OpenAI, the biggest AI player in the game right now, has just announced a partnership with Arizona State University to promote AI use in higher education.
As the first institution to collaborate with the company, ASU told The Verge that its staff was already using ChatGPT and this partnership was in alignment with the university’s broader AI goals.
This isn’t ASU’s first investment in AI. Last August, they launched the AI Acceleration program, in which a group of AI researchers, engineers, and data scientists will work to develop AI tools.
This is part of the university’s larger initiative to explore how AI can drive innovation in higher education.
For the university, this partnership means unlimited access for students to ChatGPT as well as secure, private chats.
Starting in February, ASU will invite its staff and faculty to share ways to leverage AI using ChatGPT Enterprise based on three focus areas:
- Student success
- Research
- Organizational processes
One of the ways ASU is already thinking of leveraging OpenAI’s technology is by developing AI avatars that will assist students when studying.
What does AI in the education space look like?
Earlier this year, we covered how some teachers are rejecting AI while others embracing it.
Critics voice concerns about cheating and how AI may disrupt students’ learning process.
However, many say AI actually enables better learning, offering a wealth of resources to students who may not thrive in traditional learning environments.
Early last year, the New York City public school system banned the use of AI before lifting it a few months later in May.
And according to an Anthology report, university leaders in the U.S. fall behind other countries in their AI use, even trailing behind their own students.
Today, concerns about accuracy, safety and cheating still remain. However, as AI usage becomes more widespread, more universities are considering embracing it – because many of their students are already using it.
ASU is the first of likely many universities to implement AI into their curriculum in a more strategic and thoughtful way than they have before.
