2023 Purdue System-Wide Virtual Forum
Reimagining Higher Education with Artificial Intelligence
Thursday - September 21, 2023 Virtual
A paradigm shift occurs at specific moments in time, and most experts believe we are in the early stages of one due to the unprecedented global proliferation of large language models. Since AI tools such as ChatGPT are infiltrating higher education, both research and teaching & learning across the disciplines must leverage this new world of human-machine convergence. The purpose of the Purdue System-Wide Forum 2023 is to debate the opportunities and challenges and think of strategic ways to lead the conversation on AI and its current as well as future trajectories. The Purdue System-Wide Forum will explore these issues and more:
- Do AI tools impact teaching and learning in the classroom? Are new policies needed?
- Do we need to think differently about course design and assessment?
- Can educators and administrators effectively leverage AI tools to become more productive in their own work?
- Does a generative AI tool like ChatGPT change how we teach writing/languages?
- What skills do students need to function effectively in an AI-enhanced job market?
- What are the moral/ethical challenges of using AI in higher education?
- How might we use AI to support education and research?
This one-day online event will bring together discipline-specific as well as interdisciplinary panels of experts and faculty/staff across all the Purdue campuses who will weigh the pros and cons of improved efficiency, greater productivity, and global access in an AI-enhanced world.
The planning committee will host a call for proposals for breakout sessions. In breakout sessions, humanists might consider the potential of a sentient machine or the limits of its evolving consciousness, while the scientist might outline the benefits and risks of emergent behavior and present a cautionary tale underscoring the need to build accountability and safety within higher education. Priority is given to action-oriented sessions in which participants outline how to incorporate these new tools and technologies in their research and curriculum design, in their classrooms and labs, and out of the classroom for individual learning.
