Yes, exactly this. “AI” as managerialism bsky.app/profile/drya...
My mental model for who is the *most*, the very most, likely to go all-in on AI is someone who *used* to be very creative and capable, sometimes 20 or 30 or 40 years ago, but since has moved upward into a position where they pretty much just tell other creative people what to do
October 27, 2026 at 11:11 PM
Yes, exactly this. “AI” as managerialism bsky.app/profile/drya...
Neil Parish: "ex-tractor fan"
Nigel Farage: "a bleached Grinch who would deport his own teeth for being white enough"
Keir Starmer: "plastic managerialism, wooden smiles, tin ears and clay feet"
Suella Braverman: "Chinchilla the Hun"
Nigel Farage: "a bleached Grinch who would deport his own teeth for being white enough"
Keir Starmer: "plastic managerialism, wooden smiles, tin ears and clay feet"
Suella Braverman: "Chinchilla the Hun"
October 28, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Neil Parish: "ex-tractor fan"
Nigel Farage: "a bleached Grinch who would deport his own teeth for being white enough"
Keir Starmer: "plastic managerialism, wooden smiles, tin ears and clay feet"
Suella Braverman: "Chinchilla the Hun"
Nigel Farage: "a bleached Grinch who would deport his own teeth for being white enough"
Keir Starmer: "plastic managerialism, wooden smiles, tin ears and clay feet"
Suella Braverman: "Chinchilla the Hun"
I think the folks in this camp see teachers like missionaries—well intentioned people who care but probably weren’t “smart enough” for other careers. Easy to see how that view would align with paternalistic forms of managerialism that entrust curriculum to the “real experts” in the private sector.
There are people who vote Democrat, who consider themselves liberal or progressive, are not bigots, are not in daily life unkind or abusive or asocial, who think that school ought to be scripted and that teachers are not to be trusted.
October 25, 2026 at 5:03 PM
I think the folks in this camp see teachers like missionaries—well intentioned people who care but probably weren’t “smart enough” for other careers. Easy to see how that view would align with paternalistic forms of managerialism that entrust curriculum to the “real experts” in the private sector.
Excellent piece that ties "AI" to a much longer history of toxic managerialism
"We might think of AI as a nucleation site where other issues crystallise and become visible."
bsky.app/profile/jeff...
"We might think of AI as a nucleation site where other issues crystallise and become visible."
bsky.app/profile/jeff...
I have a long piece at @theconversation.com about AI and the university
theconversation.com/friday-essay...
theconversation.com/friday-essay...
Friday essay: AI is devastating higher education, but the system was already broken
AI is a project of the powerful, implemented in the name of an efficiency that has nothing to do with the good, writes Jeff Sparrow.
theconversation.com
October 24, 2026 at 4:16 AM
Excellent piece that ties "AI" to a much longer history of toxic managerialism
"We might think of AI as a nucleation site where other issues crystallise and become visible."
bsky.app/profile/jeff...
"We might think of AI as a nucleation site where other issues crystallise and become visible."
bsky.app/profile/jeff...
I do think managerialism is a really useful frame for thinking about "AI" use. I do not trust anyone using "genAI" to make games/art - yes even for code - because it's fundamentally a kind of CEO Brainrot that undermines your creative practice at a deep conceptual level.
October 24, 2026 at 4:21 AM
I do think managerialism is a really useful frame for thinking about "AI" use. I do not trust anyone using "genAI" to make games/art - yes even for code - because it's fundamentally a kind of CEO Brainrot that undermines your creative practice at a deep conceptual level.
Depressing deep dive into the nexus of managerialism and AI in (mainly) Australian universities, and the death spiral it’s producing
Friday essay: AI is devastating higher education, but the system was already broken
AI is a project of the powerful, implemented in the name of an efficiency that has nothing to do with the good, writes Jeff Sparrow.
theconversation.com
October 25, 2026 at 6:06 AM
Depressing deep dive into the nexus of managerialism and AI in (mainly) Australian universities, and the death spiral it’s producing
The examples are Australian but I think many would recognize their own institutions in this piece on university management and GenAI.
But it’s worth emphasizing the point that the evolution of university managerialism was arguably partly a function of reduced social spending on higher education
But it’s worth emphasizing the point that the evolution of university managerialism was arguably partly a function of reduced social spending on higher education
"The short-termism of universities burning through their social licence neatly parallels the roll out of the resource-hungry, carbon intensive data centres on which AI depends."
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Friday essay: AI is devastating higher education, but the system was already broken
AI is a project of the powerful, implemented in the name of an efficiency that has nothing to do with the good, writes Jeff Sparrow.
theconversation.com
October 24, 2026 at 8:21 PM
The examples are Australian but I think many would recognize their own institutions in this piece on university management and GenAI.
