> > This week on the Wheelhouse AI in schools.

Lawmakers are focusing on the use of AI classrooms.

> > What does that mean for > > For Connecticut Public on Frankie Graziano.

This is the Wheelhouse show that connects politics and people.

We got your weekly dose of politics in Connecticut and beyond right here.

A law recently passed Connecticut to address some of the questions raised by the emergence of artificial intelligence Senate.

Bill 5 was signed into law on June second by Governor Ned Lamont, the bill specifically targets youth social media addictions increases AI literacy and promote economic development.

But also lays out restrictions regarding the use of artificial intelligence, public schools in higher education.

This hour, the regulation of artificial intelligence and what it means for local students.

Irene Parisi works for a state agency that would oversee that implementation.

She's the chief academic officer for the Connecticut State Department of Education at Rain.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for inviting us.

So great to talk to a bat again.

We've talked here in recent years about how the department, how everybody's coping COVID-19, everything like that.

Mental health supports.

And it's good to talk to hear about artificial intelligence.

Obviously 87 to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7 is the number to call.

If you'd like to reach out to us this morning.

If you have any questions about artificial intelligence, maybe just want to spend your Wednesday morning talking to somebody about how you use chatgpt or something like that.

Give us a call.

8, 8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, > > Can you talk a little bit 6, 7, 7, about how artificial intelligence impacts the work, but you do in the Connecticut State Department of Education, I guess.

How often does a I come up in the classroom or even in high level meetings that you have sure in working with school districts.

Certainly there's a lot of conversations.

> > I think there are more conversations back when public at 24 dash one, 51 was past.

So in session.

24.

And that's when we had to start an artificial intelligence.

Pilate.

I think that really elevated it along with our state Board of Education, 5 Year plan, which also elevated curriculum and in the age of AI, what does that look like?

So a lot of conversations there's I think we've learned a lot since the implementation of that statewide pilot.

We're always trying to come back to where the commission, the Commission of Educational Technology.

It said, let's think about effective and intentional integration of technology.

This is just another wave that we're experiencing in our schools.

So some of the same rules apply some of the same covers.

Conversations need to be had, but I can certainly share more about the pilot and what we've learned in the conversations we had there.

> > Yeah, and it's intriguing that you brought up the the AI regulation in 2024.

Because we're still on that new frontier of regulating AI as we're talking about, even with this bill self.

Yes, before feel free to talk to us more about the pilot.

If > > Sure.

So we were very you.

intentional and measured with that pilot and that legislation require that we work with 6 different school districts across the state so that we had a good representation of big towns, cities, urban, rural organizations we also had to identify tools, which was an interesting experience because we did submit and share a request for information.

And what are the tools out there?

So you mentioned Chatgpt and Gemini, but there's so many more.

So we wanted to make sure that we reviewed those tools and chose tools that we're safe and for a compliant and that the student data privacy requirements for school districts actually use in their classrooms.

So after that, we only found 5 at the time that really rose to the top and that 7 criteria under review.

And so then the school districts that are part of the pilot.

We head East Hartford, Lebanon, Odyssey School in the community, Recchi Hill, Seymour and Westport.

They got to choose which tool they wanted to use and they can use that to with confidence as we then started to implement it in the classroom.

> > I want to talk more about that because I want to talk about a little bit later as we close up, how you all in are great and interface, I guess with local school districts on this.

But this past year, you attended the Connecticut education that works annual conference.

The focus on the integration of AI technology and the K 12 classrooms.

What were your key takeaways that you had at the conference?

> > That there's more to come, right?

There's so many more waves of technology that we're going to experience myself.

Having been an educator for since 1998. in Connecticut.

I've experienced multiple waves of technology integration.

So I think of it as like chalk boards to chatbots.

Some everything that I've experienced.

So that was a key take away, even from the keynote speaker that it doesn't end here.

There's going to be another wave of technology that we have to pay attention to.

But in the moment now, if we develop our learners with those knowledge and skills and dispositions around digital that the literacy media literacy AI literacy tech literacy information, literacy.

Then regardless of whatever technology they come in, contact with, they will be able to discern whether or not it's appropriate for use.

They can critically think about it and make the most appropriate decisions on how to use it.

> > I'm glad you brought that up because it is a fascinating dichotomy.

When you think about the 90's, it's the first time that many school districts would have gotten computers even in the classroom or as I remember it back in the day when I was in elementary school, you would have went to the laboratory classroom that one classroom that had the computers at it?

Yeah, absolutely.

And I think prior to the pandemic, a lot of schools are already thinking of personalizing learning and using technology digital tools and devices to personalize learning.

> > And create flexible learning experiences.

And so a lot of districts were ready once the pandemic happened.

