thoughts on research
a seed:
sown with care
our future
a seed:
barren
I’ve always been a reader. Words have power; they weave worlds into existence, they tell tales of our lives, they bear the weight of our emotions. Crafting text is an art form, and I’ve always enjoyed seeing how others choose to wield words: powerfully as Hugo, plainly as Rowling, bluntly as Hardy.
I’ve never been much of a writer. Perhaps it is because of the power that lies innately in a word, its ability to create, as well as destroy. So why this time?
“There is some risk involved in action, there always is. But there is far more risk in failure to act.”
In my research community we see more and more use of AI. Our meetings are swamped with papers; not AI written, but AI assisted. These papers are not slop, but are well written, competent, and sound [1]. This is good, right? Our senior researchers can be more productive in developing their good ideas quickly, so we are all better off, right?
I’m not so sure. Teaching and learning require friction, and serve an integral part of our research programs, as our students, our highly-qualified personnel as our national funding agency terms it, are our future. Every bit we automate is a teaching opportunity we deny our trainees. Is all of it necessary? Perhaps not, but some surely is. And I fear that one day, we will find ourselves alone at the top of the tower, with the ladder dragged in behind us.