But it’s worth emphasizing the point that the evolution of university managerialism was arguably partly a function of reduced social spending on higher education
But it’s worth emphasizing the point that the evolution of university managerialism was arguably partly a function of reduced social spending on higher education
A powerful piece by Jeff Sparrow on the detrimental effects of neoliberalism, managerialism & artificial intelligence on research, teaching & learning in Australian universities.
It's on the longish side but well worth putting the effort into reading it in full.
theconversation.com/friday-essay...
It's on the longish side but well worth putting the effort into reading it in full.
theconversation.com/friday-essay...
Friday essay: AI is devastating higher education, but the system was already broken
AI is a project of the powerful, implemented in the name of an efficiency that has nothing to do with the good, writes Jeff Sparrow.
theconversation.com
October 24, 2026 at 11:14 PM
A powerful piece by Jeff Sparrow on the detrimental effects of neoliberalism, managerialism & artificial intelligence on research, teaching & learning in Australian universities.
It's on the longish side but well worth putting the effort into reading it in full.
theconversation.com/friday-essay...
It's on the longish side but well worth putting the effort into reading it in full.
theconversation.com/friday-essay...
2. The larger administrative work force—and the pervasiveness of administrative reach—feeds a managerialism that often ignores the centrality of the educational and scholarly functions of the university.
October 25, 2026 at 8:18 PM
2. The larger administrative work force—and the pervasiveness of administrative reach—feeds a managerialism that often ignores the centrality of the educational and scholarly functions of the university.
The modern university may still portray itself as a cloistered community of scholars, but it is actually a large multinational competing with many other such universities in selling a product. Professionalism has surrendered unconditionally to managerialism.
Friday essay: AI is devastating higher education, but the system was already broken
AI is a project of the powerful, implemented in the name of an efficiency that has nothing to do with the good, writes Jeff Sparrow.
theconversation.com
October 23, 2026 at 9:22 PM
The modern university may still portray itself as a cloistered community of scholars, but it is actually a large multinational competing with many other such universities in selling a product. Professionalism has surrendered unconditionally to managerialism.
Note the managerialism here: 'Everything is a comms issue' yet again.
Record migration against explicit public wishes is just a 'salience issue'. You see, to the managerial mind voters are mindless automaton's that don't actually have wants/needs, only what they're told by the media class.
Record migration against explicit public wishes is just a 'salience issue'. You see, to the managerial mind voters are mindless automaton's that don't actually have wants/needs, only what they're told by the media class.
Reform's main response will be to try to increase the salience of immigration. (The Cons want to increase the salience of the economy, to help them lead Reform, but want to challenge the govt on immigration, boats, ILR).
Reopening Brexit arguments may help Labour & Reform, much more than the Cons
Reopening Brexit arguments may help Labour & Reform, much more than the Cons
Reform UK's 20% vote share in our latest voting intention (25-26 October 2026) is the lowest recorded for the party since our tracker restarted in January 2025
yougov.com/en-gb/articl...
yougov.com/en-gb/articl...
October 27, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Note the managerialism here: 'Everything is a comms issue' yet again.
Record migration against explicit public wishes is just a 'salience issue'. You see, to the managerial mind voters are mindless automaton's that don't actually have wants/needs, only what they're told by the media class.
Record migration against explicit public wishes is just a 'salience issue'. You see, to the managerial mind voters are mindless automaton's that don't actually have wants/needs, only what they're told by the media class.
This fits well in this thread. I mentioned earlier "The corrosive effect that AI is already having on formal education" and this article lays it out in detail, along with the prior damage caused by managerialism and neoliberalism […]
Original post on aus.social
aus.social
October 25, 2026 at 3:59 PM
This fits well in this thread. I mentioned earlier "The corrosive effect that AI is already having on formal education" and this article lays it out in detail, along with the prior damage caused by managerialism and neoliberalism […]
You might appreciate this long read: theconversation.com/friday-essay...
October 25, 2026 at 1:45 AM
You might appreciate this long read: theconversation.com/friday-essay...
Reinhard Bendix, historian of managerialism, is more informative than Gramsci and less grandiose
October 19, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reinhard Bendix, historian of managerialism, is more informative than Gramsci and less grandiose
Every different ideological site entails a radically distinct social analysis with its own constellation of interlinked presuppositions and economic input channels and people think you can simply plot it all on a flat line that runs from one point to another with liberal managerialism in the middle
October 21, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Every different ideological site entails a radically distinct social analysis with its own constellation of interlinked presuppositions and economic input channels and people think you can simply plot it all on a flat line that runs from one point to another with liberal managerialism in the middle
Well it sounds like by more of the same. I totally get argument about franchising education (itself a consequence of the measures introduced when they worked for DoE), but this all reads like supreme complacency about HE & market dogma to me. More managerialism and metrics are not going to fix this.