And we had to then be remote and learn and a lot of districts had a lot of digital tools in place too.

So that kind of one to one environment was And then we we built that up even more right across the entire state and certainly across the nation.

So I the tempo accelerated rate and now we're getting back to now.

How do we intentionally and think about that integration.

> > Later on the show or talk about the legislation that passed.

We're going to have a state senator in here to talk about it.

I'm wondering if you go into that conference in any way would have been a precursor to how you either have reacted to discussions at the state Capitol this year.

Are, you know, sort of how you want to interact with the proposal.

It did anything going to into any recommendations that you might have made, sort of what you've been learning?

> > So whenever there are legislative bills proposed, the Commissioner of Education, Charlie Russell Tucker has an opportunity to provide testimony and certainly we have an opportunity to share our perspective and and certainly what the impact might be on school districts a piece that I'm focused on in the latest bill which really comes back to 10 dash 16 be which is that the program of instruction in schools.

So now what has been added is the artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

So how do we respond to that?

Is that we have an obligation to provide those resources if it's an alignment to our model curriculum or helping to cure it.

Some of those resources or just even the guidance, which is what we're working on.

Guidance on how to effectively integrate artificial intelligence in any emerging technology into the classroom.

What?

> > Concerns are you hearing about with the children we're talking about sort of, you know, implementation and trying to make sure that we're following sort of what's what's cool, what we're doing to be compliant with the state.

But what about the children specifically?

Do you think about when you think about trying to implement AI in the classroom?

> > So we've talked with teachers about is begin with your curriculum.

First begin with the standards that have been approved by the state Board of Education that you are actually implementing him in your district because within those standards, there are ai-related standard.

So think of it as media literacy.

We've already been teaching that with students and growing to determine credibility and bias and relevance and sent those skills still apply.

And now layering in the AI literacy.

So now you get prompt engineering.

So what does that look like?

Asking critical questions.

So instead of doing a Google search or a web search.

Now you're doing it differently within the AI tool that's been approved by your district for use.

So it's it's helping to develop those prompt engineering skills.

And that's what we learned from the pilot too.

The students had to grow and that ability of asking.

Very focused type of prompt to get their appropriate output.

Right.

It's only is that is what you put in to to get that out.

Put > > Well, you are doing the Lord's work in that regard, trying to make sure that media literacy happens for the next generation.

So I appreciate that very much.

The creation of the computer science account to support related programming in schools has officially gone into effect.

As I understand it.

Where is the funding from this account coming from?

And who's going manage it?

> > And I think we still have to unpack that because I'm not sure if there were available appropriations for that.

So I think that's within the bill.

So I think we have to look at that a little further.

But that account and that proposal has been in the legislation for some time.

> > We will be watching that to make sure that we understand whether whether the the money will actually come in as that happens.

A lot of times in Connecticut where we talk about passing something and it doesn't necessarily have money attached to it in that regard.

But there's a new regs.

And then prior to the close of the school year in the passage of the legislation, we're kids sort of, I think you alluded to this so far.

Haven't there any sort of been interacting with AI?

Absolutely.

> > Districts have the authority to procure any digital tools that they choose to use in district.

And so many were partnering with the rest, their local rescue and determining is it and some of the names like Magic School or school AI, which actually came to the top of our list when we review them that we said that magic school in I met our 7 criteria.

So kind of gave him confidence in utilizing those tools.

If a district was already like a Google Sweet educator district, then they've expanded with the use of Gemini.

So again, superintendent says the district lead can certainly procure and implement how they want to and using their team too, develop policies and practices for the effective use because they there's a lot to You have to inform your community, your family, you need roles, responsibilities for the student, the role of the teacher and the role of the district leader.

Of I would expect that they've done all of that work and publish those policies just like the schools in our pilot did and are good models.

I think they were sharing with each other.

But absolutely was already happening.

Is there a way you can condense sort of what the effective use of AI is going to be Rick's excuse me, the.

> > The that's what I want to look for, the approved use of artificial intelligence will be is it going to be the propped engineering it?

What it?

What exactly will we be seeing this fall?

> > So again, those skills to develop those schools.

This is that's just another supplemental tool to use.

I think it's important that districts they're concerned about cheating and academic integrity, then define it.

Define what cheating is for your district and also share what are the allowable uses?

Do you change the way, you know, assess learners.

So maybe it's not on a Google document or Google form, perhaps use paper and pencil or and then they provide for an AI disclosure statement or they provide their transcript that they used from the AI tool that has been approved by the district today.

We have to rethink the pedagogy that's going into the planning for use of these tools.

And that's OK, we've done that before.

Like I said from Chalkboards to chat bot we can make it work.

But I think upholding what's the digital literacy?

