North Dakota college, university educators discuss the future of AI in higher ed

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – Some school campuses across the nation are in the process of deciding how to work with ChatGPT, and it includes North Dakotan universities.

Your News Leader was a fly on the wall Thursday morning at North Dakota University System’s Forum on AI.

Brek Thompson will be a sophomore at MSU this fall, and he said he’s apprehensive about teachers blending the AI into higher education curriculum.

“Even when you’re just using it for research, you’re not actually going gathering research from multiple sites for yourself, so I think that can kind of take away from your education,” said Thompson.

Frankie Juntunen, a senior who’s currently studying history education said it can be a useful tool in pointing in the direction to start a research project.

“I think the best way for teachers to get comfortable with new technology is to always incorporate it, but also do their own research on the matter first,” said Juntunen.

That’s exactly why a group of educators brought their perspective on the topic to a special virtual session Thursday. Andrew Armacost, president of the University of North Dakota, brought up data collection and privacy concerns.

“John, you bring up an amazing point, which is our understanding of A). The technology and B). The response is an evolving journey,” said Armacost.

Laurie Geller, Minot State’s Vice President for academic affairs, suggested getting a small group to put something on paper.

“We’ve experienced those cases where I’ve talked with English faculty: ‘Where’s the line?’” said Geller.

Dr. Amy Juhala, Dean of Humanities, Arts and Sciences at Bismarck State College, said she agrees with developing a policy.

“I like the suggestion of working with the student to see what makes sense – so we’re still working on this,” said Juhala.

Other topics that were touched on included using more AI in admissions and recruiting students.

Armacost said he’s looking into starting a committee or board to create more guidance over this technology. They’ll have more forums next month to hear more perspectives.

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