Sign in

Martha Lincoln

@heavyredaction.bsky.social
4.5K followers 764 following 534 posts

Medical anthropologist, Assoc. Prof. at SFSU. EIC at @jvietnamstudies.bsky.social. Studying online health influencers. “In the dark times/Will there also be singing?”—Bertolt Brecht

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Taylor Young @taylorcyoung.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I say again, what could possibly go wrong.
media.mit.edu
Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task – MIT Media Lab
This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine, and …
062
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
TY to @academemagazine.bsky.social and, again, Martha Kenney on this one!
0100
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I see AI centrism as the tip of the spear for the genAI industry and its larger ideological project. AI centrists imagine that there is a middle ground in this debate, and that the middle ground permits genAI use instead of forbidding it. C.f. other forms of “reactionary centrism”
14317
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Hence, AI centrism supplies both the motive for genAI adoption and the defense against charges that this contract raises myriad practical and ethical concerns. W/o any specifics, the CSU admin unfailingly claims they’ve adopted AI “responsibly,” “thoughtfully,” and “ethically”
22710
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
As the administration has claimed, “AI is here to stay” and is “fundamentally changing how people learn, work and solve problems.” As their logic goes, the CSU thus has no choice but to spend $55 million over four years on a commercial chatbot whose educational benefits are unproven
13212
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The news hook for this piece is Cal State University’s renewal of its contract w/ OpenAI. The CSU system is purchasing ChatGPT Edu licenses for three years at a cost of $39 million. Remarkably enough, AI centrism is the leading rationale for this venture t.co/2pqqHuEEZE
t.co
https://academeblog.org/2026/06/04/paying-the-costs-of-ai-centrism-csu-re-ups-chatgpt/
1259
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
W/ my colleague Martha Kenney, new piece on what we call “AI centrism” — a position that claims to split the difference btw genAI boosterism and detraction, but still leads to its acceptance and use. E.g.: - “We will use AI ethically/responsibly/thoughtfully” - “We will keep a human in the loop”
37525
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
TYSM Neil! To your point – 100%. No one has yet explained why CSU needs to spend $55 million on an arguably useless, potentially even incapacitating product, especially when faculty are being laid off. It is indefensible
020
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Neil Hultgren @profneilh.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I appreciate the work of @heavyredaction.bsky.social, who is mentioned in the article! There is no justification for this level of spending on AI at a time of austerity and department closures. A University System Went All In on A.I. Now It’s Tearing Itself Apart. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/m...
nytimes.com
A University System Went All In on A.I. Now It’s Tearing Itself Apart.
173
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Yes! Jeremy is great (and has been coordinating this excellent talk series on AI — possibly continuing through summer!) sites.google.com/csusb.edu/cr...
sites.google.com
Critical Perspectives on "AI" in Education
French Postcard, ca. 1901, "In the Year 2000," Wikimedia
121
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
#JeSuisMartha took me out!! Thank you for this and for your extremely thoughtful and insightful comments here!
000
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Alyssa S. @drsepinwall.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Big ups also to "the Marthas" - @heavyredaction.bsky.social, Martha Kenney - and all the honorary Marthas who've been standing up to to the system. #JeSuisMartha @carmendarlene.bsky.social #NousSommesTousMarthas
Text: heir union colleagues have begun referring to them simply as “the Marthas.” (“You don’t need to be named Martha to be a Martha,” Kenney told me. “We take all comers.”) “We feel like a guinea pig for what A.I. is going to do to higher education,” Kenney said. The embrace of generative A.I., she went on, is “a step down the path of creating a really different kind of future citizen and worker.” This kind of student would be intellectually passive, less likely to see themselves as agents of their own lives.
2245
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
This Monday 4/7; all are welcome!
061
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Full details and registration info are here: scholars.my.salesforce-sites.com/event/home/b...
scholars.my.salesforce-sites.com
Innovation or Extraction: AI and the Future of Public Education - Home
010
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Event Weds 4/8, “Innovation or Extraction?: AI and the Future of Public Education,” San Francisco State University. With @alexhanna.bsky.social, author of “The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want,” and an op-ed workshop by @scholars.org. All welcome, RSVP below!
Innovation or Extraction? AI and the Future of Public Education
Weds 4/8, 5-7:15 PM, LIB 121, San Francisco State

Our event brings together critical perspectives on how artificial intelligence is reshaping schools and universities. Under the guise of enhanced productivity and innovation, the CSU has partnered with several AI companies, including OpenAI, currently working with the Department of War. Our discussion will feature Alex Hanna, co-author of The AI Con, who will engage with the role of AI and its unintended—or intended—consequences, such as the intensification of labor precarity, privatization, the enabling of war and violence, as well as data and ecological extraction in the classroom and beyond.

