Artificial Intelligence in the Capitalist University: Academic Labour, Commodification, and Value

This book explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in higher education and how it contributes to the functioning and existence of the capitalist university. It challenges the idea that AI is a break from previous technologies and offers a nuanced examination of its impacts on academic work, labor, digital learning, and remote teaching. It argues that AI further alienates and exploits academic labor, commodifies learning and research, and ushers in commodity fetishism, surveillance, and increasing productivity. The book provides a theoretical framework and methodology for thinking about AI to inform critical and revolutionary pedagogies and is of interest to those working or researching in higher education.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 174 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the multifaceted manifestations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the realm of Higher Education, employing a Marxist critique to explore its profound implications for the functioning and existence of the capitalist university. Challenging the notion that AI represents a departure from previous capitalist technologies, the book offers a nuanced examination of the diverse impacts of AI on various aspects of academic work and labor, digital learning and remote teaching, as well as the valuation of learning and knowledge. Through a Marxist lens, Preston argues that the growth of AI heralds a new era of commodity fetishism, surveillance, and heightened productivity, which further alienates and exploits academic labor while commodifying learning and research.

The text establishes a robust theoretical framework and methodological approach to critically analyze AI, with the aim of informing and shaping critical and revolutionary pedagogies. By offering an insightful and timely analysis, this book provides a valuable engagement with key Marxist concepts in the study of AI's role in Higher Education. It is of utmost interest to scholars, researchers, and practitioners working within the field of Higher Education.

Weight: 340g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032123622