Spotlight
Good afternoon all,
In this week’s AI newsletter, you’ll find articles about the various ways specific institutions and jurisdictions are responding to GenAI in higher education – coming from Canada, the US, Hong Kong and Mauritania. You’ll also find articles about the constant tension between AI technology providers, and academic publishers and scholars. Finally, we included a couple of opinion pieces on what differentiates AI from human skills, and on where AI is headed in the not-so-distant future. We hope you find them useful!
Also, ICYMI – HESA recently launched its AI Advisory Services. If your institution is struggling to develop its response to this new technology, or is simply in search of an extra hand, we might be able to help. Reach out to our team to discuss ways in which we could support your efforts.
Next Roundtable Meeting
Date: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024
Time: 12h00-1h00PM ET
Join us Tuesday, April 23rd, from 12:00PM to 1:00PM ET, for our next AI Roundtable, which will focus on Pedagogy and Curriculum. In this “community poster” session, we will have the pleasure to welcome guest speakers from different institutions that have been using AI in innovative ways to support them in teaching and learning. They will share, in short presentations, their practical use of the AI tools. The audience will be able to ask questions after each presentation. We will conclude the session with an open discussion. We will have the pleasure of welcoming the following guests: Dr. Erin Aspenlieder, Special Advisor to the Provost on Generative AI and Ben Lee Taylor, Program Coordinator, Academic Skills and Writing at McMaster University to talk about Partnering with AI in Assessment; Warren Apel, Director of Technology at The American School in Japan, to talk about Transforming Feedback in the Classroom; and Lucas Wright, Senior Educational Consultant at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology at the University of British Columbia, to talk about Critical GenAI Literacy and Digital Skills Development for Faculty, Students, and Staff. This session will be facilitated by Cheryl Kinzel, Dean of Technology and Innovation at Bow Valley College, and Grant Potter, Acting Director at the University of Northern British Columbia’s Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. Register now (it’s free!) to save your spot!
If you missed last month’s AI Roundtable on Governance and Policy, you can watch the recording here.
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Policies & Guidelines Developed by Higher Education Institutions
Tags: Guidelines, Academic integrity, Pedagogy, North America
The University of Calgary recently launched its website on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning. It states the following: “At UCalgary, we recognize the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning innovation and future-focused programs. We are equally committed to ensuring that this transformation is achieved ethically, responsibly and in a manner consistent with our core values articulated in Ahead of Tomorrow. We are committed to ensuring the ethical application of generative AI in all academic contexts and that it meets the best interest of educators and students.” The website states that “Expectations on the use of AI should be clearly communicated to students including if and to what extent the use of generative AI is acceptable. Communications to students should be included in the course outline, verbally in-class and in assessment descriptions.” UCalgary’s guiding principles on GenAI are the following: Meaningful Learning, Academic Integrity, Access, Transparency and Accountability, and Data Privacy and Security.
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News & Research
Packer, H. Times Higher Education. April 2nd, 2024
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has introduced digital academics, artificially generated characters that provide 30-minutes teaching segments in between lectures from a real-life teacher. Most of the digital academics appear in 2D videos, but some have even been developed in 3D and can be viewed by using virtual reality headsets. The digital academics are “directed to information sources by real-life academics. The role of AI at the moment is to turn this information into a script in line with the academics’ given personas, although in time the university hopes to develop a question-and-answer function and the opportunity for deeper ‘interactions’”. The project leader at HKUST affirms this has allowed AI to “subsidise some of the teaching duties”. “His hope is that the approach will eventually be used more widely to help academics focus their time on research and helping students to improve critical thinking, rather than spending time on recounting basic information.” A research project is being conducted in parallel to assess the effectiveness of the AI-generated lecturers.
Basken, P. Times Higher Education. April 2nd, 2024
While Boston University’s graduate students are picketing for higher pay, the Dean of Arts and Sciences “suggested a series of strategies for coping with the strike that include the use of ‘generative AI tools to give feedback or facilitate discussion on readings or assignments.’” “The union representing BU’s striking workers, Local 509 of the Service Employees International Union, complained in a social media posting that it saw disrespect in BU’s call for AI alternatives.”
McGee, K. The Texas Tribune. March 12th, 2024
Texan universities are starting to adapt their offering in response to the rise of AI. The University of Texas at San Antonio announced that it will be creating a new college dedicated to AI, cyber security, computing and data science. Houston Community College recently started offering a bachelor’s degree program in AI and robotics, and the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Austin have launched graduate programs and short-term certificate programs. “Next month, the state agency [the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board] plans to start an assessment of AI activity at all community colleges and four-year universities in the state and use it to build a collaborative system that can help all schools get up to speed with AI.”
Sawahel, W. University World News. March 13th, 2024
Mauritania has recently announced its first AI national strategy aimed at “building a knowledge-based society and promoting the development of a future generation of digitally skilled citizens”. “Under the strategy, practical uses in key sectors will be promoted in which AI can contribute to improve services and enhance productivity”, including higher education. “In addition, scientific research and innovation in the field of AI will be promoted by providing financial support and facilities to research institutions and emerging companies.” “The biggest challenge for Mauritania will be to find highly qualified faculty. […] Mauritania must, therefore, improve institutional governance and the efficiency of higher learning institutions to produce AI-ready graduates and emphasize the requirements to cultivate local talent and make itself attractive for retaining skilled professionals”.
