Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, and the increasing accessibility of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT have broad implications for education. These impacts are manifold, ranging from ethical concerns around academic integrity, misinformation, implicit bias and digital equity to potential benefits of enriched learning and teaching experiences.
Selkirk College is taking an investigative approach to generative AI, with the aim of acknowledging both potential benefits and areas that could be problematic. “Selkirk College is committed to a collaborative exploration of the opportunities, challenges and risks that generative AI presents for teaching and learning. This will align us to develop policies and guidelines that prioritize academic integrity and quality, promote inclusion and diversity and mitigate potential risks,” says Taya Whitehead, vice-president, education & students.
A newly created working group that comprises members of the leadership team, the education department and the student services department is meeting to explore the many facets of generative AI with an eye to agility and adaptability. This work will inform a new policy on academic integrity and the development of information and resources for both students and teachers.
“The goal is to explore generative AI through a critical lens. It has a lot of potential, but it can easily lend itself to misuse. We don’t have all the answers, but we are trying to figure it out together,” says Pablo Pastor, an instructor in Selkirk College’s School of University Arts & Sciences and education developer with the Teaching & Learning Centre.
The Teaching & Learning Centre has held teacher talks specific to generative AI and is hosting a presentation called Empowering Educators in the Era of AI by Aras Balali Moghaddam at an upcoming conference.
On the global scale, UNESCO held a meeting for 40 education ministers to discuss challenges, opportunities and policy approaches to generative AI.