How do you build a digital citizen using these particular tools?

As well as layering in that use.

It does not have to be used every single day.

I think that's what we learned from our teachers in the pilot that it's not for everyday use.

You have to discern which which task is that most appropriate?

And the students share that as well that I don't need it every day.

I want to rest of my own confidence that I have the skills and ability to make a decision about my project.

So now we're digging further into the nuance, especially when we talk about the pilot.

But we're we're talking about school districts.

> > And their ability implement AI policy.

We know that.

I think it was Torrington Westport's New Haven.

Maybe even a rocky Hill Archie's be merited is what one town I was thinking about that we're implementing some of these early policies.

Sort of how far can school districts go?

I guess will they have power to implement their own policies?

How will you will sort of be monitoring this?

I guess.

> > So they work with their local board of to develop policy and would have to be approved by the local board.

And there's certainly laws and guidance that they must comply with and certainly data privacy as one of them that's been long-standing in Connecticut.

Monitoring.

Again, we would expect the superintendent is monitoring the implementation of these tools along with their teachers and other district staff.

But we do meet with districts to see how are things going want to learn to.

So we developed focus groups.

We bring them in to see how is it going?

And I think with the release of our guidance and any updated guidance that's going to give us an opportunity to to kind of have different think tanks with different districts to learn more.

But again, I'm going back to the pilot.

I know a lot, but we did evaluate that pilot with the Ccrc, which is our research collaborative of universities and UConn was the lead and so from that, I think that's Verrett over 1500 students that participated in it.

It's a strong data set to show us that.

Yes, those policies have to be thoughtfully created with your local board with your families and caregivers and your whole community at large and communication is key and professional learning was top at the top of the list for that.

We need to have more professional learning for the educators that are implementing this in the classroom.

> > And I think in the pilot program there was $100,000 or something like that that was given to some of these school districts to participate.

Just finishing up here and finishing up this whole thing in and learning from the pilot.

Will it be resources?

Will it be Will you need money to to continue to do this?

What's it look like in the next 5 to 10 years here?

> > Sure.

So the future looks bright.

Have it then.

So we're going to release a framework and guidance on the integration.

Having learned from the pilot and also our partnership with the Commission for Educational Technology.

We wanted to be a durable framework.

So that has longevity, meaning that it doesn't just it's not just about AI and ends with AI.

It is about this most recent bill that any emerging technology that's coming forward as far as funding.

I can't speak to that.

But we have enough information and resources that we can share at no cost to districts, including a model curriculum, which will now include and integrate AI, which will help them meet the requirement in the new legislation.

And we want to ensure that we have open conversations so that we're not leading so far to governance that we're balancing refining equilibrium with this because students are going to access it at home.

So how do you build the bridge to home and have that open conversation with your students and your families.

And certainly the State Department then.

> > Hard to ask Irene Breezy, look too far into the future because we're talking about Chalkboards.

We're talking about chatbots.

I don't even have any kind of a plea to understand what might be next.

But nonetheless, it was great to have you on Irene.

Thank you so much.

Youth academic officer for the State Department of Education.

Thank you so much.

Coming up next on the Wheelhouse, we're going to talk to lawmaker.

This was Irene precinct hit us up comment on our YouTube live stream or give us a call.

8, 8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, It's 7 to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, more on artificial intelligence and education next on the wheel U.S.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano Senate Bill 5 was signed into law earlier this summer.

The legislation regulates artificial intelligence and lays out plans for how the technology can be used in K 12 and higher education.

Classrooms.

And joining me now, somebody who's been a part of this since the beginning of lawmakers talking about artificial intelligence, at least at the state level state senator out of Milford.

James Moroney.

James, morning.

Thanks for having me.

Think to have thank you for coming on.

A state senator Maroney monitoring the growth of AI as part of the General Law Committee.

I appreciate you coming on.

We do want to invite folks to give us a call.

What kind of work you want?

State Senator Maroney to do on artificial intelligence, maybe wanted to do something else.

But let's talk about AI and let's talk about some of the way that people use AI folks again, hit us up.

Commenter YouTube, live stream or give us a call.

8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, Basically.

The best way that you could describe it.

Why do lawmakers need to concern themselves with AI?

Yeah, I think and it's a foundational technology.

It's integral right note.

Everything that we're doing we're seeing that we need to get the work force ready, do it as far as education.

Just looking at it.

You know, it said the majority of jobs that require generative AI skills.

We know that if we want to graduate people it into the world, they have to have certain skills business higher.

Ed for him is identified 7 essential skills for the AI economy.

So we want to make sure that we're preparing our students.

And our goal really is to have Connecticut be the most I literally workforce in the country.

