AAUP NC - Genuine Intelligence Project

The Genuine Intelligence Project

The Genuine Intelligence Project is a grant-funded AAUP NC initiative that interrogates the use of generative "AI" in the university.

As "AI" products like ChatGPT have become publicly available, our universities have pushed "AI" into student and faculty workspaces without the meaningful input from a wide spectrum of faculty and students in a variety of disciplines. Faculty are being pressured to teach "AI competency" without much regard for what's appropriate in their disciplines or for their course learning objectives. As the UNC system moves forward with their adoption of the Canvas learning management system, we are concerned that the university-supported intrusion of "AI" will only intensify: Canvas and OpenAI are owned by the same private equity firm, and OpenAI and Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, have recently announced a new partnership. The intrusion of "AI" products in our work and learning environments raises concerns about diminished academic freedom, lack of respect for faculty expertise, and impediments to the scholarly and creative work we've been hired to do. We also have grave concerns about negative learning and developmental impacts for our students.

A growing body of research suggests that "AI" products are not the panacea that Big Tech marketing makes them out to be. Evidence suggests that these products are actively harmful for human beings and the environment. A 2025 study at MIT found that generative "AI" use had a negative impact on cognitive function over the course of four months. Other studies suggested that use of "AI" tools can lead to dependence and reduced critical thinking ("AI" assistance reduces persistence, Impact of generative "AI" on critical thinking, How "AI" is shaping human reasoning, How "AI" impacts skill formation, Microsoft wants to make people addicted to "AI".) The use of "AI" has also been found to lead to social and cognitive “deskilling” (Lancet, AI and Society, and New York Times). Along with these concerns, "AI" uses enormous amounts of energy and water, and the data centers required to power these products cause even more environmental problems. There are also substantial and well-founded concerns about the unethical labor practices that seem to be inherent to the development and maintenance of these products as well as the risks of labor intensification and disruption of jobs that may come from widespread and uncritical adoption. There are still more concerns about privacy and intellectual property rights AAUP Report, Wired copyright case tracker, 404 Canvas hack.) Why are our universities ignoring these concerns when making decisions about "AI" adoption for our campuses?

We are calling on universities to stop perpetuating myths about the inevitability and necessity of adopting "AI" products; these myths serve the tech industry and not our students, faculty, or knowledge workers. Instead, we call for a critical approach to "AI" adoption. University decisions about "AI" should be driven by scholarly critique and accurate information, not by Big Tech marketing hype. All faculty, not only those receiving funding to study "AI," should have a voice in decisions related to the adoption of these products.

The Genuine Intelligence Project intends to share information, resources, and opportunities for action with students, faculty, and knowledge workers at universities throughout North Carolina.

Please note: the Genuine Intelligence Project recognizes that "AI" is a marketing term, not an accurate statement of the broad range of technologies that people are often referring to when they use the term "AI." In general, we're referring to generative "AI" technologies like the Gemini tool found in the Google Workspaces at NC State. We hope to encourage AAUP members to think in a more nuanced way about these products.

Get Involved

Subscribe to the Genuine Intelligence NC Substack: https://substack.com/@genuineintelligencenc

To join the AAUP NC Critical AI working group, please contact Belle Boggs at belleboggs@gmail.com.

Resources

AAUP AI Position Statement: Artificial Intelligence and Academic Professions (https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/aaup-policies-reports/topical-reports/artificial-intelligence-and-academic)

Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia - Guest et al. (https://zenodo.org/records/20082828)

Towards Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacies - Guest, Marcela, and van Rooij (https://zenodo.org/records/17786243)