UTC Planning for AI Integration
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Artificial Intelligence has taken the world by storm.
It has risen in profile to the point that President Biden on Monday had to issue an executive order on the topic.
You may remember we did a report on the rise of ChatGPT back in February, and what the implications potentially were for education.
Concerns were being raised about the potential of cheating becoming an increasing issue due to ChatGPT.
Nine months later, UTC has continued to wrestle with this emerging technology, but they tell us they are not shying away from its potential.
Dr. Vicki Farnsworth, who has been the vice chancellor for information technology at UTC since 2019, has been appointed to oversee their interactions with AI.
Dr. Farnsworth said, “For most audiences and our disciplines, it really is how you use it to further that discipline in a more efficient and effective way. So how do we give students that foundation when they head out into the workforce? To be able to use AI in their first job.”
She says that forums held with students and faculty have helped the university begin crafting a plan for a future with AI.
Dr. Farnsworth said, “The best assignments are when you use A-I or ChatGPT, but you’re giving students not the assignment to create something, they create it in A-I, and then evaluate the answer that AI provided.”
Other perspectives still exist in the field.
Dr. Victoria Bryan, the head of the Walker Center for Teaching and Learning, said of some other’s feelings on the subject, “There is that sense of dread, I think that exists in fields teaching writing as a skill, and it exists in the fields teaching artistic visual creation.”
She does say however most faculty is trying to best integrate it by teaching students how to use it ethically.
Dr. Bryan said, “What we’re going to end up working with students on is the reality that the technology does not exist without the humans there to build it and train it, and that connection between the human and the technology is going to be valuable.”
Dr. Bryan added that reaction from students has been mixed to the inclusion of AI in curriculum.
Dr. Farnsworth says that faculty and students can expect more announcements soon related to AI.