Words that pull coming from in terms of wanted to regulate AI.

Is it about trying to make sure that there's youth and sort the media literacy?

There's ethics or is it more about that sort of workforce development and maybe more?

community economic development as well here in Connecticut.

Yeah, we we approached it in a balanced way, but I think most of the polls you see when you talk to people, they want AI to be regulated it's 80% in almost every pull it over.

80% of the people who want some form of regulation on AI.

> > It's almost two-thirds of the people who don't think the government is going to go far enough in regulating AI.

And so I know in some ways I see the technology, I think of it like elevators.

The elevator was invented, but it was only use for lifting.

I think furniture in a furniture store or lifting things up for.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then and at the world's fair in the 18 50's Elijah Otis invented the elevator break.

Any demonstrated that that he cut the rope and the elevator stopped and then we saw it was safe to lift people.

Right.

And so once the elevator became safely change, the way we built our city's cities built up.

We had a radical transformation of urban areas.

I think the lesson from that is we don't fully adopt or embrace technology's until people feel safe.

So we need to start with some form of baseline regulations and making sure that we are assessing these things to see their fair and accurate AI is making decisions and so many different ways.

98% of Fortune 500 companies are using AI to make employment decisions and that's why, you know, a lot of our focus was on a high unemployment in the regulations to make sure that people have the right to know that they're hopefully if the companies are testing the safety, sure they're fair and accurate for the decisions.

We're also seeing be used in housing.

But another thing that's very important, 50 to 75% of landlords are using AI to scream tenants and we want to make sure they're making very accurate decisions.

If it's based on the wrong data, we gave residents the ability to see the date it was based on and this was in last year's Bill.

In to correct that date if it's wrong because people have been denied for from day to, you know, for things that they didn't even do fascinating conversation as we did have this conversation, you and I in the past where some housing discrimination.

> > I housing discrimination and folks not realizing that the artificial intelligence was being discriminatory.

I think this was a study that you brought up in the past that had happened out of the Midwest or something like that.

But I know that that's something you're paying attention try to make sure that people can get housing, but they're also not subject to some of that traditional discriminatory practice that might happen, correct?

Yeah.

And there was there were several instances of that.

But also so we want to see that people feel safe.

We've seen unfortunately, I think it's 75% of teenagers access chatbots regularly.

And we've seen instances there's report in Connecticut.

Actually, I had an intern.

She was my intention was interning with another agency.

We're in a meeting we're talking about AI and she said, well, what are you talking about?

I want to tell you what happened to me.

I also volunteer in a middle school and during the school day, several kids were let into sexually inappropriate conversations in chat bots.

And so, you know, as part of Senate Bill 5 we put in regulations to hopefully prevent these chatbots relieving leading children to sexually inappropriate conversations.

We also put in protections for suicidal ideations in Connecticut.

Unfortunately, we had one of the only murder suicides attributable to chatgpt in Greenwich.

But their van young boys across the country with taking their life after having been encouraging some cases coached by a chatbot.

So we did put in protections to prevent if a user expresses suicidal ideations to shut down the conversation, point them to resources.

So again.

Addressing some of the harms that we've seen making sure people feel safe, but also making sure we're prepared right in creating the Connecticut AI Academy free courses for all of our residents training, you know, within the AI Academy and Dave Brat Charter oak is creating and he's doing a phenomenal job creating courses for teachers on how to integrate it for superintendents and administrators and how to understand what's happening in to help integrate that into the classroom.

And then looking at, as you mentioned at the K to 12 and that's 3 points of growth.

I think that you specifically are looking at if you just a quick summary this quick that quickly sum that up for us are a few points of growth that you have with the good where excuse me, few points of concern that you have with the growth of AI.

Yeah.

I just want to make sure that everyone has access to training it.

And we've seen that, you know, there's this saying that it's not a I that's going to take your job.

It's someone who I that's going to take your job.

But that ignores the critical reality that there are jobs that are going to be lost.

And when we look at studies thank indeed released a study of the percentage of skills of their top job listings.

They can be replaced by generative AI among the top of them administrative assistant customer service, representative.

These are jobs that are often done by women right in the studies show one in 3 women alright jobs at risk of a lot aided by AI versus less than one in 4 men.

They're also gateway jobs, their jobs, the talented people get in.

They do a good job and they work their way up.

So what happens if for removing that bottom rung for the latter?

So we're trying to make sure we're creating training opportunities for people to re skill and upskill themselves.

In another study shows 60% of the workforce is going to need to reschedule themselves in the next 5 years to get ready for the coming changes.

So we're creating those free opportunities.

We're also looking long term at students to make sure that they have those abilities.

So we modified again too many times.

You create new demands on the teachers there already.

So busy in the classroom.

