Many faculty resist platformed pedagogy (MOOCs) and AI tools not primarily from ignorance but because institutional incentives (job protection, credential value, status signaling) favor preserving existing scholarly gatekeeping. That dynamic slows diffusion of beneficial educational technologies and shapes which reforms universities accept or block.
— If universities systematically conserve credential rents by resisting scalable tech, the result is slower access expansion, distorted workforce preparation, and a political debate about reforming academic incentives and governance.
Paul Bloom
2026.01.05
100% relevant
Paul Bloom’s Yale MOOC anecdote and his observations that many colleagues refuse to learn or even ban AI (faculty meetings, Bluesky comments, faculty who ‘would ban it if they could’).
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