How do you think about the pushback against AI and consider the risk versus reward of the technology? Q:
What excites you about the Greater Grand Rapids region when it comes to applied technology? Q:
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Education is the key because ethics, bias and regulation are the type of thing engineers, once they are trained in those values, they are the ones developing the systems. Training people who are ready to look at the intersection of AI and governance, for example, helps us to provide frameworks that can even automatically evolve when technologies evolve. AI literacy is very critical for our society. It's important that our society is aware of the advantages and the limitations and risks of AI and understanding its potential.
The vision of President Mantella with the leadership of The Right Place getting together to think about the future of work and the future of our region. That's what makes me excited because seeing those partnerships while sitting on the east side of the state, I was always looking at the potential here that exists in West Michigan, especially when it comes to technology in general, and being a tech hub here. Every job is a computing job today and our strength is that combination between manufacturing, health, AI, cybersecurity, and so on making our region a hub for innovation.
This seems like a very human-centered approach to AI and technology development. Q:
more advanced? Q:
How do you see the university’s role changing as AI becomes
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Yeah, absolutely, and that's why we launched the initiative Computing Plus X. I think we are the first one in Michigan who are developing this type of degree. We are combining AI plus anthropology. We are doing it with modern languages. We are even doing it with the writing department – you can still use AI but it’s not as creative as humans. That's why even in our AI degree we have integration of courses like AI ethics and bias, courses around AI literacy, courses around AI and sustainability. As a college of computing, people may think about it as technical but seeing a college offering those courses accessible to everyone, whatever your major, those are actions that are louder than words. That shows we truly believe in the responsible AI piece and the human-centered AI piece as well.
The need of society today is more about human potential because industries are looking for humans to do ten- or twenty-times what they are typically doing every day because intelligence is accessible. Human judgment is important. Communication is very important because you can generate ideas, but you need to evaluate them, improve them, and communicate them to leadership. That’s what changed the mission of the university. That’s why here in the College of Computing Grand Valley we launched the Shipyard, where it is an experiential learning framework from day one until graduation. We want to graduate people who have a bachelor’s degree and four years of experience solving real-world problems. When someone from the College of Computing applies to jobs, they will have that four years of experience learning by doing.
This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.
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