Unfixed: How AI Is Reshaping the University

What does it actually mean to be AI literate in higher education? In this episode of Unfixed , we sit down with Allison Vaughn and D.J. Hopkins from San Diego State University to explore how one institution is building AI literacy for faculty, staff, and students. We discuss what belongs in an AI literacy curriculum, how to teach skills that seem to change every few months, and whether AI literacy...

Higher education has spent decades evaluating and adopting educational technology, but generative AI may be something fundamentally different. In this episode, Zach and Nik argue that AI is not simply the next ed tech tool and explore why universities continue to approach it as if it were. From AI agents and enterprise adoption to data governance, faculty alignment, and the growing tension within...

The California State University system just renewed its OpenAI contract, turning what began as a bold AI pilot into a long-term institutional commitment. In this special Unfixed reaction episode, Zach and Nik break down the costs, controversies, and consequences of the ChatGPT Edu deal—from academic freedom and governance to vendor lock-in and the future of teaching. Is CSU building essential educ...

In this episode of Unfixed , Nik and Zach are joined by our producer and special education scholar Jamie Gunderson to explore how AI is reshaping teacher education and K-12 classrooms. Drawing from her work preparing future teachers and her expertise in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Jamie discusses the major gaps in AI training for educators, the challenges facing teachers already in the cl...

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 introduce...

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 fac...

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...

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 t...

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 insti...

Generative AI is transforming how students write and how professors teach writing. In this episode of Unfixed, we’re joined by Stephanie Tran (Cypress College) and Tamara Tate (UC Irvine Digital Learning Lab) to explore what AI means for composition, academic writing, and digital literacy in higher education. Together, we examine the scale of the challenge facing writing instructors as AI models b...

Higher education is facing two converging pressures: generative AI disrupting early-career labor markets and new federal “earnings test” accountability rules tying program viability to graduate income. In this episode of Unfixed, we examine how AI is thinning entry-level work, why mid-tier public universities may be especially exposed, and how federal accountability metrics could amplify wage supp...

Ep. 22 Building AI Capacity in Public Higher Ed with James Frazee In this episode of Unfixed, we’re joined by Dr. James Frazee, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at San Diego State University, to unpack how large public universities are navigating AI strategy, governance, and equity at scale. As a nationally recognized leader in AI and data-informed decision-m...

In this episode of Unfixed Newswire, Nik and Zach break down the most consequential—and occasionally absurd—AI news. The conversation spans OpenAI’s push toward ads and potential NSFW content; the relentless churn of new AI models like Gemini 3 and GPT-5.x; and why tools like Claude Code and Claude Cowork may signal a real shift toward AI agents as co-workers. They also interrogate the current AI...

In this episode of Unfixed , Nik and Zach take on a difficult but necessary conversation about nostalgia in higher education. Using real media headlines, faculty experiences, and their own teaching histories, they explore how AI panic taps into a deeper longing for a pre-pandemic, pre-ChatGPT past that may never have been as stable as we remember. The discussion unpacks what nostalgia is, why it’s...

Nik and Zach review the best and worst of AI in higher ed for 2025. AI and Higher Education: 2025 We unpack the collapse of AI detection, the rise of system-wide AI partnerships like CSU and OpenAI, uneven assessment redesign, growing faculty stratification, and mounting concern that generative AI is hollowing out entry-level knowledge-work jobs. The episode closes by looking ahead to 2026, includ...

Dr. Shelley Hart joins Nik and Zach to explore how children and adolescents are forming relationships with generative AI. We discuss what “too young” means in an AI-saturated world, and how parents, teachers, and caregivers can responsibly shape norms, boundaries, and ethics around AI use. Drawing on her expertise in child development, Dr. Hart offers practical insights for guiding kids through em...

In this episode, Nik and Zach unpack how Trump’s alignment with AI labs, deregulation, and political culture wars collide with higher education. With weak federal guidance, states—and universities—are left to chart their own AI futures. Zach Justus and Nik Janos, Inside Higher Ed, AI Has Gone MAGA  Mohar Chatterjee, Politico, AI is Opening a MAGA-Trump Split   Thoughts and suggestions? E...

California State University leaders Emily Magruder and Leslie Kennedy join Unfixed to discuss how the CSU–OpenAI partnership is reshaping conversations about teaching, technology, and faculty work. They share lessons from system-level innovation, union tensions, and the future of AI in higher education. Emily Magruder Leslie Kennedy Nik Janos, Melts into Air,  Thoughts on the first AI-powered...

Alchemy Learning’s Brett Christie joins us to unpack real gaps on campus—tools, culture, and strategy—and how partners can help. We discuss “build vs. buy” to faculty buy-in and smart governance and explore how Universal Design for Learning is as important as ever in the AI age.  Alchemy Learning Website Alchemy Webinar Series    Zach Justus on Melts into Air, “ AI Is Making Edtech...

In this episode of Unfixed, Nik and Zach explore the rise of AI agents—autonomous, goal-driven systems that can research, plan, and even collaborate with learners. From inbox triage and coding prototypes to the not-yet-ready world of full computer control, they unpack where agents are already useful on campus and where hype outpaces reality. The conversation turns to higher ed implications: assess...

In this episode of Unfixed, Nik and Zach unpack the “enforcement illusion” behind AI use policies in higher education. From the impossibility of a true “no-AI” classroom to the cultural gap between faculty and students, they argue why cultivating dispositions, transparency, and dialogue offers a more meaningful path than rigid rules in the age of generative AI. Note: Dear listener please forgive t...

Zach and Nik brings you the biggest AI-in-education headlines shaping higher ed this fall—from ChatGPT’s new Study Mode and Canvas integrations to Microsoft’s agents, Big Tech partnerships, and Grammarly’s AI grade oracle. OpenAI ChatGPT Study Mode Instructure: Canvas ChatGPT integration Microsoft Copilot Agent LA Times: Big Tech as Savior Reuters: Google Pledges Over $1 Billion for AI Training Gr...

In this episode of Unfixed, we talk with Ray Schroeder—Senior Fellow at UPCEA and Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois Springfield—about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and what it means for the future of higher education. While most of academia is still grappling with ChatGPT and basic AI tools, Schroeder is thinking ahead to AI agents, human displacement, and AGI’s existential...

In this episode of Unfixed, “Ready for a Fight?”, we explore the growing resistance to generative AI in higher education. While we don’t adopt the “Fight AI” stance ourselves, we take it seriously—as a revealing response to the rapid automation of knowledge work. Drawing from educators, artists, organizers, and labor movements, we unpack what motivates this rejection of AI, what it’s defending, an...

AI is reshaping every level of education—but K–12 and higher ed often feel worlds apart. In this episode, we talk with Teach Smarter podcast hosts Stephanie Dinnen and Pete Siner about how generative AI is transforming K–12 schools, the evolving challenges across grade levels, and what higher education needs to understand about the next generation of AI-native students. Stephanie Dinnen is an impl...