Speakers: Alex Hanna, Ph.D., Mandana Mohsenzadegan

More information and a link to register: https://scholars.my.salesforce-sites.com/event/home/bayareaopedai
1195
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Thank you!!
010
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 26/03/2026
Nestled on the Gulf of Mexico shore in #Texas, the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge is home to some of the country's most critically #EndangeredSpecies. But Fish and Wildlife is considering handing over 712 acres of this precious refuge to #SpaceX. Take a stand for #PublicLands ⬇️
bit.ly
Don't Give SpaceX This Wildlife Refuge
Help protect ocelots, piping plovers, and other Texas wildlife from a corporate land grab.
09253
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Thank you Ryan! I am so sorry to hear about the final grading concerns and I absolutely agree—this is not a labor-saving technology for educators.
010
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
We are stepping up the fight over AI in the Cal State University system. Details here on our faculty union’s efforts to combat the CSU’s $17M contract with OpenAI. Special thanks to the legal team at @cfaunited.bsky.social for sharing information about the Unfair Practice Charges they have brought.
040
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Excited to have this piece — a deep dive into the California Faculty Association’s fight against ChatGPT at Cal State — in the @aaup.org’s publication @academemagazine.bsky.social. See the whole series out today, “Organizing Against the Machines.” www.aaup.org/cal-states-w...
aaup.org
Cal State’s War on Working-Class Education
The surprise rollout of ChatGPT Edu across the California State University system has provoked outrage and opposition.
2179
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
... ‘That makes it a strange time to be spending $16.9 million on ChatGPT Edu, which is a version of a free chatbot that lacks any special customization for education. That money is being thrown away.’” More: www.techpolicy.press/how-cal-stat...
techpolicy.press
How Cal State Became Ground Zero for the Fight over AI in Higher Education
California's largest public university system struck a deal to integrate OpenAI's products into classrooms, stoking backlash, Chris Mills Rodrigo reports.
051
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
“‘The California State University system is currently facing deep austerity; across campuses, we have seen program closures and faculty layoffs,’ said SFSU professor Martha Lincoln. (...)
131
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Really appreciated getting to speak with @millsrodrigo.bsky.social at Tech Policy Press for this piece about the mass introduction of generative AI into the Cal State system. Some wonderful colleagues quoted here, from the CSU and beyond
Tech Policy Press 3/18/26: "How Cal State Became Ground Zero for the Fight over AI in Higher Education"
170
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Aaron Clauset @aaronclauset.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
My employer, Univ. Colorado will pay OpenAI $2M/year under the banner of “equity”. That’s 54 full scholarships / year. Plus, our IT will be able to read our chatGPT logs, and our chats can be requested under public records law. No thanks. Surveillance is not equity www.axios.com/local/boulde...
axios.com
CU signs $2M OpenAI deal for ChatGPT access
Students and faculty will gain access to ChatGPT Edu starting in March under a three-year deal.
28644276
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her) @drsurekhadavies.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Critical Perspectives on “AI” in Education – a free, one-hour, Zoom interview series starting Monday Feb 17, 12 noon PT / 3pm ET / 8pm GMT, continuing Tuesdays from Feb 23. Come and chat with us! 🧵 🧪💙📚 🗃 #earlymodern #histsci #education #politics #AcademicSky #technology #AI 1/
sites.google.com
Critical Perspectives on "AI" in Education
French Postcard, ca. 1901, "In the Year 2000," Wikimedia
23122
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Thank you Ben! In solidarity!!
010
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Our petition asking the CSU chancellor to “Cancel ChatGPT Edu. Invest in Humans” is very close to 2,000 signatures—many irate faculty, students, alums. We‘ll be sending signatures and comments to the administration on *Monday.* Last call, & anyone can sign! actionnetwork.org/petitions/ca...
11813
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
🙏
000
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Lilly Irani @gleemie.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Sign and share this call on CSU to cancel its multimillion dollar OpenAI contract. CSU is in a budget crisis, OpenAI wants to reduce us all into tools of AI, and our public money should be invested in humans! actionnetwork.org/petitions/ca...
actionnetwork.org
Cancel ChatGPT Edu. Invest in Humans.
In February 2025, the California State University system announced a $17 million contract with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT Edu to all faculty, staff, and students on its 22 CSU campuses as part of a lar...
35930
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Becky Zosia Dernbach @bzosiad.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Elizabeth is a Columbia Heights fourth-grader who loves volleyball, learning English and giggling in the halls with her friends. She's been held in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for nearly a month, and she and her mom have both fallen ill. sahanjournal.com/education/co...
sahanjournal.com
Sick fourth-grader among 4 Columbia Heights students held by ICE
