Sacramento State to launch national institute on campus researching AI in education
SACRAMENTO -- Like the dawn of the internet age, artificial intelligence is on the cusp of driving nearly all future innovation.
Sacramento State announced Thursday what they call a first-of-its-kind program to perfect how to use AI in classrooms across the country.
The university is launching the National Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Education this January, one of the first in the nation. It will be led by faculty AI expert Dr. Alexander "Sasha" Sidorkin, current dean of Sac State's College of Education.
"It is a disruptive technological advancement that a lot of people don't know what to do with," said Dr. Luke Wood, president of Sacramento State.
Wood says AI is already changing education as we know it as it rapidly advances. This new initiative aims to master artificial intelligence, which is the science of making machines think like humans.
It's a technology that can be used for good or bad. If left unchecked and unregulated, Wood says you can almost guarantee the outcomes will be negative.
"We're going to be a leader in a space that a lot of institutions are shying away from," Wood added. "That allows us to be able to put ourselves on a national stage in a way that nobody else in the western United States could do."
The research is meant to find the best ways to use AI ethically for both teachers and students. Faculty will also train on putting it into practice.
"Other institutions are going to want to learn from that so they can better support their students," Wood said.
It's no secret that AI tools like chatbots can be used for cheating.
This push is to make AI not a shortcut, but a tool.
"Are students writing their own papers anymore? That's a real conversation we have to have. But do we have guidelines that say how you can use it? So there's so many different implications, which can be scary, and then there's so many that can be positive that can help us address all problems of our society."
Some Sac State students are already using AI in their daily lives.
"I'll ask it to populate an article or just to summarize it for me so I can convert it to my own words. Usually, for the most part, I do most of the work," one student told CBS13. "Our professors, they run our work through an AI-generating system to see how much of our paper was AI-generated. That way, it can come back with red flags."
Some are still among those who haven't yet tested the waters.
"I don't really understand it. I would be interested in learning more about it," said another student.
University leaders want to seize the opportunity, focusing on tomorrow for both the students and the technology.
"What if we could create a better future where our students could be more productive for the companies they are going to work with?" Wood asked.
Wood added that Sac State will also hire seven new faculty members to be a part of the institute with a focus on AI and quantum computing.
The university says the specialists will create adjacent tools, like specialized bots powered by Application Programming Interface (API), to help develop ways of using the new technology for instruction and student support.