This is the second entry of WISH-TV’s deeper dive into artificial intelligence in education, first examining how AI is being used in colleges and universities.

• AI in Education: Lawrence Township embraces AI in classrooms this school year

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — Students start the fall semester at Purdue University Aug. 25.

Leaders there say artificial intelligence will likely be a part of all college students’ education. However, how much or how little depends on their major, their professors, and the students themselves.

Jamil Mansouri just graduated from Purdue in May and double majored in Agricultural Economics and Political Science. He will soon start graduate school for Business Analytics and Data Management. He has become familiar with AI as a student.

“I think there are fields where AI can be your biggest tool or not help you that much,” Mansouri said.

He is also a member of the Student Pedagogy Advocates program and is a student voice while the university develops frameworks for how to use and teach AI.

When asked what people should know about AI in the university setting, Mansouri said, “The student body is not a monolith, it is very major specific. The second thing is students want consistent frameworks and guidance when using it.

“A lot of faculty have very different perspectives on AI and it translates into their coursework. Some faculty actively support it and give you these resources. Others say ‘If I even find a hint of it, I’m going to give you an F in the class. Students feel confused students don’t know exactly where to go with it where to engage with these tools.”

That’s where David Nelson comes into play. He is the associate director for Purdue Center for Instructional Excellence and a courtesy faculty in the John Martinson Honors College.

He helps the 2,400 faculty members stay updated on educational trends, such as AI.

“AI disrupts a lot of processes that we’ve come to rely on an education,” Nelson explained. “AI is creating a lot more freedom of choice in cognitive work. That’s a big part of what it is doing right now and we haven’t had to worry about that choice. So, now are we.”

He’s helping implement Purdue University’s AI policy.

“Rather than institute one kind of broad AI policy, the university has encouraged different instructors and different departments to really investigate it,” Nelson said.

Professors will set the AI policy for their own classes; the level of use and implementation will depend on the course, the subject and the faculty member.

“We’re very much encouraging transparency for faculty instructors in their AI policies and those can be very different from class to class. We’re also encouraging faculty and instructors to make sure that there is a human in the loop when trying to give feedback or assessment to students by using any AI,” he said. “Everything else has been kind of ‘We’d like you to experiment we want you to be aware of what existing rules are about academic integrity and research’ —  but it’s a lot of trust in full-time professionals to do their jobs.”

Purdue is trusting students, too.

Nelson says there are pros and cons to AI: A chat bot can act as a study buddy, or something to bounce ideas off of when brainstorming. It can even act as a language translator; however, it should not do the thinking for students.

Nelson encourages students to learn how algorithms work and determine what they really want to accomplish with their higher education experience – and encouraging staff to have bold and up front conversations with students about AI.

“How can we incentivize change the way that we are encouraging students engaging with them so that they’re making the proactive choice to learn and realize this is something that could be harmful or helpful to me and if they don’t know what guidance can they get?” Nelson said.

The university says there will not be a freshman orientation focused on AI. This will be a subject individual professors will approach at the start of each semester.

While the university is embracing the technology, faculty at Purdue also hope it will encourage students to really think about what they want to get out of their education and perhaps promote face to face interactions with professors.

Mansouri said this has prompted a lot of professors to change their course work.

“It is no secret that in computer science you can get up through your junior year by just using Chat GPT to guide you through the code. So, professors are adapting so now you have to come in and have one-on-one conversations and explain your coding and how you got there. You’re going to see different projects I think. You’re going to see a lot more presentations – a lot more of the social side of it and a lot more, kind of, showing and talking your way through something rather than writing on paper how you got to a solution,” Mansouri said.

When it comes to the issue of cheating, the university says AI detectors don’t work well anymore.

The school is relying on professors getting to know their students and feeling when something seems off. Nelson says he has had to do this with students, and generally, they admit to the generative AI use in circumstances that are not allowed.

“Identifying that is a feeling as well as a discussion. But when students do admit to it it is a violation of academic integrity and so it does violate the university’s honesty policy and there are the same kind of consequences from directly copying from one previous static document to your own work and saying, ‘This is what I did.’” Nelson said.

The university is also encouraging students to take Purdue’s Honor Pledge.

According to its website, students developed the honor pledge to advance a supportive environment that promotes academic integrity and excellence. “It is intended that this pledge inspires Boilermakers of all generations to stay ‘on track’ to themselves and their University,” according to Purdue.

As for Chat GPT’s advice to college students?  

The chat bot’s bottom line is that it’s a tool. It can generally be abused. But, it can challenge you to think critically and help shape your education and future career.

“I think, fundamentally, I agree with its perspective on that,” Mansouri said. “It can give you an edge but it can also harm your education. So use it as the tool that it is and it can be a double-edged sword.”

Nelson said the best analogy for AI is when radio started. It was a paradigm shift in technology that was suddenly everywhere…

He says AI is also a paradigm shift for education and potentially careers. Some students tell News 8 they are re-thinking or worried about jobs after school because of AI’s impact.

Next in this series, WISH-TV explore how AI is changing what students choose to do in higher education, the trades, and its impact on careers.

That story will air Aug. 18 on Daybreak.

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