College of DuPage hosted about 500 registrants at its first AI Literacy Summit on its Glen Ellyn campus Oct. 7. The college partnered with OpenAI Academy for the daylong event, which it called the first of its kind at a Midwest community college.
The summit ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and featured a keynote, a panel discussion and hands-on breakout sessions on topics including "ChatGPT for Work," "ChatGPT for Parents" and "Building with ChatGPT," according to a Crain's Chicago Business content-studio article.
OpenAI global head of innovation policy James Hairston delivered opening remarks. COD President Dr. Muddassir Siddiqi then joined a four-person panel with Lenovo Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist Dr. Hernán Londoño and Intel Director of Strategic Initiatives David Minnar. Dr. Steven Wightkin, a Rush University program director who also serves as chief product officer at Datatelligent, rounded out the group.
Dr. Sonia Watson, COD associate vice president and co-chair of the college's AI Governance Committee, moderated.
Siddiqi told the audience that AI will reshape the professional landscape in ways no one can predict, but that people must engage with the technology rather than hand it work. "Not human versus AI, but human using AI with purpose, judgment, accountability and in partnership," he said, according to Crain's.
Londoño, who has spent more than three decades in higher education, pointed to AI's ability to cut campus bureaucracy. Minnar said the most important skill in an AI-driven world is curiosity. Wightkin raised a different concern, asking what gets lost when AI handles everyday tasks, including the learning that comes from searching for answers yourself, Crain's reported.
COD chemistry professor Cory DiCarlo described using AI to personalize instruction. He creates immersive classroom experiences while giving individual students customized assessments and simulations, according to Crain's.
The summit coincides with COD's expanding AI curriculum. The college recently launched an Associate in Applied Science degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI), a 60- to 62-credit-hour program that prepares students to design, build and evaluate AI systems, according to COD's website. COD also offers a 22-credit-hour Machine Learning certificate, and students who complete it can stack those credits toward the full degree.
Computer and Information Science Professor Mohammad Morovati said in a separate COD announcement about the programs that understanding AI will be essential for workers to do their jobs efficiently. Employment of data scientists is projected to grow 34% by 2034, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
