Tech Support
Artificial intelligence is so common today that it’s difficult to picture a world without it. Voice assistants like Siri and Alexa help us send emails and order groceries, while streaming media platforms like Netflix and Spotify suggest our next favorite show or song.
And similar to how the internet put the power of a library’s entire collection at students’ fingertips in the 1990s, AI is poised to completely transform education — from instruction to learning to research — in 2025 and beyond.
The newly formed Florida State University College of Arts and Sciences Artificial Intelligence Task Force is composed of faculty members from various departments and aims to help the college leverage AI’s capabilities by establishing robust ethical guidelines and policies that remain adaptable for a changing technological landscape.
“The implementation of AI is perhaps the biggest change that we’ll see in universities and the way they’re run in our lifetimes, second only to the invention of the internet,” said Gary Tyson, task force chair and a professor in the Department of Computer Science. “Everyone on the task force understands the fundamental change that’s occurring, and our goal is to position the college and university to ride this wave of change in the most effective way possible.”
Ensuring responsible AI use in departments within the College of Arts and Sciences enhances educational outcomes, fosters innovation, and strengthens the university’s reputation as a leader in higher education, according to the task force’s charter. Educational tools powered by AI can adapt to individual student needs and learning styles, provide students in remote or underserved areas with consistent access to learning resources and support, and aid faculty in providing interactive and immersive learning experiences, including illustrating complex concepts through virtual and augmented reality.
“Because AI is used in many ways by different disciplines, we need to help our faculty, students, and staff adopt the technologies in the way that’s best for them,” Tyson said. “The way STEM disciplines use AI, like to automate lab work or identify errors in formulas, is very different than the way the humanities engage with AI, such as to identify patterns in cultural data. In addressing something as complex as AI, we needed to create a team full of people with very different expertise and foster an environment in which they can collaborate efficiently.”
To do this, the task force proposed policy changes, general guidelines, and best practices focused on AI use in teaching, such as including a statement in each course’s syllabus outlining the expectations for how AI may be used in that class. The group also detailed guidelines on ethical usage, data privacy, and mechanisms for bias mitigation to ensure that implementation of AI in the classroom aligns with FSU’s institutional values. The group will continue to generate guidance and suggestions as the university’s use of AI expands.
“I’ve been teaching for a long time, and I’ve never seen anything that has caused as much of an upheaval in our expectations of what is ‘normal’ teaching,” said task force member Meegan Kennedy, a professor and the associate chair of undergraduate studies in the Department of English. “Because our team is made up entirely of faculty members, we’re all very engaged in the classroom and are uniquely positioned to understand the importance of informing instructors about the possibilities and problems that arise from the integration of AI, which is changing rapidly and becoming more involved in all aspects of our students’ lives.”
Additional task force members are Gordon Erlebacher, professor in the Department of Scientific Computing and director of FSU’s Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program; Jennifer Koslow, professor and Department of History chair; Karen McGinnis, College of Arts and Sciences associate dean and a professor in the Department of Biological Science; J. Piers Rawling, Stillwell Professor in the Department of Philosophy and director of philosophy graduate studies; and Brad Schmidt, professor and Department of Psychology chair.
“I’m grateful to the members of the AI Task Force for their efforts,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sam Huckaba. “The rapid growth of artificial intelligence and machine learning in our everyday lives has shed light on conflicts between current and future ways of doing things. The impact on education in general and higher education in particular is profound. The work of this multidisciplinary task force is important, timely, and much needed to inform best practices surrounding the use of AI.”
To learn more about the college’s AI Task Force and see the guidelines, visit artsandsciences.fsu.edu/about/coas-ai-taskforce.
McKenzie Harris is a two-time FSU alumna who earned a master’s degree from the College of Communication and Information in 2022 and a bachelor’s degree from the Department of English in 2020.