AI in Nebraska education: Higher ed looks to human-centric approach to integrate artificial

Nebraska Public Media News is taking a look at how artificial intelligence is impacting classrooms across Nebraska, from kindergarten through higher education. This is the third story in a series that will explore several areas of AI in education, including school policies on AI.

Some interviews for this reporting were found in Nebraska Public Media News’ recent AI in Education survey. The two co-directors of the University of Nebraska Artificial Intelligence Institute have very different backgrounds: one is a professor of biological and agricultural engineering and the other.

What Happened

When they come together, they are able to share the different ways their disciplines are using AI. With this rise of AI use in higher education, the NU system launched a task force to look at how the university should respond to.

• About 90% of students in higher education use AI occasionally in class, according to a survey from Instructure, the company that launched the education platform Canvas, and about 60% of college educators say they.

• Keyte said he thinks there are ways AI can potentially help with the grading process and streamlining certain parts, but that final grade should come from a human.

• The survey also showed that students wanted to know they were being evaluated by a real person, not AI.

Key Details

One part of that task force’s recommendations was to launch the AI Institute. Both Wisnicki and Santosh Pitla, the other co-director of the NU AI Institute and a professor in biological and agricultural engineering at the Lincoln campus, were on the task.

• He said students would come to the campus their freshmen year wired to think that any AI use was cheating, which he is trying to change.

• A survey of the students at College of Saint Mary showed they were critical of their professors using AI, which surprised Keyte.

• Keyte added that he thinks AI is going to change what they have to do, like taking a closer look at why they are asking students to do certain assignments and figuring out how.

Why It Matters

Pitla said everyone is looking for answers about AI, whether they are for it, against it or neutral toward it. The institute offers a place to hold that discussion.

• Keyte said there is a stigma around artificial intelligence, whether it be students worried about cheating or faculty that believe it’s taking their jobs.

• In terms of student achievement, he said it depends on the person.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by Nebraska Public Media as more details emerge