The University of New Mexico AI Steering Committee will launch campus-wide guidelines and best practices this fall to address aspects of the use of artificial intelligence that are considered “urgent,” such as ethics and academic integrity, according to Mark Emmons, dean of the University’s College of Library and Learning Sciences and chair of the AI Steering Committee.
Emmons said the AI Steering Committee, which is made up of students, staff and faculty across campus with a variety of expertise in artificial intelligence, was formed because the heavy use of AI on campus means there is no coordinated set of policies or strategies to follow.
The committee, appointed in late February by Interim Provost Barbara Rodriguez, will integrate AI efforts around campus in both the long and short term, Emmons said, adding that the long-term effort will involve a city hall that brings together students, faculty, staff and interested stakeholders to provide guidance that could ultimately lead to policy.
Emmons said AI policy has three pillars: learning and education. Research and Scholarship. and operations and management.
Since developing a university policy can take at least a year, Emmons said UNM lacks guidance on AI, so the steering committee will develop guidelines and best practices in areas that appear to have short-term urgency.
“For example, we just met with the Dean of Students this afternoon. They’re interested in guidance on things like academic integrity, so we’re going to provide some initial guidance on things that are urgent. We’ll work on those over the summer and by the fall, those guidance will be in place,” Emmons said May 14.
Emmons said UNM has also purchased a license for a tool called NebulaOne, which is currently in testing but will be available to everyone on campus in January. NebulaOne allows users to build “custom agents” using models from companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic.
“We want to level the playing field so that everyone has access to the same kinds of tools,” Emmons said. “What we have now are interesting uses of AI, but there are a lot of things that are uncoordinated. Our goal is to enable people to use AI in a campus-based way.”
Over the summer, there will be an opportunity for people to provide feedback on a set of guidelines, including “AI vetoers,” Emmons said.
“I know there are detractors who think we shouldn’t use AI at all, both for academic reasons and for environmental reasons. They make a very strong case. But I also think we need to prepare students for the reality that we live in, a reality where AI is definitely out there,” Emmons said.
Emmons said he believes AI cannot replace student thinking or student work, and that it should complement and support learning, not replace it.
“You have to be accountable for your work, and if you’re being held accountable for that, that’s a big problem,” Emmons said. “This defeats the purpose of education…Why pay for college if you’re going to have AI do your job?”
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Elisha Allen, director of online strategy and academic technology who represents academic technology on the AI Steering Committee, said she believes faculty are “adapting to a situation where it’s hard to tell what’s written by AI and what’s generated by students.”
Some students may notice mention of AI in their course syllabus, while others may not.
Allen said the statement on AI is now a “recommendation” for teachers to include in their syllabi.
“One of the problems with AI is that it can be used to shortcut some parts of the learning process, which is not really in the student’s best interest and goes against the learning objectives of the course,” Allen said.
UNM AI Resources web page OpenAI collects large amounts of data from ChatGPT users and warns that the data may be shared with third-party vendors, law enforcement, and other organizations.
According to the webpage, if a student or faculty member asks ChatGPT about a sensitive or controversial topic, their data will not be deleted even if their account is deleted. The webpage also suggests that faculty who specifically assign students to work with AI have the option to opt out.
“Whether you think it’s a positive thing or a negative thing, it’s something that exists in our lives and is used by students, faculty and researchers,” Emmons said. “So I think we need to make sure that its use is grounded in ethics and grounded in best practices for learning. If we don’t do that, I think we’re failing in our duties as educators.”
Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor at Daily Lobo. Contact her at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or X @lchapa06.
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor at Daily Lobo. Contact her at multimedia@dailylobo.com or X @paloma_chapa88.
Leila Chapa is the photo editor at Daily Lobo. Contact her at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or X @lchapa06.
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor at Daily Lobo. Contact her at multimedia@dailylobo.com or @paloma_chapa88 on Twitter.
