As Bryant University Provost and Chief Academic Officer Rupendra Paliwal, Ph.D., looked out at the more than 70 faculty and staff members gathered for the university’s AI Summit, he noted that the two-day event was more than a conference — it was a call to action.

Everyone in attendance, Paliwal reminded the assemblage, had signed onto an important mission — perhaps the most important of their teaching careers — to rethink higher education in the wake of, and amidst, a continuing artificial intelligence revolution.

Together, this collection of administrators, faculty, and staff would redefine what it means to be real-world ready for a generation of students entering a world that was once the stuff of science fiction.

“All of you in this room will be our pioneers,” he said.

“We are not just looking to reimagine what we teach and learn; we are looking to transform the entire university as well.

To help set the stage for the task ahead, keynote speaker Lance Eaton, Ph.D., senior associate director of AI in teaching and learning at Northeastern University, and Matt Konwiser, regional chief technology officer and account technical leader at IBM, were invited to review the current state of AI and its significant impact on our lives.

It was up to educators, they both agreed, to ensure students were not just able to take the lead in an AI-driven world, but to do so in an ethical way.

"Students want to figure this out, and do this the right way, but their lives are full, just like our lives are full,” said Eaton. “If we don't help them through this, they're going to take the easy way out."

Teaching and, encouraging, critical thinking will be the single biggest differentiator for universities going forward, stated Konwiser. "We have to be prepared to have very uncomfortable conversations when it comes to ethics and AI," he suggested.

After his presentation, Konwiser joined a panel on “AI with Integrity” moderated by Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics Geri Dimas, Ph.D., and featuring a mix of faculty and industry thought leaders, including Assistant Professor of Analytics ML Tlachac, Ph.D.; IBM Technical Account Leader Rick Smudin; and Terri Hasseler, Ph.D., director of Bryant’s Center for Teaching Excellence.

In a future where so much of our everyday lives, from labor to leisure to access to information, will be governed in some way by artificial intelligence, it's more important than ever for conscientious citizens to decode the world around them, the panel agreed.

“We have to be very careful to make sure that we are preparing students who are, in some way, skeptics — who are willing to challenge the algorithmic models and confront ethical problems," noted Tlachac.

The day’s final session gave the floor over to demonstrations of the dynamic innovations Bryant’s community had already developed in their quest to reshape the educational landscape.

Stefanie Boyer, Ph.D., professor of Marketing and director of Bryant’s Sales program, began by sharing her work as co-founder, chief science officer, and head of education for RNMKRS, and how the language engine she helped to develop became an important augment to her coursework. Michelle Munoz, associate director of educational technologies, offered insight into some of the tools and frameworks Bryant’s community could use to develop meaningful AI-aware assignments.

Michael Roberto DBA, trustee professor of Management; David Gannon, Bryant’s director of technology and innovation; and Rob Lowe, associate director of Alliant Digital, discussed the collaboration that led to the CIO Award-winning Strategy Guru, Bryant’s first AI-powered educational chatbot.  Building the tool meant more than tackling technical issues, as it was designed to be used in Roberto’s Business 400 capstone course, known for its focus on problem-solving and critical thinking.

"Instead of just giving students the answer, we wanted to lead them through the learning process," explained Gannon.

Going deeper and guiding evolution

Participants spent most of the second day of the AI Summit brainstorming in small groups. Together, they discussed how to lay the foundations for ethically integrating AI into curriculum and classroom instruction, as well as how the technology can be used to improve university operations as a whole.

The teams’ members included broad mixes of subject areas, tenures, and comfort with AI. That was by design, says Paliwal. “We intentionally brought those different groups together so that they can learn from each other,” he explained.

The groups, which included members of Bryant’s staff, faculty, and academic leadership, discussed, debated, and investigated a range of areas from which AI tools should be used, from institutional standards to ethical guardrails regarding data bias and privacy.

The discussions, says Munoz, who helped to facilitate the session, tackled both the anxieties and promise of AI in higher education.

“The concerns are whether this is going to exacerbate surface learning: Are students going to just have AI regurgitate content and not engage with it?” she said. “The opportunity is that we can use generative AI to go deeper with learning and to spark conversations about the purpose of learning.”

Reporting out at the end of the day, the small groups provided feedback and suggestions around ways to overcome operational obstacles pertaining to AI implementation. The groups also shared their findings about faculty and staff developmental needs, improving AI literacy among students, and resources and strategies required to achieve Bryant’s plan for AI transformation.

“We want to make sure that students keep their critical thinking capability, their ability to read and understand,” said Gannon. “The internet, in the beginning was a big concern; now, if used properly, it's a tool to expand knowledge. It’s the same with AI.”

Everyone’s understanding of AI is evolving, noted College of Business Dean Todd Alessandri, Ph.D., in his summary of his breakout group’s work, which meant it was important to make sure that evolution was a guided one.

"This is the last senior class that didn't grow up with ChatGPT,” he said. “I think we overestimate students’ AI ability: They say they're good at it, but when we look at what they actually produce, it’s not as strong as they think. The focus should be on how to use AI appropriately and effectively and teaching them how to learn.”

To address that gap, Sharmin Attaran, Ph.D.’s breakout group suggested a required AI literacy program for first-year students as well as other micro-learning opportunities for students and faculty. That way, “once they get into their major, they're getting more of an applied AI” education, said Attaran, professor of Marketing and director of Bryant’s Digital Marketing program.

As the summit concluded, Paliwal praised the group’s work and how it presaged an innovative future for their continued efforts.

“It was great to see almost 70 faculty engaged here for two days, which speaks to the Bryant community as people who are always willing to look at what is next for us, the next phase and the new frontiers,” he said.