension and will only return to 'Star Wars' if the studio avoids fascism.
variety.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:28 PM
OSCAR ISAAC, on whether he'd return to "Star Wars":
".. Yeah. I mean, I’d be open to it, although right now I’m not so open to working with Disney. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great."
@variety.com $DIS
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
".. Yeah. I mean, I’d be open to it, although right now I’m not so open to working with Disney. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great."
@variety.com $DIS
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
a few months ago I said "having generative AI handle absolutely anything with regards to healthcare is a nightmare and should be banned" and a bunch of people made fun of me and called me stupid. anyways,
November 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
a few months ago I said "having generative AI handle absolutely anything with regards to healthcare is a nightmare and should be banned" and a bunch of people made fun of me and called me stupid. anyways,
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Mamdani: So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.
November 5, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Mamdani: So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
This is sometimes read as "look 'AI' isn't working". But the opposite is true.
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
October 30, 2025 at 12:05 PM
This is sometimes read as "look 'AI' isn't working". But the opposite is true.
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
“‘When it comes to AI, the [Dunning-Kruger effect] vanishes,’ study senior author Robin Welsch, a professor at Aalto University, said in a statement about the work. ‘In fact, what’s really surprising is that higher AI literacy brings more overconfidence.’”
AI Is Causing a Grim New Twist on the Dunning-Kruger Effect, New Research Finds
New research shows how AI tools is making a Dunning-Kruger specimen out of everyone that uses them, no matter how smart.
futurism.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:17 PM
“‘When it comes to AI, the [Dunning-Kruger effect] vanishes,’ study senior author Robin Welsch, a professor at Aalto University, said in a statement about the work. ‘In fact, what’s really surprising is that higher AI literacy brings more overconfidence.’”
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
October 30, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
“Relying on chatbots isn’t fringe — it’s the predictable result of care made scarce, stigmatized, and costly. Recognizing that doesn’t mean uncritically embracing chatbot care, but it’s past time to name what’s happening: Privately owned chatbots are functioning as public health resources.”
‘AI psychosis’ discussions ignore a bigger problem with chatbots
Don’t frame chatbot failures as human “insanity.”
www.statnews.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:54 PM
“Relying on chatbots isn’t fringe — it’s the predictable result of care made scarce, stigmatized, and costly. Recognizing that doesn’t mean uncritically embracing chatbot care, but it’s past time to name what’s happening: Privately owned chatbots are functioning as public health resources.”
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Belgian AI scientists resist the use of AI in academia
Several AI scientists have published an open letter calling for a ban on AI use by students.
apache.be
October 24, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
I'm not naive—I get that there have always been people who do their jobs badly, including researchers who do research badly. But I wasn't prepared for the extent to which "AI" has emboldened people to proudly proclaim that their professional judgment is so deeply and fundamentally compromised
Pretty sure real science is actually reading the papers, thinking very deeply, and more, before writing, not generating literature review-like objects with no authorial intent or legwork
Today @anthropic.com released PubMed integration for Claude. No hallucinations. Just real science, real data. As a beta tester, this has been game changing— a supercharged research tool. Here are 6 prompts that will transform how you search the literature. A 🧵
www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
October 20, 2025 at 10:37 PM
I'm not naive—I get that there have always been people who do their jobs badly, including researchers who do research badly. But I wasn't prepared for the extent to which "AI" has emboldened people to proudly proclaim that their professional judgment is so deeply and fundamentally compromised
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Oh no i just realized ai is gonna bring a whole new dimension to the mid white guy in grad school who has things to say about an article he now only read an ai summary of
A fun (“fun”) new thing we need to address is the time wasted correcting the errors of people who arrive at a conversation having only read the AI summary of a document.
October 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Oh no i just realized ai is gonna bring a whole new dimension to the mid white guy in grad school who has things to say about an article he now only read an ai summary of
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
My book is out! There are so many fascinating comics-related stories connected to the Hudson River Valley. Paperback to follow in March 2026...
In a new blog post, Moira Fitzgibbons, author of the new book Drawn by the River: The Hudson River Valley as a Comics Ecosystem, explores some of the fascinating history of comic books in New York's Hudson River Valley: tinyurl.com/sv9yp28t
#comicbooks #newyork #ReadUP #hudsonrivervalley
#comicbooks #newyork #ReadUP #hudsonrivervalley
Drawn by the River
tinyurl.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:46 PM
My book is out! There are so many fascinating comics-related stories connected to the Hudson River Valley. Paperback to follow in March 2026...
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Legendary Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu says he’s never used generative AI, and never will.
"I think it still feels more rewarding to go through the hardships of creating something myself."
automaton-media.com/en/news/fina...
"I think it still feels more rewarding to go through the hardships of creating something myself."
automaton-media.com/en/news/fina...
October 17, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Legendary Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu says he’s never used generative AI, and never will.
"I think it still feels more rewarding to go through the hardships of creating something myself."
automaton-media.com/en/news/fina...
"I think it still feels more rewarding to go through the hardships of creating something myself."
automaton-media.com/en/news/fina...
