The Data Fix with Dr. Mél Hogan Hollowed, with Olivia Guest, Iris van Rooij and Andrea Reyes Elizondo
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Mar 16, 2026 Olivia Guest, a scholar of AI history and critique, Iris van Rooij, a computational cognitive scientist focused on research integrity, and Andrea Reyes Elizondo, a humanities researcher on book history and colonial reading practices, discuss resisting uncritical AI adoption in academia. They explore research integrity, humanities labor harms, university industry ties, hollowing out institutions, and building critical literacies and collective resistance.
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Position Paper Emerged From Local Roots And Networks
- The position paper grew from local university debates and an open letter started in mid‑2025 and then expanded through digital word‑of‑mouth into a national network.
- Olivia explained the document synthesizes internal vision work, an open letter, and contributions from Netherlands, Germany and the USA to form a longer critique.
Humanities Spot Neocolonial Harms Hidden By AI Promises
- Humanities scholars detect neocolonial and labor harms in AI adoption but often lack tools or institutional attention to act.
- Andrea recounted humanities colleagues seeing 'black box' magic claims, ghost‑work exploitation, and ignored sustainability commitments when AI projects were proposed.
AI Hype Recycles Decades Of Cultural Critique
- Historic critiques of AI repeat across decades and directly inform today's debate, so scholars must study AI's contested history not just hype.
- Olivia read a 1985 quote warning AI's imperialist culture and argued cognitive scientists must learn their field's past to avoid repeating errors.