So we did to things within this bill.

One in worked on a bill where we required every school in the state to teach computer coding their computer science.

And so we just modified that requirement to make sure that it was explicit that included a I within that.

But the other is making sure the teachers are ready.

And so we were the first state in the country to require that all of our teachers and teacher training programs have exposure to teaching computer coding.

So we just modify that.

Also include AI in emerging technologies to keep it flexible.

So we do have to come back and change.

We don't know what's coming next.

You brought up the ladder.

So I want to think about it this way.

It's not the first piece legislation in Connecticut right?

We've had other iterations, right?

I think in 2024 we were talking about an AI pilot program in schools, right?

So so as part of Senate Bill 5, we worked on getting the pilot program in there.

Yes, and then we also did make it illegal for the non-consensual it every day, which is deepfakes last year in 2025, where are we on the ladder now?

In terms I would imagine we're towards the bottom, but like what help me understand this because I'm imagining that you have the big picture on this.

Where are we in terms of > > of regulating the growth of AI and I guess.

Making a safe way forward for Connecticut residents.

Yeah, I'd say we're still in the early innings, So in 2023 we actually created an AI task force before Chatgpt was launched in Connecticut.

Twenty-twenty.

> > 3, we well, 2022 when we passed our data privacy bill, we created an AI task force and and so in that December, I think it was in 2022.

In symposium we held Arvind Krishna, the IBM Co spoke to us and said we're in the early innings of this game and I think we still are in the end.

We're not in there.

We're still probably before the 4th inning with Price.

Still the first 3 innings of this game.

As far as looking at the future of AI regulation.

Unfortunately, we're going to see harms that will come out.

They will need to be addressed.

But I think a lot of this is going to be industry specific as we go forward.

We're going to see different, you know, whether its banking putting in specific regulations for lending and other issues with using AI in.

How do you modify their?

It's already illegal to discriminate.

But how do you make it possible to test for that?

Yes, what's what are the requirements?

I think we'll see insurance.

I think health care right there already is.

You know, algorithms is a medical device R I regulated by the FDA, but we may see other things that that will come down, right.

That will need to regulate in specific instances.

The lead.

Where do made specific knowledge?

I don't think we'll see as many fraud frameworks looking at again.

You shouldn't be regulating a technology.

You regulate the use cases of that technology.

> > A piece of this legislation is just recently gone into effect.

As I understand it, starting July first, the computer science Education and Workforce Development account was established a plan to support the Department of Education to spend funds to support curriculum development, professional development for teachers and other computer science education sounds great.

Can you tell us what's in the account or if any money is actually going to be put in it?

> > Yeah.

And that that actually was modifying an existing account.

So that was created in 2019 out of the CS for CT legislation with the thought that we would get companies to donate in to help us to expand the computer science, education.

So we just want to expand that beyond K 12 with workforce and making an explicit AI training was included in that we'll have to look at that as we go forward to is no appropriation.

Typically companies want to see that your putting some money into it and then they'll match and put out their money and so that is something we will have to work on.

But we did want to put that that's taken the ground that this is important.

We do want to partner, right?

The state can't do it alone.

Public schools can't do it alone.

Really?

It has the industry, academia and government going forward.

It seems like something out of Governor Ned Lamont's playbook to try to get some of the.

> > Some of the folks from private industry involved in this.

And I'm sure that that's a part of it.

But I'm I'm glad that you brought up that you have to have some kind of buy in from the state level.

So imagine that something you continue to work on to try to get that appropriation.

Oh, yeah.

We'll keep working on that and easier in a new budget.

Then then when you're trying to negotiate the the end of the biennium, right?

We'll look at that in the next the next cycle when you're starting over with the budget in continuing to look at what do we need to do for Education K 12?

Again, making sure we're prepared with other thing.

I heard about that and there's a computer science requirement.

Is that going to be happening anytime soon?

Will that be implemented this fall?

So the computer search requirement just modified an existing It just added a I within so we require that every school teaches computer science class, not that every student takes it.

So there are areas we can look at expanding like look at some states have made computer science part of a graduation requirement.

Some states have allowed for it to replace a merit to another course.

The count towards a graduation requirement.

So that's something that I think the Education committee will look at it.

I'd love to work with them when they do that.

Let's go back to the latter.

I got a Warner latter.

You can see it's off screen.

It's right across from me.

And I got James talking about the bottom of the are only talking about the bottom of the ladder here.

We had Irene breezy.

I don't know if you had occasion to listen to her right before the before she came on.

You are in the green room, I believe.

But I'm thinking about it from a ladder perspective.

You're at the top of it because you're at the state level and then Irene is in a state agency and then we have the municipal school districts.

> > So what did interact in this way?

