RONALD PURSER - AI and the University

Event Date: January 23, 2026
Time: 4:00 pm

What is happening to university education? The recent $17 million partnership between Open AI and the California State University system is the latest iteration of the outsourcing of higher education. Some have called this “academic capitalism,” where knowledge is redefined as a commodity and students as consumers. Instead of democratizing learning, is the act of thinking coming under corporate control? What place do innovation, creative thinking, or imagination have in future university offerings? Has Open AI transformed learning into a corporate showroom? How will AI impact learning at the university level? As Purser writes, “When participants used ChatGPT to draft essays, brain scans revealed a 47% drop in neural connectivity across regions associated with memory, language, and critical reasoning.”

Ronald Purser is Professor of Management in the College of Business at San Francisco State University and earned a PhD in Organizational Behavior at Case Western University. He is the author of “Beyond McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality.” He has written for several magazines and online forums, including the Huffington Post, Salon, Alternet, and others. His recent article in Current Affiars Magazine focuses on the dangers of AI and the university system. Purser is also an ordained Buddhist teacher and hosts Mindful Cranks podcast.

 

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