Mike Dittman, a professor in Butler County Community College’s liberal arts division and author of four books, has initiated and is instructing a new version of an English course focusing on the ethics of artificial intelligence-powered text generators. Dittman is shown Monday, July 8, 2024, in his office on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township. Submitted photo

In the Friday, Oct. 3, edition of the Butler Eagle, we learned about a new task force at Butler County Community College that will study how faculty can best integrate Artificial Intelligence into their work.

The task force, called “Project Beta: AI in Action,” is made up of 15 members who will study ways the college’s faculty and staff can use AI both responsibly and creatively.

“Ultimately, they’re going to be charged with recommendations about how we can better incorporate AI into our classrooms, into policy, training; and they’ll share the results with members of the BC3 community,” BC3 President Megan Coval explained.

There is a tremendous amount of discussion about the ways AI is damaging education, from cheating scandals to worries about students’ future writing ability. Those are all valid and important concerns, but AI is also an exciting technology that can be used to make an institution like BC3 both more innovative and more efficient.

BC3 English professor Mike Dittman, who is serving on the task force, said he’s excited because the college is on the leading edge regionally when it comes to discussions about using AI.

BC3College writing_082724: Mike Dittman, left, a professor in Butler County Community College’s liberal arts division, gestures Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township as he addresses students in a new version of an English course focusing on the ethics of artificial intelligence-powered text generators. BC3 students from front, Chase Matsko, of New Brighton, who is enrolled in the college’s computer information systems-networking and cybersecurity program; Kaia Conerty, of Butler, and Isabella Brugere, Chicora, early childhood education (Pre K-4); and Nate Cornibe, Butler, engineering. Submitted photo

“When AI first came out, there was that panic of, ‘oh my gosh, students aren’t going to write anything,’ but to the institution’s credit, we’ve very swiftly changed gears to how we can teach students to use this tool effectively,” he said. “What kinds of skills are employers looking for? And that’s something we’ve talked a lot about.”

Like with so many emerging technologies, there is both a lot of hype and a lot of fear around how AI is going to change our future. BC3 is making the right move by studying how to make technology work in service of its educational goal.

— JK