Higher education is in a period of extraordinary exuberance around the transformative potential of technology. Vendors have invested heavily in new solutions to address admissions, instruction, student success, alumni engagement, and more. Unbridled enthusiasm for technology is not unprecedented, with institutions having navigated previous boom-and-bust cycles. The unique element of this one, however, is the largely untested belief that the success of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in transforming sectors such as retail and media will transfer easily, with similar result, to the higher education industry. How many times has delivering an Amazon- or Netflix-like recommendation experience been cited as the business drive for a new technology project?