A blog about blogs

This blog was authored by Rose Stephenson, Director of Policy and Strategy at the Higher Education Policy Institute.

HEPI is a team of seven people. Five of us work part-time, so we have the equivalent of about five full-time employees. Sector colleagues regularly comment on the level of output HEPI achieves with such a tiny team. This is only possible because HEPI is so much more than the seven of us. We rely upon the generosity of external authors to draft (and in many cases redraft) HEPI blogs, policy notes, debate papers and reports. Not only does this increase the volume of our output, but much more importantly, it increases the diversity of our output. Being a forum for debate is a core part of HEPI’s purpose, and this can only be achieved by welcoming a diverse range of voices, perceptions and opinions.

HEPI does not have a ‘corporate line’ on matters of higher education policy; instead, we encourage debate. As such, you may see reports and blogs on the HEPI site with conflicting opinions, conclusions or recommendations. This is something we welcome. We genuinely could not fulfil our purpose without the time and effort of colleagues from across the sector and beyond so this input is hugely appreciated.  

However, something has been going on with the HEPI blog. Charlotte Armstrong, HEPI’s Policy Manager, oversees the blog. This involves reading all the submissions that you do see and publishing them, as well as those that do not meet our editorial bar. Increasingly, blog submissions have become overly similar in style. This started slowly, but with a few notable exceptions, has become the norm. It is clear that many blogs being submitted are being written solely or in large part by AI.

There are some submissions that are clearly written in full by AI, contain little interesting content, and go straight into the ‘do not publish’ pile. However, what is much more frustrating is when a colleague has had a brilliant idea, or a novel perspective, but this is presented in the mono-linguistic style of AI. To speak frankly, if you use AI to generate a blog for you, your brilliant thoughts are being diluted in a swamp of beige-ification. In the words of one frustrated reader: ‘opinion pieces are meant to be personal.’

So, what to do? We have always had an editorial bar that covers both substance and style. To be published, blogs need to be interesting and well-written. This will continue, but within the ‘well-written’ portion of the editing process, this will include whether the text has been written largely by AI or whether it sounds human and interesting enough to be published.

Are we ‘banning AI’? No. AI is a brilliant tool, whether for data analysis, finding case studies (but please double-check the outputs), or a myriad of other ways to assist your work. But can AI currently write interesting blogs and reports? No. We want to hear your perspective, from you.

Our instructions for authors will reflect this, stating:

Publications from HEPI are intended to reflect the author’s own experiences, perspectives, knowledge and research. As such, HEPI asks that authors do not submit pieces written solely or significantly by AI. While we understand that some people may use AI tools for accessibility, we ask people to consider what tools are appropriate when writing for HEPI. Opinion pieces are meant to be personal, and our readers really want to hear from you!

Where AI has been used in the development process (such as data analysis, image generation or deep research), we ask that authors declare its use and the reason for this. This will allow us to make informed judgements prior to publication. Our editorial decisions have always, and will continue to be, about the contribution the ideas in a piece make to the debate, and we are interested in your argument rather than the polish of your writing.

If you need a little inspiration, here are some of our favourite blogs:

• Beyond the visa: enabling the contribution of scholars from conflict zones
• On Lampeter
• Book review: Reclaiming Purpose – The University in an AI World by Paul LeBlanc

For early-career colleagues, blogs are a way to start developing your voice in the policy space, and for more established colleagues, it’s a way to share their experiences and expertise with others. So, if you have got an idea for a HEPI blog, or something interesting to say, do get in touch with us. We want to hear what you think; informed, interesting and imperfect are all welcome.

HEPI’s instructions to authors can be found here.

Please submit your (human-written) blog to [email protected]

We look forward to reading what you have to say!