this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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Similarly, in research, the trajectory points toward systems that can increasingly automate the research cycle. In some domains, that already looks like robotic laboratories that run continuously, automate large portions of experimentation and even select new tests based on prior results.

At first glance, this may sound like a welcome boost to productivity. But universities are not information factories; they are systems of practice. They rely on a pipeline of graduate students and early-career academics who learn to teach and research by participating in that same work. If autonomous agents absorb more of the “routine” responsibilities that historically served as on-ramps into academic life, the university may keep producing courses and publications while quietly thinning the opportunity structures that sustain expertise over time.

The same dynamic applies to undergraduates, albeit in a different register.

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[–] rebelsimile@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I think it’s actually just the perception that it’s doing that from people who are so far away from the working that they don’t have any clue.

Like 300 years ago if you wanted to be a sailor maybe you started by rowing oars, or swabbing decks or dealing with ropes and rigging or whatever. If you’re a 19 year old seaman in 2026 you’re probably using a throttle controller that’s 26 different systems disconnected from the actual mechanical work. No one says “oh that guys not a novice seaman” or “the boat literally drives itself hurr”

If you’re a graphic designer in 1970, you’d cut out and hand lay a magazine page out on a big glowing table, page by page, resetting the type so it fit along with giant physical images so you could design the page. In 2026, you’d use Illustrator and lay it out on your computer. No one says “oh the magazines just lay themselves out” or “that’s not how you lay out magazine”. It’s just done with the tools available.

What’s going on is very few people seem to understand the difference between a tool and a solution. A tool is a thing that does something. A hammer is a tool. A solution is something that solves a problem. A hammer is a tool but it is not a good solution for a crying baby. Applying random tools to non-problems does not generate solutions randomly, it just creates even more intractable problems.