AI: Bane or boon?

What is the best topic to open the year with? Something almost everyone is concerned with and wants to talk about at the moment: the consequences of AI’s fast invasion for science and education.

 

What are the threats and opportunities associated with AI? And what key concepts and principles can help academics minimize risks and maximize AI’s innovative potential ethically?

The workshop "AI ethics in academia: Rethinking policies for integrity and innovation" dealt with these issues. The speakers Oksana Nakonechnaya and Artem Sigaev presented a comprehensive overview of the changes in world leading universities’ and journals’ policies that are happening right now. Looking at the AI policies of a number of major universities in Russia, China, Europe, and the USA, they analyzed existing approaches to AI ethics in higher education. Participants were invited to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and the teacher’s changing roles. The final part of the workshop was focused on journals’ regulations and limitations on the use of AI in research writing. 

• “The workshop was well-structured and informative, different perspectives were taken into account in the discussion about the attitude to AI worldwide.There was a place for interaction with the audience.”
• “Some comments, insights, and new ideas related to AI were interesting. There will be a reason to think about them later on.”
• “The topics were relevant; the speakers were experienced. I liked the clear and concise presentation, relevant information, useful links and resources, and the steady pace.”

We would like to thank Oksana and Artem for sharing their study of the most recent AI-related trends in academia and bringing up important questions. The AWC’s overarching goal is to offer a platform for opinion sharing. We will continue to follow important developments and invite colleagues from both HSE University and other institutions to join in the discussion.

If you would like to hear and talk more about AI, you won’t have to wait long. The AWC Welcome Day 2024 features a number of workshops including a session on AI tools for writing up a literature review. Make room in your schedule on September 25-26 and register for this and other workshops here.