AI: Familiar Territory or Alien World?
With generative AI, we're seeing a new generation of students — AI natives, who are relying on AI tools not only to find information, but to help analyze it. They go to ChatGPT rather than Google to get information. The skill set is much different — these students need to know the right questions to ask, as well as how to analyze whether the results that AI generates are accurate.
With generative AI, we're seeing a new generation of students — AI natives, who are relying on AI tools not only to find information, but to help analyze it. They go to ChatGPT rather than Google to get information.
I can imagine a time soon when AI native students will be so comfortable with the technology, that it becomes their go-to tool of choice, similar to the way today's digital natives immediately turn to search engines.
Three generations of students are solving the same problems using different tools. First, there are those who work all by hand; then those who use technology to create their own solutions; and now, those who use technology to evaluate solutions created for them. In each case students are learning, but the skills they are developing are different.
Grush: What do we need to do or to manage, in order to make digital transformation at scale work, and survive the AI disruption? Who can help?
Frydenberg: Practically everyone involved in higher education is caught up in evaluating the new frontier enabled by the sudden and immediate rise of generative AI. Colleges and universities need to provide ongoing workshops and training so faculty can learn the best ways to integrate AI tools into their classrooms. At the same time, institutions and educators need to be transparent on how they use AI and how students can use it in their assignments (though policies and guidelines will likely differ across courses). By mixing opportunities to use AI with traditional teaching methods and leveraging AI's abilities to provide personalized learning for students, higher education can keep up with the rapidly changing developments as the uses and capabilities of AI continue to evolve.
By mixing opportunities to use AI with traditional teaching methods and leveraging AI's abilities to provide personalized learning for students, higher education can keep up with the rapidly changing developments as the uses and capabilities of AI continue to evolve.
Grush: Are there some good "go-to" resources or leadership programs appearing that could help institutions come on board with AI?
Frydenberg: The generative AI tools we commonly use have been generally available for only about 18 months now, and practically every institution is grappling with how to incorporate their use for teaching and learning. I'll suggest a few resources that can help get you started.
To begin, creating clear policies on syllabi and assignments will help set appropriate expectations. Several examples are available online. In particular, these examples may help you understand issues related to data privacy so you can raise awareness about how these tools use information supplied to them.
Several universities and companies have made online courses about different aspects of AI available at no cost. Check out the MIT Open Courseware offering on AI; Microsoft's AI education link and their AI for Beginners course; and Google's AI link on Coursera. These are just a few examples of what's out there. Search online and you'll find more, including specialized courses on AI in Healthcare and other disciplines.