This branch notes anecdotal evidence from academic and support staff that the university is encouraging staff to use AI across our work. We are also aware of moving goalposts in the university’s traffic light system for academic integrity. There are numerous issues with both: besides the worker’s rights issues with AI (both in terms of platform worker exploitation, and theft of intellectual property) and the environmental issues with data centres, there is a serious concern that encouraging the use of AI will degrade the work of academic and support staff by transforming teaching and marking into prompt-engineering, and will preclude students gaining crucial critical thinking skills. 

To understand both issues better, we resolve to ask school and service representatives to informally collate the issues which are arising in their schools and services, and present a compiled report back to the next branch meeting so we can understand what the issues are across the University

(154 words.) Proposed by Josh Habgood-Coote. Moved by Josh Habgood-Coote, seconded by Simon Hewitt. The motion was carried at the Extraordinary General Meeting 21 January 2026.