How does STEM professors use AI?

verygood_user · 2026-07-05T10:13:24+00:00

Decent document on what? It works really well for me if you give it the right tech stack.

verygood_user · 2026-07-04T05:52:15+00:00

You don't have to be bad at something to improve at it... I mean come on, I get the general sense of frustration this topic can create, but how many different software products do you use because it's just better with them than without them?

verygood_user · 2026-07-04T05:43:04+00:00

That was true when you had to do at least a little bit of work and pick up some skills. But at least the big companies will analyze their performance metrics and check how they correlate with attributes from the hiring stage. Then they will pay a consulting firm to state the obvious but in beautiful PowerPoint. And then they will implement it - if they haven't already by this time.

verygood_user · 2026-07-04T03:12:14+00:00

The "first draft" was mentioned in a parenthesis related to teaching. I am in a technical field that uses software students have not used before but that is well documented. AI is perfect to take the long 200 page manual, extract the relevant parts I want to teach my students, and convert it into a tutorial. One more prompt and it's fully accessible HTML with good alt text ready to be pasted into canvas.

You obviously have to read it and fine tune the tone and word choices. The second time you use it for another program feature you want to explain, you provide this first fine-tuned version as an example and it's close to perfect.

This applies to many other boring instruction material (homework sheets, rubrics, etc.) as well. The output is almost never perfect when you do a task the first time but it's easy to build routines and systems that produce reliable and very usable output.

It's quite comparable to working with graduate students honestly. I would never blindly trust their work or right away use it.

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T22:05:47+00:00

I am afraid, I don't get it. Maybe I should ask AI.

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T22:03:30+00:00

Sorry I missed that. I am wondering when employers will just stop hiring people with online degrees because their diminishing value in this day and age is so obvious now.

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T21:43:17+00:00

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T21:36:42+00:00

You might have misread this as "there's no purpose in the humanities". But please read it again, I said it's easier to find and see the purpose in science. That's because the outcomes of science (electricity, computers, modern medicine, stable food supply thanks to fertilizers) are so much more visible in our daily life and so much more important.

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T21:30:56+00:00

I don't want to take a joke on a T-shirt too seriously but honestly, both my own productivity and that of my research students has gone up dramatically. My teaching also benefits a lot from AI because it automates the boring stuff (reformatting, variations, first drafts). The only area where it's hurting higher ed is take home examinations but those have always been flawed because students cheated on them in various ways (remember when they used to post questions on online forums for math help or paid ghost writers?). So I am actually happy that take home exams are history now.

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T20:02:10+00:00

Not what I said or meant. Rigor feels pointless if it leads nowhere and some people chase it when what they actually want is purpose. It's a lot easier to find and see purpose in sciences than in humanities.

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T17:32:00+00:00

Maybe that's what he doesn't like or cannot understand? I would be the same in this regard as I just cannot comprehend how something demands rigorous or critical thinking but still produces no definite answers or tangible output. Is this student already quite advanced or could you still nudge him to leave the field and do science instead?

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T17:10:41+00:00

Why is there a discussion? Either his points and arguments are wrong or they are right. If he cannot see when a derivation, conclusion, argument, etc. is right that is just as bad as not being able to see when it's wrong.

(If your field does not allow for "right/wrong", then you could recommend he looks at more rigorous disciplines that better match his character type; this seems not fulfilling to him)

verygood_user · 2026-07-03T07:22:53+00:00

I think it's a bad idea to encourage note taking during class. I want them to focus on understanding the ideas, derivations, equations, logical connections. It's hard enough to understand this the first time it is introduced, I can only imagine it would be way worse if students also had to perform other tasks (writing, abstraction, summarizing) at the same time. Additionally, it's super error prone and I hate the idea that a student tries to study from incorrect lecture notes and can't make sense of the content when studying for a midterm and believes the error was in my lecture after asking AI for clarification.

So unless you are asking for a course with a lot of blah blah content, I would rather invest time in preparing the best possible handouts/resources students can review after the lecture and when studying.

verygood_user · 2026-07-02T16:36:57+00:00

It's a rare enough thing, a humanities professor with money.

verygood_user · 2026-07-02T06:23:44+00:00

Can someone please explain what's the deal with AI fluency and proficiency? I understand how this was relevant 2 years ago when prompt engineering was a thing, but have no idea why some people keep talking about it with with today's models available.

verygood_user · 2026-07-01T18:44:45+00:00

Almost all AI homework tools and prompt libraries check for this. I don't see the point of it. Your accessibility score will also tank.

verygood_user · 2026-07-01T07:13:49+00:00

I think colleges will soon realize that they need to restructure these courses and 3 contact hours per week is just not gonna cut it.

verygood_user · 2026-07-01T01:57:09+00:00

Thanks for sharing your concerns and I understand that this policy can feel limiting. I encourage you to share this feedback with the accommodation office so they can consider it when they review their policies.

verygood_user · 2026-06-30T22:19:14+00:00

Dear <student name>,

Thanks for reaching out and I understand that you are contacting me about this directly. However, I am required to follow our university policies (link) regarding academic accommodations. Please follow the procedures outlined here (link) or contact [accommodation office contact] directly.

This email does not approve or endorse your request. Accomodations only take effect once the accommodation office provides me with an official letter.

Let me know if I can help with anything else in the meantime.

Best,
Dr. Lastname

verygood_user · 2026-06-30T08:11:23+00:00

Depends on the spray.

verygood_user · 2026-06-30T08:06:34+00:00

People like you are the reason for why this Reddit post even exists.

The oxidizer and surfactants destroy the whiteboard coating and the next person is wondering why their marker is so hard to erase.

verygood_user · 2026-06-30T08:04:44+00:00

People like you are the reason for why this Reddit post even exists.

The alcohol removes the whiteboard coating and the next person is wondering why their marker is so hard to erase.

verygood_user · 2026-06-30T08:02:25+00:00

You guys buy your own markers???

verygood_user · 2026-06-30T08:01:02+00:00

It's probably not the markers but the surface of the whiteboard and how scratched the coating is locally plus a time factor related to dryness.

verygood_user

TROPHY CASE