BCLA does not have a university-wide AI policy, allowing professors to dictate how they want to use the technology in the classroom.
THE Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts (BCLA) is taking steps to increase student awareness of artificial intelligence (AI) through the development of an “Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Society” document, led by an AI working group. This proposed addition comes two years after the widespread adoption of OpenAI ChatGPT in classrooms.
Before assuming his role as the new dean of BCLA, Richard FoxPh.D., surveyed BCLA’s 175 professors on how the college could best support their teaching. Among the top three responses from professors were concerns about navigating AI in the classroom, Fox told Loyolan.
Currently, BCLA has no college-wide policy on the use of AI and allows instructors to determine how AI is – or is not – used in the classroom.
“We generally don’t dictate how people teach. This is the essence of academic freedom,” Fox said. “What I want to make sure is that we’re preparing students to enter a world where they have a myriad of different expectations for writing from faculty members.
Led by Roberto Dell’OroPh.D., professor of theological studies and director of the Institute of Bioethicsthe working group met over the summer and resulted in a minor proposal in BCLA. The proposal — which Dell’Oro sent to Loyolan — was delivered to Fox in August and is now waiting for a formal proposal to be drafted before approval, according to Dell’Oro.
The minor must then be approved by the Academic Planning and Review Committee (ARPC), a committee responsible for advising Provost Thomas PoonPh.D., on the evaluation of proposals for new programs.
According to the proposal, the proposed minor aims “to raise awareness of the implications of AI technologies, highlight the importance of ethical considerations in its development, and promote interdisciplinary research at the intersection of AI, ethics and society”.
The minor – if approved by the APRC – would have “four or five classes”, with the possibility of taking an introductory course taught by professors from the Seaver College of Science and Engineeringaccording to the proposal.
Most of the proposal’s sample courses include courses rooted in philosophy and ethics, such as “AI, Robots, and the Philosophy of Personhood,” “Could Robots Have Rights?” and “Introduction to Bioethics”. According to Dell’Oro, the hope is to have courses available for registration by fall 2025.
Along with developing a framework and coursework for the proposed minor, the working group, comprised of nine LMU faculty members, an AI privacy consultant, and a graduate of the ‘University Institute of Bioethics – engaged in a dialogue on the “humanist implications” of AI.
“As a Jesuit-Catholic university, we have a responsibility to think about these questions, not only as scientific questions… but also as questions that affect the human experience,” Dell’Oro said.
The proposal suggests the development of a major program in the future, stating that “the importance of the subject and the promise of potential student interest may warrant consideration of a larger program in the future, like a major.”
Andrew ForneyPh.D., associate professor of computer science, presented the basic technical aspects of AI to the working group, so that the faculty could engage in developing the proposed minor to its fullest potential.
While Bluff professors have different approaches to using AI in the classroom, Forney – who works in a field where AI is extremely prevalent – encourages students to use AI tools as an aid to reviewing topics, but never as something that would subvert a student’s mind. education.
“What we have said as a department is that you should never use ChatGPT to detract from your learning,” Forney said.
At the College of Business Administration, Anatolia JouplevPh.D, professor of management, also encourages students to use AI to streamline the learning process.
“Some people turn away and hide by putting their necks in the sand. I accept (AI) because it’s coming whether we like it or not,” Zhuplev said. “If you don’t want to run out of money, you need to stay one step ahead of innovations. »
Although Zhuplev encouraged students to stay ahead of technology, he noted that “it is not a substitute for your own critical thinking and intellectual work.”
With the possibility of courses in the “AI, Ethics and Society” minor being ready for enrollment by fall 2025, Dell’Oro mentioned the value this area of study could add to Jesuit teachings and values from LMU.
“There was also… an awareness that as a Catholic Jesuit university, we have a responsibility to think about these questions, not only as scientific questions… but also as questions that affect the human experience ” said Dell’Oro. “For us, as a Jesuit university, the concern for humanism, for ultimate questions, is such that a minor like that – an undergraduate program like that – will make a lot of sense. »
With the study of AI continue to grow At the undergraduate and graduate levels, LMU seeks to respond to the moment of what Dell’Oro calls an “analogue” to the scientific revolution.
