Paul Cantrell
Got a survey from a Berkeley student group who are “researching how AI-powered tools can support educators like yourself by improving teaching efficiency and the learning experience,” and started filling it out just out of curiosity…
…but bailed on the survey when I reached this (mandatory) question. The correct answer for me, not present, is “I rarely use it •because• I am very familiar with it.”
Paul Cantrell
I feel like there’s a classic social science and/or philosophy term for the way a question can circumscribe its possible answers, and thus skew our thinking. What is that? It escapes me. Whatever it’s called, this is a classic example.
You can see the students’ assumption / agenda plain as day: “The only barrier to AI utility is unfamiliarity! Therefore we can help these poor benighted educators by making them familiar with it!”
“People tried it and it sucks” is not a thinkable thought.
Jenniferplusplus
@inthehands begging the question?
When a poll does it, we usually call that a push poll
Paul Cantrell
@jenniferplusplus
Yes, push poll is a relevant thought! The thing I can’t tell is whether the poll authors know they have an agenda, i.e. is the sucker here me or them?
Jenniferplusplus
@inthehands why_not_both.gif
Paul Cantrell
@jenniferplusplus
Yeah, of course you’re correct: the best con artists believe their own con, or are incapable of actual belief altogether — and you’d think I’d know that after all these years of Musk and Trump and blockchain and crap
Paul Cantrell
Important detail: it’s not clear that accuracy is a goal of the poll. The group is not actually conducting an academic research project at all; they are a student-run “strategy consulting organization.” Sort of like Model UN but for McKinsey, I take it. Given that, I suppose this malformed poll is functioning exactly as it’s supposed to function, and giving true-to-life experience.
Paul Cantrell
@aarbrk
Yes, Lakoff for sure. Lakoff and…something out of Wittgenstein, probably?
Aaron Brick — אהרן בריק
@inthehands See “framing” à la George Lakoff. The Wikipedia article is super long so here is a pithier one:
https://commonslibrary.org/frame-the-debate-insights-from-dont-think-of-an-elephant/
George Dinwiddie
@inthehands
I've never found a student's survey about technical attitudes that I can answer honestly. They don't allow answers they didn't anticipate, and they don't do a good job anticipating because they don't have broad enough experience.
Paul Cantrell
@gdinwiddie
All true, and not just students either
Paul Cantrell
@wlf_warren Heh, “prompt engineering” is the best name yet for what this survey is doing!
wlf_warren
Yes and how you do that?
.... Prompt Engineering
Paul Cantrell
“Push poll” and “framing” both popular in the replies (and spot on), but the winner in my book is…
…wait for it…
“prompt engineering”
Michael Dekker
@inthehands The word you’re looking for is incompetence. Never assume malice when incompetence is an available explanation. Quality survey construction is far more difficult and time consuming than most people imagine, and few can do it well. As others have noted, the poor survey wording likely arises out of student inexperience, and also student failure to use survey construction resources.
Stephanie Moore
@inthehands boy that’s such a good non-example for survey design. I may use it for class?
Paul Cantrell
@StephanieMoore
Well, I don’t mind you using my screenshot, but I don’t think permission is mine to give! The group is “SBC Berkeley.”
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