Unfixed: How AI Is Reshaping the University

Ep. 29 What Higher Ed Gets Wrong About AI and Critical Thinking with Inara Scott

In this episode of Unfixed, Nik and Zach sit down with Inara Scott, a leading expert on AI strategy and innovation in higher education, to examine why the conversation around AI may be moving backward instead of forward. They explore faculty resistance, the limits of AI bans and opt-out policies, and the widespread concern that generative AI is eroding students’ critical thinking. Inara introduces her “AI Cognitive Pyramid” as a new framework for understanding where meaningful thinking actually happens in AI-integrated learning. The discussion reframes what it means to take AI seriously in teaching, learning, and institutional strategy. Inara Scott on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/inara-scott/] Inara Scott at Oregon State University [https://business.oregonstate.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-directory/inara-scott] The AI Cognitive Pyramid: A Conceptual Framework for Generative AI Use, Critical Thinking, and Learning Design in Higher Education  by Inara Scott :: SSRN [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6353318] Nik Janos, AI Is Not Antithetical to Human Intelligence: What The Guardian gets wrong [https://www.meltsintoair.org/chatgpt/guardian-ai-critical-thinking-response] Unfixed Ep. 26 From Grief to Action [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unfixed-how-ai-is-reshaping-the-university/id1815142605?i=1000759809747] Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at unfixed@meltsintoair.org [unfixed@meltsintoair.org] You can find the full show notes and our writing at meltsintoair.org [http://meltsintoair.org/] Subscribe to the Unfixed Newsletter—The AI Higher Ed Breakdown [https://www.meltsintoair.org/unfixed-newsletter] our bi-weekly newsletter unpacking the top news stories at the intersection of AI and higher education.

Ep. 28 AI Retrofit Workshops: Redesigning Teaching for the Age of AI

In this episode of Unfixed, we unpack what it actually means to run AI retrofit workshops—where faculty redesign assignments and learning outcomes for a world shaped by generative AI. Rather than hype or quick fixes, this work starts from disruption: courses no longer behave as intended, and instructors are left to figure out what still holds. We explore the emotional and intellectual reality faculty face, and why time, structure, and trust—not tools—are the real interventions. Retrofit emerges not as innovation, but as necessary maintenance for teaching that still has to function. Different Approaches to AI and Faculty Learning [https://www.meltsintoair.org/chatgpt/different-approaches-to-ai-and-faculty-learning] Intens(ive) Reflections [https://www.meltsintoair.org/chatgpt/intensive-reflections?rq=Retrofit] Problem with AI Literacy [https://www.meltsintoair.org/chatgpt/the-problem-with-ai-literacy] AI Is Not Antithetical to Human Intelligence: What The Guardian gets wrong [https://www.meltsintoair.org/chatgpt/guardian-ai-critical-thinking-response] Book us [https://www.meltsintoair.org/book-us] Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at unfixed@meltsintoair.org [unfixed@meltsintoair.org] You can find the full show notes and our writing at meltsintoair.org [http://meltsintoair.org/] Subscribe to the Unfixed Newsletter—The AI Higher Ed Breakdown [https://www.meltsintoair.org/unfixed-newsletter] our bi-weekly newsletter unpacking the top news stories at the intersection of AI and higher education.

Ep. 27 The Future of Higher Education with Nick Dirks

In this episode of Unfixed, we talk with Nicholas (Nick) Dirks, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences and former Chancellor of UC Berkeley, about what AI really means for the future of higher education. Rather than treating generative AI as just another technological shift, Dirks helps us unpack where institutions may be misreading the moment—and what a serious response could look like. We explore the growing pressures on universities, from legitimacy and funding to enrollment and disruption, and what role they should play in a rapidly changing world. The conversation ultimately asks a bigger question: what is the university actually for in the decades ahead? Nicholas Dirks [https://www.nicholasbdirks.com/] Nick @ The New York Academy of Sciences [https://www.nyas.org/person/nicholas-b-dirks/] The New York Academy of Sciences [https://www.nyas.org/] Justus and Janos, No, the Pre-AI Era Was Not That Great, IHE [https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/11/20/no-pre-ai-era-was-not-great-opinion] Janos, Builders: Designing the Post-AI University [https://www.meltsintoair.org/chatgpt/builders] Justus, Elites Are Distorting the AI Discourse [https://www.meltsintoair.org/chatgpt/elites-are-distorting-the-ai-discourse?rq=elites] Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at unfixed@meltsintoair.org [unfixed@meltsintoair.org] You can find the full show notes and our writing at meltsintoair.org [http://meltsintoair.org/] Subscribe to the Unfixed Newsletter—The AI Higher Ed Breakdown [https://www.meltsintoair.org/unfixed-newsletter] our bi-weekly newsletter unpacking the top news stories at the intersection of AI and higher education.

Ep. 26 From Grief to Action: How Instructional Designers Are Leading AI Change

In this episode of Unfixed, we sit down with William Hardaway and Jason McGensy from CSU Fresno to explore how institutions are actually implementing AI in higher education. The conversation moves from the practical—faculty training, instructional design, and scaling AI initiatives—to the emotional, including the idea of “grief” as faculty confront rapid technological change. We also examine how this work connects to broader efforts around equity and institutional transformation. The episode closes by interrogating the limits of using therapeutic metaphors to understand AI adoption in academia. Jason on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmcgensy/] Feedback literacy [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2025.2476513#abstract] AI Institute video recap [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csk1hG6ARs] Report on our Academic Affairs Staff AI Community of Practice [https://academics.fresnostate.edu/ideas/about/reports/ai-staff-fa25.html] Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at unfixed@meltsintoair.org [unfixed@meltsintoair.org] You can find the full show notes and our writing at meltsintoair.org [http://meltsintoair.org/] Subscribe to the Unfixed Newsletter—The AI Higher Ed Breakdown [https://www.meltsintoair.org/unfixed-newsletter] our bi-weekly newsletter unpacking the top news stories at the intersection of AI and higher education.

Ep. 25 Are Asynchronous Online Classes Broken?

Asynchronous online courses have become a cornerstone—and a cash engine—of modern higher education, but in the age of AI, the model is starting to crack. In this episode, we unpack how large-scale, low-touch online classes create fragile conditions for trust, especially as generative AI makes it easier than ever for students to outsource their thinking. We explore the growing tension between institutional incentives to scale enrollment and the reality of eroding learning quality, faculty burnout, and widespread uncertainty about what student work actually represents. Drawing on firsthand teaching experience, we examine how instructors are adapting and where those efforts fall short. The result is a stark question: can asynchronous education be rebuilt for the AI era, or are we sustaining a system we no longer fully believe in? Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at unfixed@meltsintoair.org [unfixed@meltsintoair.org] You can find the full show notes and our writing at meltsintoair.org [http://meltsintoair.org/] Subscribe to the Unfixed Newsletter—The AI Higher Ed Breakdown [https://www.meltsintoair.org/unfixed-newsletter] our bi-weekly newsletter unpacking the top news stories at the intersection of AI and higher education.