Does AI give you the creeps? We hosted a 90-minute panel conversation this Halloween to demystify current and future uses of AI in open education. We explored current use-cases, copyright considerations, and a live demo. Underneath the scary costume, AI is just another tool in the educator’s belt.
About our panelists:
- Rachel Bridgewater, Faculty Librarian, Portland Community College and co-facilitator of Copyright First Responders Pacific Northwest. Rachel is a public services librarian with a passion for teaching and sideline in all things copyright.
- Kim Ernstmeyer, Open RN Project Director, Chippewa Valley Technical College. Kim has been a nursing educator for almost 20 years and leads the Open RN project in developing OER textbooks and virtual simulations to promote student success and quality patient care.
- Dominic Slauson, Instructional Technologist, OpenRN; and Learning Experience Designer, University of California Irvine. Dominic is an instructional technologist and designer with over a decade of experience bringing innovative and engaging learning experiences to students.
- David Wiley, Chief Academic Officer at Lumen Learning, adjunct faculty in Instructional Psychology & Technology at Brigham Young University, and Entrepreneur in Residence at Marshall University.
It’s disappointing to see something as racist as the nursing project highlighted here. Using generative AI to create literal fake representation to “solve” complaints about lack of diversity, rather than compensating actors of color like white actors were paid, is obviously harmful in a very practical way as well as ethically reprehensible. There are many better solutions if the financial barrier of hiring performers is insurmountable. It’s clear that the presenters didn’t realize any of this, but that’s the problem, not an excuse. I really hope viewers take this project as a lesson of what not to do and an example of how this technology perpetuates the racism in academia, rather than an idea to emulate.
Hi Stephen, thank you for posting this comment! I appreciate your clarity on the issue and agree that we need more conversation on uses of AI that reproduce the harms of racism (and other existing problems too). -Amy