If I can, I just want people to understand it.

Would you tell folks that everybody has to have a computer science requirement?

Excuse me, a computer science class in their school and then you would expect Irene and the Department of Education to oversee that.

But districts and then sort of.

Structure any kind of programs any and the way that they want or they could try to work with there.

But board of Education is sort of implement these things at the local level.

Ryanair's out a way to look at it.

Yeah.

And this just said it.

Computer science class in AI counts.

All we did was modify computer centers to I course would count.

Is that?

> > And so it's no set curriculum that will be up.

not just computer science.

Let's look at artificial intelligence at the I guess, I guess a better way to ask this would be 2 towns to school boards, sort of have freedom to sort I guess where the line be a guest for for schools and these school boards, the sort of make regulations with AI.

Yeah.

Know they have the freedom and I think that, you know, my view is the our primary role is aggregating resources to make it easier for them.

So working within the arrests, I know at advance, Matt has been doing a lot of great work on AI and assisting the district's.

So we did.

We have created some pilot programs in the past because in some money to advance to work some of these, whether it's model curriculum, professional development.

But we're seeing lots of great things bubbling up from the from the school district.

So it's a, you know, as a state we can assist by aggregating these resources and making them available to the local districts.

Quickly talk about the AI can be brought it up earlier.

Yeah, the AI Academy is created by do our charter Oak Denver eras that the provost there is still a tremendous job.

So first we create we partnered actually with Google.

We use their Internet essentials.

So I essentials Anyone who takes that gets a Google certificate.

But then we layered on some additional lessons within that.

So it's a free program.

Anyone can take it.

Go to Charter Oak.

That ad you don't have to be in K through 12 or even at a college program here in Connecticut.

Anybody can take like, yep, you can take it.

I started and I need to finish is so have Colleen.

My wife take it because talking about chatgpt too much and I use Google Gemini lot so I can't complain too much has there been push back on AI being used in the classrooms?

We talked to Irene that that that it obviously comes up and people want to use it.

People have been a sort of confronted with it in a bad way.

Not that it's the district smaller, anything like that.

I had a chat bots you were talking about earlier.

So how are you going about balancing excitement?

With innovation and being sort of cautious?

It is a difficult balance.

What you do want to slow down innovation.

It's here, but you're not going to put the toothpaste back in the 2 of its its out.

So how do we make sure it's safe?

And we're using in a responsible way.

And that's one of the things I think, you know, the business higher at 4 of the identified the 7 essential skills.

One of those is ethically responsible use.

And so that's one of the things we do need to another thing is lifelong learning.

We know things are changing.

So we need to be sure that the students have the ability to stay updated because what what we know now will be different.

You know, the way using model now will be different probably 3 months, 4 months How do you stay and then believe it or not, one of the good things I would say about AI.

Is it putting emphasis back on those things that only humans can do.

And one of the most important skills we're seeing now is communication, communication and collaboration, right to be able to communicate ideas with with each other.

You know, hopefully we're gonna be able to I do.

A lot of them tried to work it some time.

But we're still going to need to be able to communicate the findings to work together, to solve problems and problem solving putting an emphasis back on critical problem solving skills from Connecticut Public.

This is the Wheelhouse on for a grant county.

You've been listening to James Moroney states, senator out of Milford States.

Senator Roni, thank you so much for coming on the program.

Thank you for having me.

So great to have him.

Have you sit here for a second as we tease the next segment?

> > We talked with hiring freeze earlier about public schools and the use of AI in Connecticut after the break.

Let's go to college we're talk to administrators from local universities talking about AI on campus.

What are you react questions.

How do you use it?

Hit us up.

Comment on our YouTube live stream or give us a call.

8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, There's more Wheelhouse next.

And Connecticut Public.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

We've been talking about artificial intelligence and its role in the classroom on this week's Wheelhouse.

Government regulation of AI in Connecticut will extend beyond K through 12 public school districts here on 2 college campuses.

Here to talk about what they're seeing in their classrooms and how they'd like state government to interact with their curriculum.

If at all hurt a bit.

Bergman, a special adviser to the provost at the University of Connecticut.

David, thanks so much for being here.

Thanks.

How are ya not doing well, good to have you on this morning.

I appreciated it.

I need to get more caffeinated up there.

I have just little bit of Diet Coke in my Connecticut Public Ma.

I think you guys have a little more than I did coffee today.

But Adam number off, assistant provost for innovations in learning teaching and technology.

A Quinnipiac University.

Adam, thank you so much for coming up here.

Thank you for having me on.

I'm grateful to have you guys.

If you got a question for our guests, you want to talk about AI.

So last chance to do is the show does and soon to be brief.

