Community opinion diverges while university policy allows varied approaches
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly popular over the years. Despite this, it causes controversy due to ethical and environmental concerns. Lately, there have been more complaints about the faculty at Michigan Tech using or requiring AI use in their courses.
With the rising popularity of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok, more people are using AI than ever before. According to a Report to the Provost from Dec. 2023, the school’s goal is to “be a leader in incorporating AI into our curricula and into the student academic experience,” as well as “prepare students for a world in which AI is omnipresent.” Furthering this notion, the Dean of the College of Computing, Dr. Dennis Livesay stated that “we want students to know how to use AI responsibly.” Echoing this sentiment, Dean of Students Kellie Raffaelli said, “[AI]’s a tool, and like any other tool we should be using the tool appropriately.”
Despite the push from the university, some are reluctant to embrace AI tools. Part of this is because, as Dr. Livesay said, there are a lot of “ethical underpittings of AI.” There is a big environmental cost of AI, with data centers resource consumption being a major concern. Modern LLMs also show biases, and are “built on dubious grounds and stolen IP,” said Dr. Livesay. There is also the question of who owns what is generated by AI, as it can take data from anywhere and repurpose it for a prompt. Raffaelli stated that “[AI’s] moving so quickly that it would be in everyone’s best interest that there are guardrails… and a lot of consideration for ethical decision making when it comes to AI.”
A lack of guidance from the top has led to inconsistency in AI regulations from course to course.. For university policy, there is Section 1.20 – Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools. This policy outlines not submitting classified MTU data with AI, guaranteeing consent from data owners, making sure the AI is accurate and relevant, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, university policies, and license agreements provided by AI, and to disclose use when giving somebody something made by AI. Although this policy is in place, it still leaves space for professors to make their own rules for their class. As Dr. Livesay said, “the rules are so inconsistent. One professor might say ‘you can use AI’ while another said ‘how dare you think of using AI.’” Robert Bishop, the Assistant Dean of Academic Conduct, said he has “seen an uptick in the number of academic misconduct cases that involve student use of AI.”
Students across campus have varying opinions on AI use. Fourth-year Audio Production and Technology major David Seidel noticed his professors using AI “as replacements for finding examples and explanations.” To Seidel, it “feel[s] like [professors] should be able to tell [students] this stuff” and using AI for it “seems counterintuitive.” Fourth-year Chemical Engineering and Material Science Emily Huelke, shared a similar view, saying that her professors “design all of their slides using AI, and all of their handouts and notes are also AI.” Third year Construction Management major Will Vinson offered a more positive opinion, stating “I think it’s good that [professors] are adapting to it, it’s probably going to be around for a while,” adding that “as long as they’re ok with me using AI, then I’m ok with them using AI.”
If a student or faculty sees that someone is using AI in a way that counts as academic misconduct, they can report it to Robert Bishop in his office at Admin 310 or email him at rmbishop@mtu.edu. For more information on how the school handles AI use, go to mtu.edu/it/policies-compliance/generative-ai/.
