Archives: Evergreen Notes

Up until now, I have only ever used AI chatbots as “simple” yet powerful tools. I give a command, and the system executes a task. I have never felt any urge to use them for casual chatting or in any genuinely conversational way. Because of this, the well-known "amnesia problem" of AI also never really bothered me.

Every few months a new headline announces that AI is about to transform education: sometimes as breathless optimism, sometimes as creeping alarm. Both reactions share the same flaw: they are running well ahead of the evidence, and, more importantly, ahead of our current capacity to properly study the question.

Most universities offer their academic staff some form of teaching development. A workshop on active learning. An induction session for new starters. A seminar series that appears in the calendar each year. The intentions behind these programmes are genuine. The evidence that they change teaching practice is, on the whole, thin.

I've got hundreds of papers in Zotero. When I need to reference something, I know it's in there somewhere—a study about student feedback, that framework on assessment design, the article with the perfect quote. But finding it means scrolling, searching, hoping I tagged or summarised it properly six months ago.

Every truly revolutionary tool on campus has a story. Not the story of its features, but of its impact: a colleague who finally perfected their dream seminar, a team that unlocked a new way to collaborate with students. These are the moments that matter. They're the sparks that make us lean in and ask a trusted peer, “How did you do that?”