Artificial Intelligence

Thoughtful and Deliberate Use and Non-Use of Generative AI at ºÚÁϳԹϠ

The value of a liberal arts education lies in holistic learning and critical evaluation. The deep and intensive modes of inquiry and engagement afforded by the block plan at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï are not about finding quick answers. Accordingly, our thoughtful, deliberate, and iterative approach to Generative AI ultimately highlights the core of what we do and who we are as an institution. 

Accordingly, our critical approach to AI will be amplified further by our core institutional values – specifically antiracism and sustainability – alongside our college’s vision "to ignite the passion and potential of our students, and the entire CC community, to create a world that is more equitable, humane, and just."  

The systems, structures, and practices that have brought GenAI to its present moment, coupled with the deeply capitalist forces driving integration of the technology, are at odds with our commitment to be an antiracist institution, and one that strives to be inclusive and accessible. We continue to have much work to do in that regard. And our approach to GenAI will continue to be framed by such work. 

Vision 

As a national model in higher education, we will establish both official policy and best practices guidelines that govern how, when, and why GenAI will and will not be used at CC, emerging from the contexts of liberal arts learning and critical inquiry, while aligning with CC’s commitments to sustainability and antiracism. 

Next Steps

The above statement was crafted by the faculty and staff members of the AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum: Ryan Raul Bañagale, Jennifer Golightly, Neena Grover, Jane Murphy, Chris Schacht, Cory Scott, and Ane Steckenbiller. It stands as a set of guiding principles for the work that lies ahead.

During Blocks 4 & 5 we will gather information from our colleagues about their experiences, questions, concerns, and opportunities with GenAI.  Such information will help use better understand current the current use-cases impacting teaching and learning at CC.  The first of our "pop-up" conversation sessions will take place as follows:

Block 4:

  • Week 1: Thursday, Nov. 21 from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. – Barnes Science Atrium
  • Week 2: Thursday, Dec. 5 from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. – Cossitt Commons
  • Week 3: Thursday, Dec. 12 from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. – Armstrong Great Hall

 

Critical AI Literacy at CC

[December 2024 - Working Description]

At ºÚÁϳԹÏ, Critical AI Literacy involves thoughtful engagement with generative artificial intelligence's design, implementation, and social implications. In our liberal arts environment, and aligned with our commitments to antiracism and sustainability, Critical AI Literacy requires more than just understanding the technical processes of how GenAI tools work. Such literacy also includes an examination of bias and inequality, an awareness of ethical and environmental concerns, and an interdisciplinary and meaningful engagement – and non-engagement – with AI, seeking transparent, just, and responsible uses.

Some things that we’re reading as we consider Critical AI Literacy at CC:

  • (Maha Bali)
  • (Emily Bender, et al)
  • (Aras Bozkurt, et al)
  • (Tressie McMillan Cottom)
  • (Frances Hunter)
  • (Jasper Roe)
  • (Jasper Roe, et al)

What are you reading that we should be reading? Please share with us!  And return to this page for more as we continue to build out both our descriptions of and opportunites for Critical AI Literacy at CC.

"The faculty, students, and staff of ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï are perfectly situated to wrestle with the implications of generative AI. We are a place where learning, research, innovation, ethics, and dialogue intersect. The experts in our interdisciplinary community can lead conversations and projects that interrogate and explore both the foundations and future of AI. As an institution that strives to foster the ethical creation of knowledge, we can rise to this challenge without trepidation and without acquiescing to the inertia of educational technology. We can ask the hard questions as we explore. ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï is made for this challenge and opportunity."

Professor Emily Chan, Dean of the Faculty

As we grapple with the realities and possibilities of generative AI, it is helpful to keep in mind this popular refrain: Today’s AI is the worst you’ll ever use. This neither excuses its known biases and limitations, nor invites us to take a wait and see approach. Rather, it reminds us that we are on the precipice of something big and unknown. And we can shape its future and our own.  

Few at CC can claim to be experts on AI. But we are all explorers of AI. Explorers with expertise in a broad range of disciplines, methodologies, pedagogies, and perspectives that help us connect the dots to between the applications, questions, concerns, and opportunities that accompany AI. We will do this through classroom experimentation, formal and informal conversations, and revisiting our current practices to see how they best prepare our students for tomorrow. 

But our collective exploration must keep the values and priorities of CC ever present. It is through our lens and pillars that we must approach our conversations on AI. For example: Given the inherent biases and ethical concerns of large language models, what does it mean to be an antiracist institution that uses AI? What impacts does AI have on our Sustainable Development Goals when the computing systems running ChatGPT consume a bottle of water while processing a single conversation? What impacts has AI already had on the mental health of our students, especially when it comes to classroom expectations and academic integrity? 

