“Ask Reilly” chatbot found on mysbu.edu.
Photo courtesy of Chris Doody
BY: CHRIS DOODY, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND SAWYER BURKE, NEWS EDITOR
As artificial intelligence fast-tracks its way into nearly every part of daily life, it can be difficult to determine the right time and place for its use. In particular, the domain of academics has become one of the most debated areas for AI’s role.
Some educators view it as a powerful tool that can be harnessed to supplement learning. Others, however, see it as a threat to academic integrity and independent thinking. The introduction of AI programs like ChatGPT has forced both students and teachers to rethink what it means to learn, write and think critically in an age where technology can do so much of the work for us.
St. Bonaventure University has not been immune to the growing impact of AI and its use across campus; however, the school’s stance on its role in academics has now become clearer.
“The presidential commission is trying to establish what we stand for when it comes to AI,” said Dr. David Hilmey, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at St. Bonaventure. “I think that’s the first question, because when ChatGPT came out, a few years ago now, it felt like a race, to see what we were going to do. Are we going to have majors? Are we going to have classes? How are we going to use it? How do we keep students from cheating? And how is it going to change work and the environment and all of these things rolled up? We have to figure out how to manage AI.”
The launch of AI caused a need to rethink the way things had been done previously. With AI being so easily accessible, maybe it needs to become more accepted.
“When you have a technology that makes people’s lives, quote unquote, easier, you are going to have it become ubiquitous, everyone is going to pick it up,” continued Hilmey. “[The presidential commission] needs to put some statements of beliefs or statements of values that go with AI. We have to identify that this has an environmental impact.”
With artificial intelligence becoming so widespread, people have to get accustomed to its use. It is going to worm its way into every facet of life. “We need our students to be engaged in it,” said Hilmey. “They’re going to have to use it when they get out into the real world. And be prepared for how it’s going to be incorporated into their jobs.”
St. Bonaventure University has incorporated AI into mysbu.edu with the new “Ask Reilly”.
“We also have piloted an AI chatbot solution for my.sbu.edu, ‘Ask Reilly,’” said Hilmey. “We haven’t implemented it fully but we’re working on it.”
But how do you police the use of AI in the classroom? With so many options, is there a right way to use it?
“Also how do you use it in a more ethical and appropriate way,” said Hilmey. “That’s not just is it okay? Is it cheating? It’s also what’s the impact on the environment?”
Artificial intelligence raises so many questions that educators and institutions had previously never needed to debate.
There also seems to be patterns regarding when AI gets the most traffic. “The use of ChatGPT and LLMs are kind of cyclical in nature; it goes up in the fall and it drops after May and June,” said Hilmey. “So what we are seeing is students are some of the big users of AI. May and June signify the end of the academic year for students at St. Bonaventure, implying most of the enrolled students use it during the school year.”
In an attempt to gauge the effectiveness of AI in the classroom, a study is being conducted by the university.
“We are doing a pilot study with the professional model of ChatGPT,” said Hilmey. “Where we were able to get a number of seats that our students and faculty could use to work within their class, to try and see how effective that would be.”
How would AI change the environment of the classroom?
“My goal with one of my assignments [True vs False self, in my Francis and Clare class] was to give students an opportunity to use AI in such a way that they could profit from knowing how to manage AI well,” said Fr. David Couturier, O.F.M. Cap. “And how students can use it ethically.”
Not only does AI have significant impacts on the classroom environment, but it also seriously affects the earth.
“There was a disaster, well a near meltdown at, what was then called Three Mile Island [in the Susquehanna River about ten miles south of Harrisburg, PA], which is a large power plant,” said Fr. Stephen Mimnaugh, O.F.M., vice president for Mission Integration. “Now, one of the reactors is still fried and it’s going to be unsafe for ages. But they are bringing one of the nuclear reactors back online, because of increased demand for energy. Now, on one hand, you can say that nuclear power is at least not putting carbon into the atmosphere, the way fossil fuels are. But we still don’t have a solution for the spent rods. They are still dangerous. They’ll be dangerous for 100s and 100s of years, and we have no way to safely get rid of them.”
The electrical grids are also severely impacted by the energy used by AI.
“The LLM centers are extremely taxing on the electrical grid, increased demand for energy, and the same level of supply,” said Mimnaugh. “So therefore the price goes up. But, the [energy] consumers who live in close proximity to these processing centers or data farms are the ones who pay for it.”
While the effect of AI seems most prevalent in the classroom, its reach extends well into the environment as well.
AI is an unstoppable force that will continue to shape the world in ways people are only beginning to understand. Whether its impact proves to be for better or worse depends entirely on how society chooses to adapt and respond to its evolution. What remains clear, however, is that artificial intelligence is not going anywhere.
Here at Bonaventure, AI has already established its place — not as a passing trend, but as a lasting tool that will continue to influence how students learn, think, and create. The challenge now is not to resist it, but to learn how to use it wisely and responsibly.