Columbia Heights Public Schools says four students remain detained by ICE after Liam’s return, including 10-year-old Elizabeth, who has fallen ill.
4629801827
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3
timeshighereducation.com
AI is not a peer, so it can’t do peer review
If we still believe that science is a vocation grounded in argument, curiosity and care, we can’t delegate judgement to machines, says Akhil Bhardwaj
6359155
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
“You need only know this: Whatever is happening with your data, it is important enough to the most egregiously lawless administration in American history that it be collected and consolidated.” Always read @tressiemcphd.bsky.social (gift link)
nytimes.com
Opinion | Democracy Dies by Database
8641321
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Jaime Omar Yassin [TNH] @hyphyrepublic.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Loren Taylor & his white big business friends formed a fake group that KTVU immediately started partnering with weeks after it was founded and visibly had no membership. Still doing it too. The Fox takeover of that station was the death knell of independent journalism in Oakland
085
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Ali Winston @awinston.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Alex Pretti & Renee Good were killed by members of DHS tactical teams. I went long on ICE/CBP's 'Special Response Team' & BORTAC, Homeland Security's paramilitary units that are now using SOCOM-style tactics & firepower for civil immigration enforcement & protest suppression
14326
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
The International AI Safety Report is clear-eyed: threats from AI are growing--to rights, autonomy, health, cybersecurity, and planetary well-being. The evidence is stronger than ever. Commitments from industry and government to the safe, trustworthy, and responsible use of AI are urgently needed.
12514
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
The "violent criminal illegal alien" that agents were pursuing when they killed Alex Pretti has been in the U.S. for two decades. He had a single misdemeanor conviction for disorderly conduct (domestic assault) eight years ago that was expunged from his record. He did not have a deportation order.
cbsnews.com
Agents were pursuing an immigrant when they killed Alex Pretti. Now, he shares his story.
"I was there. I saw everything," Jose Huerta Chuma, who remains in hiding, told CBS News.
19987379
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
As these teens describe, AI can diminish human relationships; devalue art; threaten the environment; lead to laziness; give unreliable results; pose privacy concerns; and be misused. So, please, stop with the narratives of inevitability and let's embrace a pedagogy and politics of refusal.
wsj.com
7 Reasons Teens Say No to AI
Some young people only turn to artificial-intelligence chatbots as a last resort, citing concerns about relationships, creativity, the environment and more.
6324127
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
More of a thread here is below FYI. Thank you for reading and signing or sharing, if your time allows. Also noting that I have long appreciated your work and enjoy teaching it to my SFSU undergrads. Best wishes and many thanks! bsky.app/profile/heav...
000
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Thank you for this timely and beautiful piece! Here sharing a petition of possible interest you as an SFSU alum. Last year, Cal State University contracted w/ OpenAI to provide ChatGPT to all students. We’re asking the CSU not to renew this unfortunate contract: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ca...
actionnetwork.org
Cancel ChatGPT Edu. Invest in Humans.
In February 2025, the California State University system announced a $17 million contract with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT Edu to all faculty, staff, and students on its 22 CSU campuses as part of a lar...
101
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Let’s do it!! TY in advance — and yes, I am also so sorry about the CSU. Much to discuss 🤨
010
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
Neil Hultgren @profneilh.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Colleagues, especially those in CA and in the California State University, please sign this petition. I know you've all heard the bleak news stories about our AI debacle (because people are always bringing the stories to me)!
02015
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Yes! It is free! It’s 100% free! This is what everyone has been saying in the CSU. OpenAI is providing Cal State with “ChatGPT Edu.” It’s essentially ChatGPT 4o that does not scrape user interactions to train OpenAI’s models. Otherwise, identical product afaik!
010
Reposted by Martha Lincoln
ProPublica @propublica.org · 01/02/2026
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
propublica.org
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
22663488517186
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Much appreciated!!
010
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Thank you Darin!
000
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Thank you!
000
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Thank you so much, Ryan!
010
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Update: We added 500 signatures yesterday. Despite knowing how folks feel about generative AI, I’m amazed by this response. Our union, California Faculty Ass’n, will be sending the petition to all members shortly. We aim to break 3K signatures and will deliver the petition to CSU admin in a week.
1121
Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Indeed. The contract is $16,920,000 for 18 months of ChatGPT Edu access — almost a million dollars a month
010