Texas universities are using artificial intelligence to scan, flag, and rewrite college courses that mention race, gender, or social justice. Professors are being pressured to change the language in their syllabi. Some are told to remove words like “dismantling,” “decolonizing,” or even “challenging.” Others are watching their courses disappear from the catalog entirely.

This is not about improving education. It is about controlling it.

At Texas A&M, internal records show that administrators are using AI tools to search for terms like “feminism” and flag courses for review. At Texas State University, faculty were instructed to revise their course descriptions using AI prompts that strip out anything that could be seen as advocacy. Dozens of liberal arts classes have already been targeted.

These decisions are happening under political pressure and new state rules that give appointed officials more power over public university curricula. Faculty, students, and even AI experts are warning that these tools are not designed to understand teaching. They are being used as a blunt instrument to silence discussion of inequality, identity, and history.

This is censorship in the classroom. It undermines trust in educators, narrows the scope of inquiry, and tells students that uncomfortable topics are no longer welcome.

We call on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Legislature, and all public university systems to immediately halt the use of AI to review or revise course content. We demand transparency in how curricula are being audited, full oversight from faculty and subject experts, and clear protections for academic freedom in Texas universities.

Texas students deserve an education shaped by thoughtful instruction, not by software programmed to avoid controversy.

Sign this petition to stand with Texas faculty, protect academic freedom, and say no to algorithmic censorship in higher education.

Photo: Texas Monthly