By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
Fort Hays State University has unveiled a new website that provides resources on artificial intelligence for staff and students as it seeks to be at the forefront of AI in Kansas.
Andrew Feldstein, FHSU assistant provost of teaching innovation and learning technologies, said AI has had a greater impact than other technological advancements.
"Nothing has ever been adopted at the rate of generative artificial intelligence. It exploded into this world," he said.
AI is a rapidly emerging technology that can benefit communities like Hays. FHSU acknowledges the importance of integrating it into classrooms thoughtfully and responsibly with resources, Feldstein said.
"In order for our students to be successful in the world, this is something they're going to need to be able to work with and understand," Feldstein said.
Instructional Technologist and Chairwoman of the FHSU Generative AI Task Force Magdalene Moy works with Feldstein to increase awareness and guide faculty and students on the benefits and challenges of generative AI.
"Part of our goal is to educate faculty on how to use it appropriately and to be transparent with our stakeholders, staff and students on how we should use it and its importance," Moy said.
The task force launched an AI website with resources and tools for faculty and students in and out of the classroom.
Students, faculty, and staff can use Microsoft CoPilot for free. It is an AI chat platform powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 and DALL-E that generates text and image responses.
The website also provides the latest information on AI, how to incorporate AI in teaching and learning, and writing in this new age of tech and workshops.
You can visit the Generative AI Task Force's new website here.
Moy said FHSU faculty and staff have mixed opinions on AI in classrooms. Some discourage its use, while others recognize its potential.
One concern among faculty is that AI is viewed as a form of cheating. Some students hesitate to use it for class assignments, while others find it helpful.
The potential benefits of incorporating AI in education are increased efficiency, time-saving and personalized learning for faculty and staff.
AI can also be beneficial for brainstorming and career preparation. FHSU student Staton Clark said he uses it to assist with studying math and writing essays.
"I ask for similar questions to my homework. I copy and paste questions and say, 'Give me another one like this,'" Clark said. "It helps me with essays like 'give me a topic to discuss' and 'revise my text to see what you can improve.'"
FHSU student Damaris Castro said AI enhances her study habits by helping generate ideas and verify answers but hesitates to use it for writing due to ethical concerns.
"I try not to use AI for big essays," she said. "When you're writing an essay, you want to make sure you're being fully original."
Feldstein said one way teachers can identify AI in writing assignments is by being familiar with their students' writing styles.
Moy said using AI is different from plagiarism, and detection tools for identifying AI-generated content are unreliable. They often incorrectly flag the work of individuals whose English is not their first language.
"The truth of the matter is that any tool that is programmed to detect AI is problematic," she said. "We would encourage faculty to talk with students to discuss whether or not they're using it."
Potential negatives are concerns about cheating, job displacement, data and ethical use, and bias in data training.
These issues are not new to education.
Moy said AI is pervasive, and establishing guidelines would be more effective than creating policies, especially since FHSU already has a policy addressing cheating.
"One of the reasons for making guidelines and not policies is we already have a policy on cheating. We can tell students 'hey, if you didn't write this paper, that's cheating,'" she said.
According to FHSU's Office of Student Affairs, examples of plagiarism include but are not limited to presenting someone else's work as your own and using another person’s computer program or document.
Faculty are encouraged to include disciplinary or class-specific definitions in course syllabi.
"Because AI is in use everywhere, you are often not aware that you are using it. It is embedded in Google Chrome, Snapchat, your smartphone and countless other places. It's in these tools that we already have access to," Moy said.
Feldstein said major international companies like International Business Machines, a global leader in AI advancements, are holding thousands of job vacancies open while determining how many can be replaced by AI.
He said AI won't fully replace humans, as generative AI is derivative and can only remix existing information and ideas. This leaves creativity and the ability to understand context as distinct human strengths.
According to Goldman Sachs, Generative AI will affect 300 million full-time jobs worldwide, and AI will take over between 25% and 50% of the workload.
65% of skills in the workforce are also expected to change by 2030 because of AI, according to Linkedin.
With AI taking on a large workload, people can devote their time and effort to other skills, such as leadership and management, critical thinking, and emotional and social intelligence.
"In order for our students to be successful in the world, this is something they're going to need to work with and understand because a large percentage of jobs require students to know how to use generative AI," he said.
Moy said Hays adopts new technology at a more gradual pace than other cities. These skills are often underutilized due to the limited job opportunities that require them.
Moy sees the potential to integrate AI into the community in specific careers and fields.
"Because we're located in northwest Kansas, Fort Hays is well positioned to bridge AI and agriculture, AI in nursing and AI in education," she said.
FHSU is leading the way in AI compared to other Kansas institutions, such as the University of Kansas and Kansas State University, FHSU President Tisa Mason said.
"We're really excited to be on the forefront of AI," Mason said. "I use AI a lot in my role as president."
Feldstein and Moy said there is a time and place to use generative AI as it may not be beneficial to include AI-based activities in every classroom.
Their goal is not simply to promote AI but to increase awareness of the proper and ethical uses of generative AI in the classroom, research and in general.
In the spring 2024 semester, the AI Task Force organized a seminar for teachers and staff on AI.
The sessions covered topics such as Philosophy for AI, creating custom textbooks, AI in research methodologies, AI applications for image enhancement and creation, and comparing different generative AI platforms.
On March 18, the Generative AI Task Force will host an AI fair at the Memorial Union, which will be open to the Hays community.
The event will feature AI workshops and exhibits, including voice modulation, prompting challenges and demonstrations of general AI tools.
"We've always had a spirit of innovation, and we are thrilled with the leadership [of Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies staff]," Mason said.
The Generative AI Task Force is looking for new students to join its team. More information is available on its website.