BUT I THINK WE WILL THIS TIME.

>> IN MORE EDUCATION NEWS, THE WORLD OF MACHINE LEARNING EXPLODED INTO EVERYDAY LIVES OVER THE LAST YEAR WHEN GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH ADVANCED LANGUAGE MODELS AND CHAT FUNCTIONS BECAME AVAILABLE TO THE MASSES.

HERE AND NOW STUDENT JOURNALIST JANE McCAULEY REPORTS ON HOW COLLEGE EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS ARE ADAPTING TO THE NEW A.I.

LANDSCAPE.

>> WE USE TERMS LIKE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND IT SOUNDS KIND OF SCARY.

>> POWERFUL SERVERS LIKE THESE PROCESS AND ANALYZE LARGE AMOUNTS OF DATA TO PRODUCE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

IN FACT, WE USE A.I.

TO GENERATE SOME OF THESE IMAGES, BUT THE CONCEPT OF A.I.

IS NOT A NEW ONE.

>> IN THE 21st CENTURY.

IT'S LIKE TERMINATOR, CRAZY STUFF LIKE THAT.

>> MACHINE LEARNING DATES BACK BEFORE THE '80s, BUT THE RELEASE OF A.I.

PROGRAMS THAT GENERATE PHOTOS OR TEXT, LIKE CHAT-GPT, HAVE ONLY BEEN IN PUBLIC USE SINCE THE END OF 2022.

>> WE NEED TO USE THE FACT THAT... >> ENGINEERING PROFE SSOR AT UW-MADISON FOCUS ON THE ETHICS OF A.I.

AND WAYS PEOPLE CAN LEARN TO USE IT SAFELY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.

>> THESE ARE JUST VERY CAPABLE TOOLS.

THEY'RE USEFUL.

THEY'RE DESIGNED WITH A PURPOSE.

THEY'RE DESIGNED BY PEOPLE.

AND THEY HAVE LIMITATIONS.

IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE THE NEXT STEP IN HELPING US IMPROVE.

>> BUT WHAT ARE THESE PROGRAMS AND HOW DO THEY WORK?

PROGRAMS LIKE CHAT-GPT ARE LANGUAGE-BASED MODELS, MEANING THEY EXCEL AT CLEANING UP GRAMMAR AND ARTICULATING WRITING.

>> I HAVE STUDENTS T HAT SPEAK ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT DON'T COME NATURALLY IF YOU'RE NOT A NATIVE SPEAKER.

>> AND A.I.

PROGRAMS CAN REARRANGE WRITING TO MAKE IT SOUND NATURAL.

>> GPT BECOMES SUPER HANDY IF YOU GIVE IT A PROMPT LIKE, HEY, CAN YOU EDIT THIS TO MAKE IT SOUND MORE NATURAL.

OR CAN YOU EDIT THIS TO MAKE IT SOUND MORE CONCISE?

>> TEACHERS DIFFER ON WHETHER THEY ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO USE A.I.

IN THE CLASSROOM OR AVOID IT COMPLETELY.

PROFESSORS LIKE NATE YOUNG TEACH STUDENTS TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT HOW TO USE A.I.

PROGRAMS.

>> I'M NOT TRYING TO GEAR THEM TOWARDS NOT USING IT OR GEAR THEME TOWARDS USING IT.

I JUST WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS AND HOW THEY CAN MAKE INFORMED CHOICES ABOUT ITS USE IN SCHOOL AND BEYOND SCHOOL AS WELL.

>> DURING CLASS, YOU NG INVITES HIS STUDENTS TO HAVE OPEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT A.I., INCLUDING HOW TO USE IT TO BRAINSTORM AND NARROW DOWN WRITING IDEAS.

>> THE COLLEGE WRITING CLASSROOM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER, PRECISELY BECAUSE I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE ONLY PLACES WHERE STUDENTS WILL BE TAUGHT HOW TO RESPONSIBLY USE THAT TECHNOLOGY.

>> BUT MANY STUDENTS ARE HOPING TO TACKLE THESE QUESTIONS THEMSELVES.

>> WE SHOULD GET THUS.

IT'S NO BIG DEAL.

>> BEN HAM FOUNDED THE WISCONSIN A.I.

SAFETY INITIATIVE CLUB TO GET STUDENTS THINKING ABOUT BROADER QUESTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO A.I.

SAFETY IN SOCIETY.

>> WHAT IF WE CREATE A STUDENT GROUP THAT CAN HELP MANY STUDENTS YEAR AFTER YEAR INTO THIS REALLY IMPORTANT FIELD, EDUCATING FOLKS ON IT AND RAISING AWARENESS FOR THE PROBLEMS THERE.

>> THE ORGANIZATION MEETS THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER TO DISCUSS USING A.I.

TO SOLVE ISSUES FROM CLIMATE CHANGE TO GLOBAL HEALTH.

THEY ALSO TALK ABOUT THE DANGERS OF A.I.. ANOTHER IS POTENTIAL BIAS OR EVEN PERSONAL TARGETING.

>> TARGET THIS INFORMATION PARTICULARLY YOU'RE SUSCEPTIBLE TO GIVEN YOUR BIASES.

>> AS THE EARLY STAGES OF GENERATIVE A.I.

EVOLVE, STUDENTS LIKE HAM STRIVE TO LEARN HOW TO SAFELY INTEGRATE THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY INTO PEOPLE'S LIVES.

>> BUCKLE UP.

GET READY FOR THIS.

BE AWARE WHAT'S HAPPENING.

>> FOR "HERE AND NOW," I'M JANE McCAULEY.

>> FOR MORE ON THIS AND OTHER ISSUES FACING WISCONSIN, VISIT OR WEBSITE AT PBSWISCONSIN.ORG OR WEBSITE AT PBSWISCONSIN.ORG