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
“Calling genAI a “tool” has become the standard way of referring to what is, in fact, a political technology. Tools are seen as neutral and unaccountable. This notion rests on several false assumptions:”
Andrea Reyes Elizondo @altibel.bsky.social and I have responded to a blog, recently published on @leidenmadtrics.bsky.social, which argued that using AI responsibly in research means being transparent about it. We object that supposed transparency obscures more fundamental ethical questions.
Why AI transparency is not enough
Recently, a taxonomy to disclose the use of generative AI (genAI) in research outputs was presented as an approach that creates transparency and thereby supports responsible genAI use. In this post we...
www.leidenmadtrics.nl
October 15, 2025 at 12:27 PM
“Calling genAI a “tool” has become the standard way of referring to what is, in fact, a political technology. Tools are seen as neutral and unaccountable. This notion rests on several false assumptions:”
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
I've updated my document that tackles four of the common arguments used to encourage teachers to use AI.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.
Resisting School AI Mania Help Sheet
Help Sheet: Resisting AI Mania in Schools K-12 educators are under increasing pressure to use—and have students use—a wide range of AI tools. (The term “AI” is used loosely here, just as it is by man...
docs.google.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I've updated my document that tackles four of the common arguments used to encourage teachers to use AI.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Once again, this perfect @zeboydgames.bsky.social post comes to mind:
September 30, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Once again, this perfect @zeboydgames.bsky.social post comes to mind:
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
"When prompted in English, the ... responses emphasized an independent social orientation and an analytic cognitive style. When the ... questions were posed in Chinese, the ... responses emphasized an interdependent social orientation and a holistic cognitive style." mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...
Generative AI isn’t culturally neutral, research finds | MIT Sloan
When presented with the same prompt in different languages, generative AI provides culturally distinct responses.
mitsloan.mit.edu
September 30, 2025 at 5:29 AM
"When prompted in English, the ... responses emphasized an independent social orientation and an analytic cognitive style. When the ... questions were posed in Chinese, the ... responses emphasized an interdependent social orientation and a holistic cognitive style." mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
New policy brief: Educators should reassess the hidden impacts of ed tech ecosystems on teaching, learning, and student data. bit.ly/46C2JXT
Fit for Purpose? How Today’s Commercial Digital Platforms Subvert Key Goals of Public Education
Digital educational platforms have become ubiquitous in American classrooms, with tools like Google Workspace for Education, Kahoot!, Zearn, Khan Academy, and many others now structuring curriculum, i...
nepc.colorado.edu
September 25, 2025 at 2:37 PM
New policy brief: Educators should reassess the hidden impacts of ed tech ecosystems on teaching, learning, and student data. bit.ly/46C2JXT
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
The US Copyright Office has declared that generative AI art and text generated by prompts cannot be copyright protected.
(Read more: The Verge)
(Read more: The Verge)
January 30, 2025 at 4:20 PM
The US Copyright Office has declared that generative AI art and text generated by prompts cannot be copyright protected.
(Read more: The Verge)
(Read more: The Verge)
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
“To add insult to injury, many metaphorical … phrases (especially used to describe ANNs; see Table 1) — like train, learn, hallucinate, reason — are applied to machines and result in distorting how we perceive these machines: humanising them while dehumanising us”
zenodo.org/records/1706...
14/🧵
zenodo.org/records/1706...
14/🧵
September 19, 2025 at 11:06 PM
“To add insult to injury, many metaphorical … phrases (especially used to describe ANNs; see Table 1) — like train, learn, hallucinate, reason — are applied to machines and result in distorting how we perceive these machines: humanising them while dehumanising us”
zenodo.org/records/1706...
14/🧵
zenodo.org/records/1706...
14/🧵
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
This technology is so clearly designed to profit off cheating and struggling students--its insidious. And yet universities keep announcing how they're allowing this company into its midst, to exploit and incapacitate our students even more
September 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
This technology is so clearly designed to profit off cheating and struggling students--its insidious. And yet universities keep announcing how they're allowing this company into its midst, to exploit and incapacitate our students even more
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
This is an archived government report that found that “Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists.”
It existed yesterday and is gone today.
It existed yesterday and is gone today.
What NIJ Research Tells Us About Domestic Terrorism
Militant, nationalistic, white supremacist violent extremism has increased in the United States. In fact, the number of far-right attacks continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic...
web.archive.org
September 13, 2025 at 1:39 PM
This is an archived government report that found that “Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists.”
It existed yesterday and is gone today.
It existed yesterday and is gone today.
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Reposted by Stacy Wittstock
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
September 6, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
I recognize that this is going to be an unpopular opinion for some, but IMO if you are submitting scholarship to journals and expecting your colleagues to (potentially) facilitate its publication via peer review, you have a responsibility to give back to that system by reviewing as well.
As co-editor of @writingassessment.bsky.social, can confirm this whole thread. Particularly the comments about how hard it is to find reviewers. We have one piece that we’ve sent to ~7-8 people and all of them have declined or straight ghosted us.
Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:
September 7, 2025 at 12:36 AM
I recognize that this is going to be an unpopular opinion for some, but IMO if you are submitting scholarship to journals and expecting your colleagues to (potentially) facilitate its publication via peer review, you have a responsibility to give back to that system by reviewing as well.