Philosophy Professor Reggie Williams hosted the second and last Renegade roundtable of the spring on April 10. The roundtable is a place where staff and students can come by together and share their thoughts on topics concerning education.
The roundtable included, Department of communication Chair Angela Bono, communication professor Matthew Maddex, and Department Chair of Biology Joe Saldivar, along with host Reggie Williams. Their panel discussed the possible effects AI could have on the education system.
Williams opened by introducing the panel and explained that the event was the gathering of BC instructors to discuss a topic. He prompted the audience with a question, “How do you think AI will affect education for later generations? Will it change things for the better or for worse?”
Professor Bono shared her opinion on the topic, “We can either work with them or stick our heads in the sand. We either teach students how to use it properly, or they’re going to use it anyway unethically.” To add to this, Professor Saldivar expressed how any unethical use could be damaging to student development, stating, “AI affects critical thinking….CNBC stated in 2017 that jobs that rely on personal judgement and critical thinking are going to be more needed in the future.”
Eric Testori, a student viewing the panel disagreed, “Some students use chat GPT humanizers to cheat and avoid AI detectors,” he said.
“If you can’t think critically, you’re unemployable. I hope you don’t only seek education for employment. Everything we do for you in this institution means nothing if you’re getting a job where you don’t know how to think,” Professor Williams said.
Jimena Rodríguez, a young woman in the crowd expressed fear of AI suddenly making obtaining jobs difficult. Stating, “As someone that just go into the radiology field, this is something I find concerning. I was looking at the news, some current AOC she had been found to be using AI for weeks.”
Professor Saldivar also shared the importance of individuality that the purpose of higher education is not for jobs, if AI is able to do better than you, you have that one human component.”