University officials are ramping up their outreach efforts to the campus community on best practices for the use of artificial intelligence in an academic setting with a virtual forum on May 28 and an updated website.
The hour-long forum, scheduled to be held on Zoom at 2 p.m., will cover AI guidelines, responsible use of AI in research and teaching activities, and AI platforms available for use across the institution.
“This forum will cover where we are now and where we’re headed with AI policies and guidelines,” said Manish Parashar, the U’s chief AI officer. “As the university works toward a comprehensive AI strategy, we want to share updates on what tools are available and what uses are allowed and give faculty and staff a chance to ask questions.”
Presentations will cover:
- What is responsible use of AI in research? Presenters are Penny Atkins, director of research for the One-U Responsible AI Initiative, and Shawn Halladay, associate director for Hardware Platform Services in the CTO organization
- What is responsible use of AI in teaching? Presenter is Anne Cook, professor of educational psychology specializing in learning science.
- What AI platforms can be used now? What do these platforms do? What will be available in the near future? Presenter is David Hawkins, AI technology services manager at U Health.
- Current guidance for AI use. Presenters are Caren Frost and Bebe Vanek, information privacy administrator.
- Educational opportunities. Presenter is Jesse Morris, geography research professor and director of research and science in the VPR Office.
Click here to register.
In the meantime, UIT launched a webpage last year explaining university guidelines and policies around the use of chatbots and other AI tools on campus. It provides information on the tools available and what you should know when working with them.
This site has been updated and will be continually revised based on user feedback during weekly office hours and the contact form, according to Parashar.
“We’re building out ai.utah.edu as a hub for our latest policies, guidelines and frequently asked questions,” he said. “It will continue to evolve based on input from across campus. It should be your first stop when you have a question or comment about AI at the U.”
Additionally a virtual monthly meeting, called AI Community of Practice, will feature short presentations from U researchers using AI. These presentations are hoped to be turned into ai.utah.edu blog posts to share what people are doing with AI across campus.
Officials are also considering launching a “Responsible AI 101” course covering what happens with your data when you use AI.