Asked about UChicago’s new initiative, The Alliance for Secure AI spokesperson Peyton Hornberger told The Fix that professors should use AI as a teaching aid, not as a replacement for teaching itself.
The alliance is a nonprofit which advocates for the safe use and development of AI.
“Providing AI to students and staff can expand access to valuable tools for learning, productivity, and creativity,” Hornberger said. “But this should also come with clear policies, comprehensive training, and opportunities to learn how to use these tools.”
She added that “Educators can safely use AI by treating it as an assistant rather than a replacement for instruction. Universities should also provide faculty with AI literacy training so they can model responsible and ethical AI use for students.”
“The use of AI is not inherently bad; however, it must be used mindfully in order to promote real learning,” she said.
The University of Chicago partnered with artificial intelligence company Anthropic to give staff and students access to an AI system beginning this month.
“Claude Chat, Cowork, and Code will be made available to the campus community” for “research, education, and operations,” a recent announcement from the Office of the President states.
These AI tools will “help individuals find ways to improve our pursuit of knowledge, our commitment to teaching students how to think independently, and the ability of our staff to support this work efficiently,” it states.
The announcement also states that students will gain access to the AI system after faculty have had a chance “to do more specific planning that takes this expanded access into account.”
“…the University has a duty of care to ensure that the education offered to [students] is responsive to these technological developments by teaching [them] how to think with machines, how to think without them, and how to think about them,” the announcement states.
It notes that some students may choose not to use Claude, and that AI integration and use are expected to “vary by course.”
Further, the school will establish a Faculty Committee for AI and Academic Life to oversee the implementation.
UChicago School of Public Policy Professor Christopher Blattman told The College Fix that AI has at least doubled productivity for him and his students.
“It’s an incredible technology, and I believe that training students to use it well is essential,” he said.
However, he has had trouble aligning AI with his educational goals.
“Figuring out how to use [AI] best and to equip our students to use it while also teaching them to think critically and learn the material is an evolving challenge, but one I’m very optimistic about,” the professor said.
He said he has had to adjust how he evaluates student learning, which is a “challenging process.”
“I’m old enough to have seen how the introduction of the personal computer, the introduction of email, and the introduction of the internet changed education and the workforce, having lived through that in my teenage and college years,” he said.
He added that universities are wise to “integrate and embrace” AI early on.
Asked about UChicago’s new initiative, The Alliance for Secure AI spokesperson Peyton Hornberger told The Fix that professors should use AI as a teaching aid, not as a replacement for teaching itself.
The alliance is a nonprofit which advocates for the safe use and development of AI.
“Providing AI to students and staff can expand access to valuable tools for learning, productivity, and creativity,” Hornberger said. “But this should also come with clear policies, comprehensive training, and opportunities to learn how to use these tools.”
She added that “Educators can safely use AI by treating it as an assistant rather than a replacement for instruction. Universities should also provide faculty with AI literacy training so they can model responsible and ethical AI use for students.”
“The use of AI is not inherently bad; however, it must be used mindfully in order to promote real learning,” she said.
The Fix reached out to UChicago Media Relations for more information on the new initiative but received no comment.
UChicago is not the only school adjusting to the shifting landscape.
Students are rapidly enrolling in newly created AI programs and majors at schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California San Diego, and University of South Florida, The College Fix previously reported.
Further, to meet a 144 percent spike in demand, Syracuse University launched specialized AI degrees.