AI isn’t knocking politely—it’s already moved into the classroom, and higher ed is still figuring out who gets the guest room. Marc Watkins, Director of the AI Institute for Teachers and Assistant Director of Academic Innovation at the University of Mississippi, has become one of higher ed’s leading voices on the ethical and practical implications of generative AI. In this episode, he unpacks the divide between those eager to embrace AI and those determined to resist it, and we can learn from both sides.
From the pitfalls of institutional hype to the importance of “AI-aware” classrooms, Marc makes the case for a middle path grounded in ethics, curiosity, and connection. Together, we explore what meaningful teaching looks like when students can outsource thinking, and why the future of learning depends on keeping humans, not algorithms, at the center.
Guest Bio
Marc Watkins is Director of the AI Institute for Teachers and Assistant Director of Academic Innovation at the University of Mississippi, where he also lectures in Writing and Rhetoric. His work with generative AI in education predates ChatGPT, and he champions a stance of curious skepticism toward the technology. Featured in The Washington Post, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, Marc trains faculty nationwide in AI literacy and writes about the intersection of AI, teaching, and ethics on his Substack, Rhetorica.
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