When you call to date 7 to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, it is 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, Adam.

Quinnipiac, one of the first institutions to create a degree program solely I as I understand it, beginning in the fall of twenty-twenty forces 2 years ago, students could minor in artificial intelligence.

And last year the school introduced I minor in master's degree in the school of business.

Why did Quinnipiac feel it was important to create these programs?

Yes, it all started with a minor.

I think that was a really great way of getting people connected across campus and seeing what some of the other schools where we're doing in those courses.

> > Across all of our schools that are included as part of that.

As a part of that, we create an AI for everyone course which was one of the key kind of the branding of that.

And it really helped to create ways to bring it into other courses.

And from that interest in that course, in the minor, we saw a lot of interest in business and then our school computing and engineering.

For our be a an MS in in a pie day.

I am business analytics.

And our AI computing program.

The Masters program launched first last fall and the 2 bachelor's degree programs are things students know that some are transferring.

And as of this fall, the master's program we like many of our programs were talking to industry all the time.

We're talking to our students, prospective and current parents, prospective parents and they're they're looking for this.

And I think hearing that those programs are able to move fairly quickly with their administration within the schools and and it's worked out quite One of the interesting things that the master's program in applied AI in business analytics is there are students who opted current students to switching to the new program because the interest was so strong driving it.

> > David, when students in my journalism class at the University of Connecticut, I teach an intro lab there when they pitch me stories.

It's students like okay.

Service who is fantastic and is producing this program today when they pitch me stories, they like to pitch stories about housing at the University of Connecticut.

Or artificial intelligence wire student.

So fascinated by artificial intelligence to think, yeah, I mean, I think it flips the entire conversation about education on its head, right?

I mean, how much do you use it for?

> > Generating ideas?

How much to use it for generating outputs and how do you use it to kind of make an argument?

And so we try to invent a I and all of our classes in the best ways that we can and make sure that students are not only prepared to use it, but also to defend the answers that come out of the AI because, you know, when I work with companies in the area, one of the main things I have to do is use AI to develop a tool, a technique or whatever, but then explain to them why that is the right thing.

And that's the I think that's the key thing that we try to instill in students use the AI but also be able to defend what comes out of it.

Adam, going back to the response that you are getting when you when you implement these programs.

> > What's the response been like for students?

And then I guess from faculty as well.

Yeah, I like anything.

You see a mix of both and I think the cultural moment right now is getting increasingly like that.

For us.

It's been important to create spaces for everyone.

There needs to be those conversations about how to use it, how to use it.

Well, that's at the core.

What's guiding the program development?

The need to be spaces, though, also to talk about ethical social, responsible use policy implications related to that.

And so one of the things we're actually kicking off this year is this program called eat those which is a a combined speaker series and space for people to come together to talk about some of the more disruptive aspect of these technologies, whether it's jobs for climate or other policy implications with jobs.

And I think we're seeing there's interest in all of those.

And so part of the tricky thing as a leader in an institution is you have to be able to create those kind of spaces.

It's it's not all about the possible loan.

The positive is it, you building after Senator Maroney his comments?

You know, there's there's no toothpaste back in the team for sure.

Hear that and the green room.

you know, it's really important to to create spaces for all those voices are coming up with these classes and these miners.

Its fall, 2020 force, that's only 4 semesters really worth of of schooling here.

So Katie, Telford Romans going up.

The Taliban trust is going yet the enrollment I haven't checked recently was I think is that about 100 students in the spring when it launched week and there's a lot of interest in the courses within at their core courses that are, you know, the AI for everyone experience.

There's another course tied computing as well.

And the other required course is an ethics course.

And I think having that built in as well as a series of of electives that they can do around that based on their interests, whether it's arts or or media.

So these other topic areas, that's a lot of what we're seeing.

Students interested in and I can understand now that you could receive a bachelor's degree in artificial intelligence and it sounds like now there's so much interest equate the act.

You have enough space for everybody.

Are you are you having to sort of > > expand how it's being offered across schools.

How has it going over there?

We have 2 beautiful new building.

I would start I would start their the school business and the site are are both incredible spaces.

A lot of these we're one of the things the computing program version of this in the computing and engineering school is it doesn't do away with computer science.

You know, we we see interest in this from students, but also about creating additional spaces from the strength and and areas of expertise.

We have based on demand that we're seeing.

So it's not that everybody is going to major I I think you'll see more and more students having options, specialized pathways with that and then what I spent a lot of my time doing is working with our other schools and programs, whether it's our our School of Medicine, health sciences, what does it look like?

The health care practitioner now with these tools that are at the bedside as well?

And we're seeing a lot of uptick there as well.

And and that might be more difficult to tease out.

