NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Artificial Intelligence is growing in popularity among the American education system. In fact, one institution of higher learning in Hampton Roads is pushing it to the forefront of it’s learning experience.
Old Dominion University is making it a priority to integrate AI into its curriculum as they believe the technology presents an unlimited mix of opportunities for advancement. ODU President, Brian Hemphill, says tech is a fundamental part of this generation’s lives so the school is embracing something the students will naturally gravitate toward.
“They want to engage in terms of teaching and learning the same way they can go to their iPhone and order food and have it delivered,” says President Hemphill. “They want everything in the palm of their hand.”
But the question is can human intelligence keep up with the fast paced technology? President Hemphill confidently says, yes.
“We have to remember that the AI learns and there has to be individuals and our thought leaders that are feeding this technology and providing it some of the background information,” Hemphill said. “It’s important. There’s always going to be a human interaction and connection.”
The President plans to add AI into ODU education in a multitude of ways and says the school already has a number of certificates that have been approved from AI healthcare.
The goal is to set up ODU students for success for when they enter an AI driven workforce.
ODU is even considering incorporating AI into its research. Currently, ODU has several AI proposals in motion that the school has funded, with some focused on healthcare and coastal resilience.
A huge step into the the realm of artificial intelligence is the university’s creation of Monarch Mind, or you could say it’s very own ChatGPT.
“It is something that’s really beneficial for our faculty and our staff and the manner in which they’re utilizing it to help benefit their work on a daily basis,” Hemphill said. “It’s something that we’re excited about. And, our team within digital transformation and technology did a wonderful job of developing something that’s truly customized to Old Dominion.”
ODU now joins a small list of universities in the U.S. that have also developed their own chatbots, including Harvard and the University of California.
“This is more than just our version of ChatGPT,” says Chrysoula Malogianni, ODU Assoc VP Digital Innovation. “It is an interface. It’s a platform that brings all of the basic large language models so people have the opportunity to pick and choose.”
Monarch Mind is safe guarded and will be available to students, faculty and staff.
“For example, the Monarch Mind in a philosophy course can play the role of the philosopher, and the student can interact with it,” Malogianni said. “It can generate prompts for the students, it can review some of the materials and provide this supplemental in in the instructional materials that the student might need and so on.”
Monarch Mind was introduced to ODU faculty at the start of the year for testing an piloting. It’s on track to expand to more of the university’s classrooms between this summer and the fall.