CriticAI: what I’ve done, what I haven’t done, and what keeps me from doing it

Community Building Study Group | 18th March 2026

Carlos Cámara-Menoyo

Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (University of Warwick)

AI disclosure

No AI whatsoever was used in the creation of this presentation or their supporting materials.

What I said in my application

I will be building CriticAI, a community of practice to critically enquiry about AI’s adoption in HE and influence in the decision-making processes to ensure that AI usage is aligned with academia’s ethos.

Aims:

  1. Meet and connect with people sharing similar concerns/approaches about AI in HE
  2. Share knowledge, experiences and resources about AI in HE
  3. Do something together (collective action)
  4. Influence decision-making processes in HE in relation to AI usage
  5. Have fun!

What I’ve done so far…

Procrastinating A GIF! A visual metaphor of the problem AI aims to address.

A [matrix] space

GitHub Organisation

https://github.com/CriticAI-HE

First planned activity!

SSI CW2026 workshop: Analysing AI guidelines to critically enquiry AI adoption in software development.

Participants will bring policies. We will analyise and discuss them: what they say and what is missing from them.

Interested?

  • Attend to the workshop and bring your own policies

  • Let me know if you would like to help with organisation

The infrastructure is (almost) ready, but…

  • I have not told anyone about the community yet.
  • Website is empty
    • No info about community’s aims, activities, or how to join.
  • No messages in the Matrix space or the GitHub organisation.
  • Zero members! (Zero activity)

Analysis paralysis!

I’m stuck! Support is welcome!

This is what I keep asking myself…

  • What kind of community do I want to build?
    • Support group? (therapy)
    • Union (collective action and bargaining power)
    • Social (networking and sharing)
    • Learning (knowledge sharing and skill development)
    • Something else?
  • Where to start?
    • Unconf may be too big and intimidating for a first activity
    • Reading group?
    • Survey?
    • …?
  • Who is the community for?
    • Academics? RSEs? Just from the UK?
  • What’s the community’s stance on AI?

Me &/vs. Community

  • Leading vs facilitating?
    • I have a very oppinionated stance on AI (and more broadly, on the tools I do not like using), but not sure whether this needs to be the community’s stance. How can this
  • Tools:
    • Important to be coherent (e.g. rejecting AI-fueled solutions), but also, is this the battle I want to pick? (AI is overwhelming enough!)
    • I particularly struggle with IM

Commit Often, Perfect Later

Thanks to Oscar and Yo for their mentoring and guidance!

Hello world!

Hi, my name is Carlos and I am building CriticAI. Nothing big at the moment, but if any of the following questions resonate with you, please do reach out!

  • Are you concerned with the way AI is being implemented in HE?
  • Do you feel isolated when you flag your concerns about how AI can impact our work (e.g. how we research and teach), how students learn, or the future of universities?
  • Do you want your voice made heard?
  • Do you want to work together with others to influence decision-making processes in HE in relation to AI usage?

We will be meeting on DATE at TIME at Matrix|Jitsi|Teams to have an initial chat on what is concerning you

Questions for you

  1. What is concerning you about AI in HE?
  2. Does any of this sound appealing to you? Would you like to be involved in this community?
  3. Do you have any suggestions on:
    • How/where to start?
    • What kind of activities would you like to do?
    • What tools would you like to use?
    • …