---
title: When machines teach and learn
author: Martin Ebner
date: 2026-10-22
url: https://postgenerative.at/indications/2026-10-22/when-machines-teach-and-learn
lang: en
type: Indication
summary: A philosophical paper questions the automation of higher education through generative AI.
tags:
  - Education
  - Higher education
sources:
  - title: "Robert Sparrow & Gene Flenady (2025): Bullshit universities: the future of automated education. AI & SOCIETY."
    url: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-025-02340-8
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
alternate:
  de: https://postgenerativ.at/indizien/2026-10-22/wenn-maschinen-lehren-und-lernen
---

# When machines teach and learn

Writing in *AI & SOCIETY*, Robert Sparrow and Gene Flenady warn of universities where AI produces and grades student work. They argue that education requires practice, human role models and social encounters. Outsourcing writing could also remove opportunities to learn to think. [1]

This example shows how generative AI raises fundamental questions about universities’ educational purpose. The paper offers a philosophical critique, rather than an empirical impact study.

[Read the original article](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-025-02340-8)