But it's definitely part of how we talk about and how we strategically or think about those programs and curriculum.

David, UConn students received an e-mail from the provost's office at the beginning of June informing them of the new in AI for impact initiative.

> > That's a eye for eye and PA Capital CT because CT is in there, the creation of an AI Council proposal.

The launch of AI Minor this fall and university-wide undergraduate AI major targeted for fall of 2027.

Why has the university decided to foster programs that expand on AI?

Well, we see it from the student demand and industry.

People need this.

My own personal perspective is that in the next 5 or so years.

> > There will be a need for people that have just the traditional skills in a particular do man.

But then I plus man.

And so what we're trying to do is equip students with that capability.

But I think if we look 5 or 10 years down the road, actually all disciplines will have an integrated within them.

And so I don't think you're going to get a marketing degree or journalism degree that requires a plus AI designation.

It's just going to be a journalism degree.

So what we're going to probably try to do in the next year is draft out of fully customizable.

Ai major.

They are entered into just what an individualized major program.

So that students will have some scaffolding of what the major looks like, but they can then look at the new courses that are being offered across all campus.

Ask to swap them in in place of the other requirements so that students can craft their own path.

We actually have a student right now that's doing an individualized major I I think it's one student right now on campus who looked at our curriculum and really wanted to pull together bunch of classes.

And I think that's great because what we want to do is we want to offer students an adjunct first pilot that person to the pot.

And I think we're going to lure actually, I'm really excited to see which units have students that want to get a specialized kind of degree in AI.

And I think it's going to be fun to see how they kinda bridge together.

The AI story.

And I think it's going to change all the time.

So although we're doing through this impact, AI for impact is trying to make sure that we're very agile with the programs that we deliver.

Because talk more about AI for impact, if you can.

Yes, I can.

So there's a there's an AI Council which consists of about 30 people across campus.

That's instructors, both research professors into the heart of it.

So they I'm running the AI Council threw an AI executive committee.

So it's me and for others also really impactful people in the UConn community, an AI and then about 25 others.

And these are people from it.

Librarians seatlle even our union representatives.

Then you have faculty, you have staff.

You have everybody across the board and we're breaking them up into 4 different demands, responsible AI academic programs, research and scholarship innovation infrastructure.

And those 4 demands.

We'll do work and kind of, you know, be a consultative body across campus for what's happening at UConn.

What our gaps.

What do we need to expand upon and make sure that we're delivering to students of the workforce?

What we're basically articulating your folks is that college kids care a lot about AI so much so that I guess during the 2026 college graduation season hearing anecdotal evidence of commencement speakers being booed for touting a eyes benefits an enormous role.

It plays in society.

So I just want to get your take on this.

What is the response in regard to learning about and using a I > > been like from students like yes.

> > So it if I could, when I was announced as the special adviser I got some cautionary emails from students.

I don't know if you've received any of these and just making sure that we are aware of the voice that is speaking about the risks to society and the environmental impact and all that stuff.

And so I think we're definitely mindful of that.

But we don't want to we can't ignore the fact that AI is transforming the world.

And so we have to move forward.

But we need to do for move forward in a way that is responsible and kind of, you know, thinks about both sides of the coin.

Yeah, I think part of it is again creating some of those community spaces to authentically talk about this.

And I like the metaphor of polling light and shadows with AI is the topic area.

The idea that there can areas caps with the late and their shadows that we need to be thinking about as well.

We need those spaces and we need to not dismiss them.

I've only got about 45 seconds for you to do this.

But there's an alliance that could be a safe space as well.

Yes, an AI lines that you all are both part of.

> > Think you decide.

I'm running for his support around that.

The AI Alliance is a group of all of the public and independent colleges in Connecticut.

It's let up by Jen witness and the Heat from University, New Hampshire.

my goodness.

New New Haven and it's a great group of people trying to get resources, helping people to share resources in lessons with each other.

And it's been a wonderful space so > > You've been listening to far.

David Bergman and Adam member off could still the INS, I would say of AI ethics, if you will, at their respective universities.

David, Adam, great to have you on the show.

Thanks.

Mike Pence, thank you so much.

And look forward to those programs.

Students, if you're at the University of Connecticut and Quinnipiac University as well today show produced by Katie Service, a fellow UConn Husky like myself, Great job.

Katie and Chloe win.

It was edited by Robin can protect nickel producer is Dylan race and of course we had GMA 2 to doing it as well.

Today.

Want to thank Andy Patterson and the rest are Connecticut Public team here.

Special thanks.

Tess Terrible.

Our talk show visuals and operations teams here in Connecticut Public.

Down low the Wheelhouse.

Anytime on your favorite podcast app.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

This is the Wheelhouse.

Thank you so much for listening.

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