Peter Lorentzen

Economist/political scientist studying information, institutions, incentives, China. Director of MS International and Development Econ @USF_Economics @usfca.

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

worried

[Lee Edwards @terronk]

I’m sorry but you need to pay attention to Insurance Commissioner now.

The only far leftist to have a good night on Tuesday is one of the most disastrous. Jane Kim, with no experience in insurance herself, would plunge California even deeper into an insurance crisis.

[Lee Edwards @terronk]

I’m sorry but you need to pay attention to Insurance Commissioner now.

The only far leftist to have a good night on Tuesday is one of the most disastrous. Jane Kim, with no experience in insurance herself, would plunge California even deeper into an insurance crisis.

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

@DavidPittelli1 @KelleyKga Within limits. They don’t want stem majors who can’t write three coherent paragraphs for a freshman English class.

[Litong Deng @_litongdeng]

Students are failing UC Berkeley CS classes at an alarming rate. More than 35% of students failed CS 10, a course described as “a gentle but thorough introduction to computer science.” In the past few semesters, less than 10% of students failed the class.

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

@DavidDecosimo There is also an issue of trust. If someone outsources parts of their thinking to an AI, I may have less trust in the quality and seriousness of their work. But the same would be true if I learned that they were including chunks of text written by undergrad RAs.

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

@DavidDecosimo There is also a separate issue when we are talking about student work. As many have noted, it is beneficial for people to lift weights or go on runs when machines can make the lifting or movement effortless.

[Matt Blackwell @matt_blackwell]

In a few years, I think we will look back and realize that learning is like physical fitness in its simplicity and resistance to technology: in order to improve, you need to consistently do hard things without shortcuts.

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

@Jess_Hoel I'm moving more and more in this direction. Also conveniently plays to the competitive advantage of liberal arts colleges with small classes.

[Steven N. Durlauf @sndurlauf]

I support @UChicago's forward looking strategy with respect to the emerging AI revolution.

I say this even though this last quarter was the most difficult teaching experience I have had at Chicago, because of the use of AI by students in writing assignments and in developing research projects. I will have to radically change my teaching strategies to accommodate the brave new world to ensure AI tools are a complement and not a substitute for "the life of the mind." Further, I am adamantly opposed to any diminution of the role of the humanities at the university, which to me is part of UChicago's uniqueness. These challenges will not be solved by creating what are ultimately unenforceable barriers to AI use. In addition, provision of AI access to all students matters for equality reasons.

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

@nick_kapur I know this is twitter, but did you actually read the article before going off? I would expect more of a historian. Rory is a very well-trained area specialist who values all the same things you do about good area studies.

[Rory Truex @rorytruex]

I agree with you @arthur_spirling. Unfortunately the full essay was clipped and taken out of context. The X framing-- "Princeton professor thinks AI teaches better than him" but that is not what I argue. In fact I basically argue the opposite. Full essay here: https://t.co/rHo5NWbD5G

[Alex Imas @alexolegimas]

I just read the essay by @rorytruex that was quoted in the viral post about the role of teaching in the age of AI. It is excellent, and has the exact opposite message than the post would suggest.

Rory has been proactive in re-vamping his class to focus on the comparative advantage of the teacher, to engage the students and help them learn more effectively. This part stuck out in particular. Everyone should read the whole thing.

https://t.co/0AHrOmOYcp

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

@ho_ben @Afinetheorem Congrats on the book! Looking forward to reading it. We should have you out again for a talk.

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

@alexolegimas @JohnJSSoriano He is not like that but I can see why you might get that impression from the piece.

[Alex Imas @alexolegimas]

You know what other tools know better than most instructors? Coursera and YouTube courses from top faculty, *the internet*, books from the library. How many students used those tools instead of formal ed? Very very few. How many will use Claude independently to learn the material? Probably the same amount.

I know it doesn’t sound glamorous, but the primary role of faculty is to get students in the seats and create incentives to actually absorb the information. This is your job. AI can help as a tool, I’ve seen some great harnesses of AI for education, but it will not do this.

[Melissa S. Kearney @kearney_melissa]

A commitment to academic excellence and objective metrics is making a comeback! 👏

Neither obscuring academic preparedness nor eliminating metrics that reveal socioeconomic gaps was ever going to be the right way to expand access to highly selective universities.

My bet: The backlash against test optional and grade inflation is going to make things harder for admissions officers and varsity coaches, and easier for teaching faculty.

[Auyon Siddiq @auyonomous]

A big part of this problem is how normalized innumeracy is in (Western?) society.

Lots of smart, non-quant people I know will say things like "I'm not a numbers person, haha"

But if you say "I can't read the words good, haha" you get laughed out of the room

[Peter Lorentzen @peterlorentzen]

Seems impossible to get everyone to act together, but if the top three or four programs in your field all chose to require it that would be enough. Then anyone without a GRE score would have signaled that they don’t view themselves to be in that league. This compels everyone in that league to get a score and then it should roll out down the hierarchy.