By Harrison Bradford, John Heltebran, Taylor Panneck, Sarah Spiegelhalter, Chloe Zientek
Note: As part of a class on facilitating productive conversations in the School of Communication Studies at James Madison University, this student team designed and facilitated a dialogue about perceptions of aging in Fall 2023.
In fall 2023, we helped students engage in dialogue about the implications of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) in higher education. Artificial Intelligence, commonly referred to as A.I., is not a new phenomenon, but is becoming more pervasive due to the latest advances in A.I. technology. These generative A.I. platforms can write entire essays and papers for students with the click of a button, raising concerns about appropriate usage in an academic setting. As A.I. is progressing faster than ever and shows no signs of slowing, we wanted students to be able to engage in dialogue about their personal experiences and thoughts about AI.
How Do We Talk About A.I., What Are the Issues?
With AI being such a broad topic, we wanted to ask students to explore several facets of AI including
- Positive vs. Negative Uses of A.I. in Higher Education
- Ethical Considerations of Using A.I.
- Regulations and Policies for Using A.I.
- How Jobs Will be Impacted by A.I. in the Future
- Fears Concerning A.I.
Our ultimate role as facilitators was to encourage and guide the participants to do most of the talking amongst themselves. We emphasized key commonalities and differences students shared about A.I. during the discussion by listening to and encouraging our participants. Creating an environment where students could comfortably share their opinions with their peers allowed them to open up to new views and perspectives they may not have previously thought about.
How Students Feel About A.I.
Most of our participants were first-year students, with only a small handful being sophomores, juniors, or seniors. Some students were only somewhat familiar with A.I. and did not regularly use it, however others had some experience. Here were some of the insights that emerged from the conversation.
- Many participants were concerned about their online privacy when using A.I. They felt A.I. could easily take their private data without their knowledge or consent.
- Many participants did not use A.I. for academic purposes, because the risk of getting caught cheating with A.I. was too significant and it felt unethical to use.
- Students noted that here are free mental health apps available that allow you to talk/text with an A.I. therapist. You can text this “therapist” at any time, and they will respond to you. However, many participants expressed dissatisfaction with this app, as they felt therapy required a genuine human connection that A.I. could not produce.
- There is a lack of conversation regarding A.I. inside the classroom. Many participants knew about A.I. from the news, media, or their peers.
There was some shared agreement that A.I. is unethical to use academically, but many felt neutral about A.I.’s potential impact on society outside of an academic setting. Overall, students agreed that A.I. will impact our future society, but are uncertain on whether that impact will be positive or negative.
Overall, this was an incredibly positive opportunity for students to safely discuss with their peers a controversial tool that can be used for many purposes, some of which are not condoned in classes. Students shared how they felt they could benefit from having more opportunities such as this within the classroom, as this was the first time they had participated in this type of open dialogue. Clearly future conversations on this topic will be helpful for students as we all navigate this new landscape.