Human Restoration Project BS Universities: The Future of Automated Education w/ Rob Sparrow & Gene Flenady
Aug 16, 2025
Join Rob Sparrow, a philosophy professor at Monash University specializing in ethics of AI, and Gene Flenady, a lecturer exploring technology's impact on autonomy, as they dive into the ethical pitfalls of AI in education. They argue that AI outputs can often be meaningless, distorting the very essence of learning. The duo critiques the commercialization of universities, emphasizing the dangers of automated assessments and the potential erosion of genuine student-teacher relationships. Expect a thought-provoking discussion on balancing technology with authentic educational experiences.
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AI Sentences Lack Genuine Meaning
- Generative AI outputs sentences without meaning because the systems lack the lived context and intentions that give speech meaning.
- Rob Sparrow connects this to Frankfurt’s concept of bullshit: the outputs aim to elicit responses, not convey truth.
A Hallway Meeting Sparked The Project
- Gene Flenady recounts meeting Rob in a Monash hallway and sharing dystopian concerns about rapid AI adoption.
- Their collaboration grew from worries that universities would adopt AI without deep analysis.
Truth Requires Agency And Embodiment
- The problem with AI isn't just bad or biased data but that models are not oriented toward truth or responsible testimony.
- Sparrow argues AI cannot be truthful because they lack embodiment, shared world, and moral agency.
