This semester, IU launched its GenAI 101 course, one of the many AI resources IU is providing for free to students, faculty, and staff. I, myself, am about 75% of the way through. I'm finding the research and email-honing incredibly powerful and helpful, but I've been also thinking about how one maintains one's own messy creative process and authentic voice in an atmosphere where it's so easy to let go of what's difficult but so necessary.
Here in The Media School, we’re exploring ways to incorporate AI into the curriculum in a way that teaches students how to use AI for what it should be — a tool — rather than a replacement for human thought. It’s a careful balance — our graduates need to be adept in the tools the industry is using, but we must ensure they’re still building the necessary foundational skills, even if AI can replicate those skills more quickly. We must preserve the humanity in the work.
We’re making plans for a broad-based course on the history, ethics, and implications of AI in media and expect to incorporate discipline-specific methodology courses into our curriculum.
At the same time, we’re establishing a school-wide approach to the use of AI in our teaching and research, striving for a balance of savvy, long-range innovation, and critical and ethical considerations. This is no small task — a discussion at a recent faculty/staff meeting revealed a broad range of perspectives, ranging from faculty who believe AI has no place in the classroom to those who are already using it. All recognized the importance of thinking carefully, critically, and strategically about our school's approach to AI. To that end, we have convened a committee to develop our AI strategies at the curricular, creative, and research levels.
I'm also keenly interested in the relationship of AI to mental health, both on the positive side and on the problematic side. These issues are similar to those we’ve faced with all forms of media. From film to journalism to advertising to social media, we must take seriously our responsibility to minimize harm when we create.
These aren’t easy questions — but complex questions like these are what higher education is built for. Relevant, real-time issues provide opportunities to fulfill our mission: to prepare students to thrive in a dynamic and ever-changing media landscape by blending hands-on learning with deep critical and theoretical understanding.
I look forward to continuing the conversation with you.
Best,
David Tolchinsky
Dean, The Media School at Indiana University