Five Questions for Calvin Blackwell
What is intentional AI?
AI is already a part of everyday life. I recently read a research paper reporting that 700 million people use ChatGPT weekly. That is 10% of the world’s adult population! When you add other AI platforms like Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, you can see how ubiquitous these technologies have become. AI will continue to spread exponentially, and individuals and institutions need to adapt. It means selecting and using AI tools to contribute to the College’s mission instead of allowing hype and inertia to determine our use of AI.
What is your role as director of intentional AI?
At a simple level, my role as QEP director is to help guide the QEP, which is a component of our reaccreditation process. More broadly, my role is to help our community adapt to AI.
What drew you to serving as director?
I have been interested in AI ever since a student used the technology to cheat on one of my (economics) exams. That was a wake-up call! As I learned more about AI, I came to believe that it will significantly impact society in general and academia in particular. In economics, we talk about “creative destruction” as the process by which new technology and industries supplant the old. I didn’t want to be “creatively destroyed” by AI, so I started learning more about it and even taught a course on generative AI. I want to help the College adapt to this new technology, and I thought I could help in the role of QEP director.
Why do you think taking an intentional AI approach is the right course of action?
AI opens up vast new capabilities for all members of the College community. Unfortunately, some of these capabilities inhibit our ability to fulfill our mission. Intentional AI attempts to adapt to this technology while staying true to the College’s core mission and values.
How do you think AI is going to impact the campus community?
As Yogi Berra famously said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” I don’t know how AI will impact our community, but I am certain it will. One of the many challenges in adapting to the technology is that its capabilities constantly change and are subject to what Ethan Mollick has called the “jagged frontier.” I hope this QEP will help the College adapt to the changes AI will bring.