Northlands College. March 13th, 2024
Northlands College just announced a partnership with RoboGarden Inc., an AI-based company. “This collaboration aims to deliver transformational programming that prepares learners for the evolving needs of Northern Saskatchewan’s Economy Today and into the future through innovative educational approaches.”
Grove, J. Times Higher Education. March 14th, 2024
This article touches on the copyright issues regarding the unlawful use of scholarly research by generative artificial intelligence companies. Authors are concerned that their work will be absorbed by LLMs and then reused without permission or citation. There are also concerns regarding the new European Union’s legislation on AI regulation, “which would require authors to ‘opt out’ of their work being used to train AI models”. The new rule would at least require LLMs to state which resources they have used.
Clark, D. Times Higher Education. April 4th, 2024
The author of this article, David Clark, is managing director of Oxford University Press’ Academic Division. In this article, he argues for the need of a “broader working relationship between technology companies and publishers that centres on the core principles of authorization and attribution, whatever the publishing model by which research is made available. If future AI technologies are developed working with publishers, researchers and authors, it will lead to better, more sustainable and less biased tools, which will in turn be used to create improved research outcomes”. He believes publishers and researchers have a responsibility to play an active role in this space, as it is inevitable that LLMs will gain more and more traction in the research ecosystem. However, he believes their development should be insight-led, “understanding the perceptions, concerns and potential opportunities for the scholarly community”.
Wong, C. Nature. March 7th, 2024
While some scientists have already started using AI image-generating tools for their papers and presentations because it increases efficiency and can help translate complex concepts into visuals, other worry these tools could harm research by increasing the production of fake data and inaccurate scientific imagery.
Friesen, J. and Polziehn, R. University Affairs. March 28th, 2024
In this article, the authors share some key takeaways from a workshop on GenAI that was held at the University of Alberta for graduate student supervisors. The key takeaways are the following: 1) Co-learn AI proficiencies; 2) Promote ethical uses of AI; 3) Nurture critical thinking with AI proficiency; 4) Address the AI access divide; 5) Engage students in decisions that affect them; and 6) Encourage student involvement in research planning.
AI Forward. September 22nd, 2023
This website aims to be a compass for educators “seeking ways to harness the power of AI while preserving the essence of education – the deep connection between teacher and student, the nurturing of critical thinking, and the cultivation of creativity”. It covers the following topics: 1) Personalized learning; 2) Ethical use; 3) Integration of AI; and 4) Ensuring responsible use in assignments and exams. It also provides a series of practical resources and tools to integrate ethical AI literacy in the classroom.
Qubein, N. Higher Ed Dive. March 11th, 2024
In this article, the president of High Point University argues that “colleges should focus on teaching the life skills that will outlast inevitable technological changes”. He believes that universities should make sure they are teaching judgment and problem solving, empathy and emotional intelligence, and resilience and openness to change.
Smith, G. and Funk, J. The Chronicle of Higher Education. March 12th, 2024
The authors of this article, a professor of economics at Pomona College and a retired professor of technology management, argue that AI is still far from being able to think critically. “LLMs can string together convincing sequences of words based on analysis of previous statistical patterns, but they do not know the meaning of any of the words they input and output, or how these words relate to the real world. They are consequently incapable of the critical-thinking abilities required to offer reliable advice or ‘intelligent contributions’ – the kind of critical-thinking skills that should be our business, as educators, to promote.” The authors share that they sometimes use GenAI to test whether their test questions require critical thinking. “If the LLMs can’t answer the question, then it is likely that critical thinking is required.” “For teachers, LLMs can be useful for pressure-testing assignments and exam questions to help better define the difference between good and bad answers.”
Schroeder, R. Inside Higher Ed. March 13th, 2024
This article talks about the soon-to-be advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI), followed by artificial superintelligence (ASI) – and their potential transformative impact on higher education. “If this vision of the next decade is on target, higher education is best advised to begin considering today how it will morph into something that serves society in the fourth industrial revolution. We must begin to: 1) Assess each of the fields for which we prepare students or aspire to prepare students; 2) Monitor the uptake of GenAI, AGI and ASI in those fields for the purpose of greater efficiencies and prospective layoffs/changes in hiring; 3) Avail ourselves of AI-driven predictive analytics to anticipate the shift in employment patterns; 4) Engage with business and industry to assess their anticipated needs; 5) Engage our university community to ideate potential value-added aspects that higher education could offer to new and emerging markets using our expertise and facilities; 6) Test our ideas through AI-powered analysis and projections; 7) Adapt our hiring today and employ upskilling/reskilling to best prepare current staffing for the future”.
More Information
Want more? Consult HESA’s Observatory on AI Policies in Canadian Post-Secondary Education.
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