Since AI was included in then-Provost Margaret Callahan’s 2023 Academic Integrity Statement, its use at Loyola has increased, with the addition of two minors in the School of Business in fall 2025, the offering of individual courses on the subject, and the creation of the Loyola AI Institute (LAIS) and AI Lab.
In addition to these academic changes, Loyola also introduced the use of Microsoft Copilot, an AI-powered assistant for students. According to the Information Technology Services (ITS) website, the tool helps users summarize and refine content and analyze data. ITS will also be hosting an informational webinar on how to effectively use Copilot in February.
The Generative AI Capability Catalog was created by the Learning Technology and Innovation team and posted on the ITS website in May, but will not be updated until late spring 2026, according to the university. It lists a variety of AI tools that schools pay for, including Gradescope, Minitab, NVIVO, Elai, Piazza, Turnitin, and Zoom.
“Students, faculty, and staff already use these tools on a daily basis for teaching, research, and administrative tasks, so offering Copilot will enable the university to explore AI in a safe, supported, and responsible manner,” the university said in an email to Phoenix. “The goal is to help our community work more efficiently, reduce mundane tasks, and familiarize students with the AI technologies they increasingly encounter in their academic and professional lives.”
Stephen Keith Pratt, executive lecturer in applied AI and instrumental in the creation of the business of applied AI minor, which debuted in fall 2025, teaches many of the curriculum’s courses to 62 enrolled students and became an instant hit upon its initial rollout.
“It’s just having a huge impact on corporate jobs and careers,” Pratt said. “My students are getting an AI minor, and that really sets them apart from a lot of other business students.”
In addition, Mr. Pratt serves as director of the Applied AI Lab, which he helped establish in fall 2025. Jonathan Takii, a third-year finance major, worked in the Applied AI Lab during the summer of 2025, which inspired him to add the Applied AI minor in business.
“When I go to interviews and things like that, they like the fact that I have a minor in AI, because whether they like it or not, all of their future business is going to involve some type of AI,” Takyi said.
Taiki said he uses AI almost every day, specifically Gemini’s AI agent to send daily reports containing relevant news articles, weather forecasts, local crime updates, and stock market information.
“Once we truly understand the art and science of how AI actually works, we will be able to truly leverage AI in everything we do,” Tayki said.
Pratt said it’s important for students to know how to utilize AI tools. Before Takyi started working in the lab, he required his students to read a book on the ethics of AI. Although his classes involve the use of AI, he also expects students to demonstrate how they understand the results of the AI, often by completing hand proofs.
“Just because you use ChatGPT doesn’t make you an AI expert,” says Platt.
George Thiruvathukal, professor and department chair of computer science, said he is an advocate of AI and helped promote the new minor, the other being a minor in artificial intelligence. Additionally, starting in fall 2026, the university plans to add a new minor, “Artificial Intelligence and Human Flourishing,” as a joint program between the School of Computer Science and the School of Philosophy.
Thiruvaskar said the new minor will include a foundational computing AI course that will provide a pathway for humanities students to acquire technical skills related to AI by teaching them the ethical and responsible use of AI and understanding the relationship between AI and philosophy.
AI and other technologies continue to have a growing environmental impact, especially because of the need for data centers to power them, the Associated Press reported. Pratt said he thinks about the environmental impact, but it’s not his specialty.
“I care about things like that, and I wish it had been different and it was all good,” Pratt said. “It’s driving up people’s electricity bills. Of course, I care because I’m a half-decent person, but I leave it to environmental experts to think about those things and how to make it better. I’m just an AI engineer, so that’s outside of my expertise.”
Efforts are underway to develop and use cleaner energy sources to power data centers and other technologies, with the latest hope being nuclear energy, the Associated Press reported.
Sophie Vodwarka, an adjunct professor in the School of Communication, currently teaches Ethics and Communication, which discusses the ethics of AI. Although she does not require or encourage the use of AI in any assignments, she believes students should be taught to have confidence in making ethical decisions regarding the use of AI technology.
Wodwarka said she hopes Loyola can include more classes on AI in the future, leaning into Jesuit’s social justice mission to consider the role and impact of AI and allowing students to think critically about AI and make their own decisions.
“People really need to do their own research on these topics. A lot of the message I want to give to students is that they can make independent and good decisions about how they use AI and technology in their lives,” Wodovarkas said.
Cordelia de la Fuente, a third-year neuroscience major with a business minor in applied artificial intelligence, is vice president of operations for LAIS, a student organization dedicated to bridging the gap between AI and business.
“I think people are starting to wake up to the idea that it’s going to be talked about at work and heard in other places,” de la Fuente said. “It won’t actually replace you, but someone who knows how to use it will.”
De la Fuente said he wants to take a smart approach to AI and use it as an assistant rather than doing things for people.
According to Loyola’s academic catalog, students in the Applied AI minor in Business require a course in “Ethics in Business,” and students in the AI minor require a course in “Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues in Computing.”
“I think the AI business ethics class is probably the most important class that people will take away from their studies,” de la Fuente said. “Because it’s very important to know how to use it in an ethical context, to be able to make decisions knowing what the implications are.”