October 22, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Well it sounds like by more of the same. I totally get argument about franchising education (itself a consequence of the measures introduced when they worked for DoE), but this all reads like supreme complacency about HE & market dogma to me. More managerialism and metrics are not going to fix this.
Mechanisms: Using the three paradigms of rationalism, constructivism and managerialism, we argue that most instruments rely on a combination of all three approaches and develop an ideal-typical escalation model, moving from managerialist through constructivist to rationalist strategies.
October 21, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Mechanisms: Using the three paradigms of rationalism, constructivism and managerialism, we argue that most instruments rely on a combination of all three approaches and develop an ideal-typical escalation model, moving from managerialist through constructivist to rationalist strategies.
The people have had enough of Thatcherism/Neoliberalism – call it what you will – which has impoverished the many while massively enriching the few. Centrist managerialism is not the answer: the choice is between Fascism or the Left.
October 19, 2026 at 10:09 AM
The people have had enough of Thatcherism/Neoliberalism – call it what you will – which has impoverished the many while massively enriching the few. Centrist managerialism is not the answer: the choice is between Fascism or the Left.
One corrosive aspects of this abusive type of managerialism is the destruction of the concept of academic legacy. British universities had grown organically and had a system of pedagogy that introduced new staff into the roles and practices their department had. They could ask anyone for info.
October 17, 2026 at 9:23 AM
One corrosive aspects of this abusive type of managerialism is the destruction of the concept of academic legacy. British universities had grown organically and had a system of pedagogy that introduced new staff into the roles and practices their department had. They could ask anyone for info.
I don't think they lack the ability to deal with these issues, they just want the easier life of managerialism.
Starmer is the king of this, he had the opportunity to reset the politics, he chose the easy option of lazy soft left economic policies, with the predicable poor economic performance.
Starmer is the king of this, he had the opportunity to reset the politics, he chose the easy option of lazy soft left economic policies, with the predicable poor economic performance.
October 19, 2026 at 5:32 PM
I don't think they lack the ability to deal with these issues, they just want the easier life of managerialism.
Starmer is the king of this, he had the opportunity to reset the politics, he chose the easy option of lazy soft left economic policies, with the predicable poor economic performance.
Starmer is the king of this, he had the opportunity to reset the politics, he chose the easy option of lazy soft left economic policies, with the predicable poor economic performance.
"Managerialism vs Free and Fair Competition: The Economists' Aggiornamento on the Sherman Act on the Eve of the 1932 Elections" with Thierry Kirat in Deutscher, Lindeboom, and Makris eds. The Cambridge Handbook of Competition Law and Antitrust Theory
www.cambridge.org/fr/universit...
@cnrs.fr
www.cambridge.org/fr/universit...
@cnrs.fr
October 19, 2026 at 6:13 AM
"Managerialism vs Free and Fair Competition: The Economists' Aggiornamento on the Sherman Act on the Eve of the 1932 Elections" with Thierry Kirat in Deutscher, Lindeboom, and Makris eds. The Cambridge Handbook of Competition Law and Antitrust Theory
www.cambridge.org/fr/universit...
@cnrs.fr
www.cambridge.org/fr/universit...
@cnrs.fr
'scholarship faces... chilling threats from a philistine political climate, an academic world over-run by managerialism & the proliferation of absurdities & nastiness [in the] media. It is a waste of everyone’s time & energy to tilt at windmills.'
Hines on Higham: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Hines on Higham: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
October 14, 2026 at 7:59 AM
'scholarship faces... chilling threats from a philistine political climate, an academic world over-run by managerialism & the proliferation of absurdities & nastiness [in the] media. It is a waste of everyone’s time & energy to tilt at windmills.'
Hines on Higham: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Hines on Higham: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Is it? Is that really better than having them networked locally but offline or is it just managerialism?
October 13, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Is it? Is that really better than having them networked locally but offline or is it just managerialism?
Lack of transparency is one of this government’s greatest sins: the insulting managerialism that says the voters don’t understand and are better kept out of the way of “good“ governance. Their record on FOI requests and reluctance to publish reports and inquest findings is damming.
October 13, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Lack of transparency is one of this government’s greatest sins: the insulting managerialism that says the voters don’t understand and are better kept out of the way of “good“ governance. Their record on FOI requests and reluctance to publish reports and inquest findings is damming.
technopatrimonialism then, idk. the point is that the way they run things really does seem designed to avoid any of the 'encumbrances' of managerialism, shareholder oversight, etc, along with the usual attempts to avoid government oversight.
October 12, 2026 at 12:37 PM
technopatrimonialism then, idk. the point is that the way they run things really does seem designed to avoid any of the 'encumbrances' of managerialism, shareholder oversight, etc, along with the usual attempts to avoid government oversight.