Must-read from Brian Merchant: Educators talking about the AI crisis on campus and off
The complete and very long article is here:
"If AI is writing the work and AI is reading the work, do we even need to be there at all?" Educators reveal a growing crisis on campus and off
AI Killed My Job: Education workers.
https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/if-ai-is-writing-the-work-and-ai
Bluesky posts about it:
Three years into the AI era, educators say they face a major crisis. Bosses and clients replacing tutoring jobs with AI. Replacing *athletic coaching* with AI. Many students now cannot grasp why they would *not* use AI for schoolwork. And worse.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:19:42.477Z
The 5th installment of AI Killed My Job—educators:
The challenges and crises that AI has created in the classroom are by now well known—students using AI to cheat on homework was arguably one of the first major social disruptions of the AI era. But it goes so far beyond that.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:21:31.730Z
To get a sense of what's happened to educators and education workers over the last three years, I solicited stories not just from teachers, but tutors, essay graders, coaches, school librarians, and IT workers in education. Together, they paint an often disturbing portrait AI use on campus and off.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:23:44.991Z
What struck me in teachers' stories was not just the volume of students using AI to cheat—this has already been well documented as a problem—but the rapid normalization of the practice, the *entitlement* so many students already feel to use AI, and the failure of institutions to deal with it.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:26:50.551Z
I was also totally blown away by the story of a coach for student athletes who is being forced to transfer in-person training to *an AI-powered app* that students are then supposed to use to train virtually.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:29:12.508Z
You hear enough of these stories, and about how AI companies are ramming into new markets, where some managers and administrators with AI FOMO will buy just about anything, you're still not prepared for some of this stuff; even I figured athletic coaches would be safe from AI deskilling. Nope.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:32:22.818Z
Another distressing bellwether is that tutoring work is drying up. Tutors, whose job is to help students learn, think critically, and process material themselves—or even most cynically, to learn to pass tests—describe vanishing work and opportunities. Students are using AI to find answers instead.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:37:10.969Z
The list goes on—student essay graders whose work is being automated by AI. Librarians who say managers want to replace them with AI systems. And administrators that have rushed headlong into adopting AI, spending millions on contracts with tech firms while disregarding educators' protestations.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:41:53.200Z
As always, there's much more in the piece, which collects the stories of 15 educators dealing with AI in the workplace.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T17:56:43.032Z
www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/if-ai-is-w...
If AI has impacted your job or the way you work, share your story at AIKilledMyJob@pm.me. I'll protect your identity as I would any source—stories can be shared anonymously.
— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T18:47:47.927Z
Next, I'm hoping to hear from healthcare workers: nurses, doctors, therapists, hospital workers, techs, admin, and beyond.
= new reply since forum marked as read
