Thirteen Ways of Looking at AI

With apologies to Wallace Stevens.

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I
Meeting with the academic dean
I asked him to share with faculty
How admin are using AI.

II
A colleague shares a short story:
Kafka sitting in a sales meeting
For AI.

III
AI can help faculty take
Burdensome things off their plate,
Says the dean who doesn’t use it
Or know how the plates will empty.

IV
Students want faculty to teach them
Responsible use of AI.
Students refuse to read AI statements in
Syllabuses.

V
The thinker and the thought
Are one.
The thinker and the AI thought partner
Are less than one.

VI
O slumped and gray writing professors,
Why do you imagine human-filled writing?
Do you not see that AI is the future?

VII
A philosopher writes doggerel for
An English professor
Frustrated about the lack of leadership
Regarding AI in higher ed.

VIII
I know what transformative learning can be,
And I know that outsourcing
Wonder—perhaps to a generative AI—
Transforms no one
And leaves landscapes
Ravaged.

IX
Copilot will protect your data
From outsiders;
Your campus owns your private
Questions.

X
I asked ChatGPT to review
My thyroid levels,
And was prepared for the doctor’s phone call.

XI
Is this strong student writing or
Is this a revised draft of a strong
AI prompt?

XII
It’s finals week.
Can we map electricity spikes
To college towns
To academic integrity reports?

XIII
It was the semester’s twilight.
No one knew what AI would look like
In the morning.