At the same time, approaching such questions from a deficit perspective—we can’t use AI because it doesn’t align with who we are—does not get us very far. Tools such as ChatGPT are only one manifestation of the possibilities of generative AI. It is up to us to decide which tools we will use, how they work, when they are applicable, and where their limits lie as we foster modes of critical inquiry amongst our students. 

We need to continue to be explorers, carrying forward CC’s mission, which states: “Drawing upon the adventurous spirit of the Rocky Mountain West, we challenge students, one course at a time, to develop those habits of intellect and imagination that will prepare them for learning and leadership throughout their lives." 

To this end, what does it mean to use AI adventurously? How might AI develop habits of intellect and imagination? How do we prepare students for the learning and leadership they will experience—with the omnipresence of AI—for the rest of their lives? 

AI isn’t a puzzle to solve. The dots will continue to emerge and be arranged and rearranged. But that is also the inherent nature of liberal arts learning. Contexts shift. We seek to understand through critical inquiry. Together, as always, we can design the preferred future that we want to have.  

Words are great, but actions are greater. Here is what you can do next. 

  • Visit the Artificial Intelligence at CC page on the Crown Center website. Here you will find an ongoing list of resources and events to help you further explore. This includes an excellent series of videos put out by the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, called “Practical AI for Teachers and Students.” 
 
  • Add an AI usage statement to every syllabus. As educators we need to make clear to our students our individual expectations, letting students know how AI may or may not be employed during the course. The Crown website provides resources on crafting such a statement, including some suggestions thoughtfully provided by the student members of the CC Honor Council. 

 

  • Attend and/or lead a Crown Conversation on AI. Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, we will host two conversations each block to help us better understand the specific usage, concerns, and opportunities of AI at CC. Please join us on Tuesday, November 7, at noon (Tutt 411/412) to discuss "AI and the CC Honor Code." The block 4 conversations will provide an introduction to generative AI as well as the ethics of the large language models behind tools such as ChatGPT. 

 

  • Tell us what you are doing with AI. Please share your explorations with AI each other and with the Interim Director of the Crown Center, Ryan Bañagale. If you wish to provide anonymous feedback on how you are working with and/or thinking about AI, you can . Feedback such as this will help us better provide both resources and future programming. 

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Past CC Conversations on AI

Past Programming:

Fall of 2023

Block 3:

Block 4:

  • "An Intro to Generative AI" - Thursday, 12/7/23 @ 12:15pm - South Hall Commons
  • "The Ethics of chatGPT" - Thursday, 12/14/23 @ 12:15pm - South Hall Commons

Fall of 2024

Block 1:

  • Crown Center Lunch - Tuesday, 11/9/24 @ 12:15pm -
    • As part of CC's participation in the 2024-25 AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum, we invite you to a lunch discussion on the evolving landscape of teaching and generative AI at our college. Faculty and staff from the institute team will share insights on current pedagogical strategies and considerations for implementation of AI in the specific context of our CC classrooms. This will also be an open forum to hear your experiences, insights, and concerns as we navigate these technologies together on our campus.

Block 3:

  • - Tuesday, 11/5/24 @ 1:30pm - Barnes PC Lab
  • Faculty Lunch Talk: "Three Applications of Machine Learning to Structural Biology" - Wednesday, 11/6/24 @ 12:00pm - Gaylord Hall

Resources

In addition to our in-person conversations and workshops, we will also share out information that can help us engage in such efforts. Please let us know of any resources you think would be useful for us to highlight.

Don't know where to start? , prepared by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. It takes only about an hour in total to go from fundamental questions about AI, to how Large Language Models work, to crafting basic prompts for instructors and students. It is important to note, however, that the aim of these videos is to address how generative AI functions. They do not directly address issues of bias. 

Recourses for Students:

  • (AAC&U)

  • (CC Libraries)

Resources for Syllabi and Instructional Design:

  • (CC Honor Council)
  • (CC Ruth Barton Writing Center)
  • (Tutt Library Research Guide)
  • (Crowdsourced Resource)
  •  (AI in Education Google Group)
  • (National Center for AI)

Recent Writing on AI and Education:

  • (11/30/23 - Inside Higher Ed)
  • (11/6/23 - Educause Review)
  • (10/31/23 - Inside Higher Ed)
  • (10/20/23 - The Peak)
  • (10/16/23 - Educause Review)
  • (9/28/23 - Inside Higher Ed)
  • (9/24/23 - Harvard Business Publishing Education)
  • (9/5/23 - Intelligent)
  • (8/31/23 - OpenAI Blog)
  • (8/15/23 - Educause Review)
  • (8/14/23 - Educause Review)
  • (7/31/23 - Chronicle of Higher Education)
  • (3/15/24) - AAC&U's Liberal Education)
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