Georgia College & State University professor becomes national go-to for AI in higher ed

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga., Oct. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- These days, the subject of artificial intelligence is rife with the headiness of what it can accomplish versus people's fear of the unknown. Will this rapidly evolving technology take over, destroying jobs and shoving humans aside?

In particular, how will it impact higher education?

Universities nationwide are turning to Georgia College & State University's Professor of Secondary Education Dr. Cynthia Alby for answers.

She started with a workshop in January and has gone on to give more than 40 seminars throughout the United States. She was interviewed on "Teaching in Higher Ed," a premier podcast. She published an article on AI for "Faculty Focus" and is part of the University System of Georgia's webinar series on AI.

Her recommendation: Go with the flow. Everyone should use it.

"The message that I try to put out there every time I talk to anyone is, 'You need to know about this, and the only way to know about it is to play with it. Read about it, work with it, use it. It's the only way. You just got to. Even if you don't want to, you still have to,'" Alby said.

See full story on Alby's search into AI here.

Click here for this writer's experience using AI.

Although AI is leaping forward—scaring even its own creators at times by learning on its own—Alby remains optimistic. She thinks ChatGPT could be a blessing.

Humans are "extremely social" in their learning, therefore she believes teachers will always be necessary.

Professors are still needed for inspiration, solving problems and mentoring. Humans need humans.

A person must tell AI where to make changes, how to reorganize and whether a document needs updates. That requires "a lot of higher-order thinking, evaluation and analysis," Alby said. "AI requires a lot of direction. No amount of AI will help if you don't understand the criteria.''

With this in mind, Alby believes students should be allowed to use AI.

"We can't put our heads in the sand," Alby said. "At this point, virtually every job we prepare people for is going to be heavily impacted by AI within a year or two. If we aren't preparing students to face that—we aren't preparing our students well."

CONTACT : Cindy O'Donnell, 478-508-2599, [email protected].

SOURCE Georgia College & State University