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QUESTION

How is CUNY addressing the rapid development of AI, and how do public schools plan to integrate AI education?

1:50:40

·

5 min

CUNY and NYC Public Schools discuss investments and initiatives to keep up with rapid AI development and integrate AI education.

  • CUNY invests $75 million in AI education, aiming to train faculty for responsible use and detect AI in student submissions.
  • NYC Public Schools highlights a state-certified data science program and aims to increase AI literacy and prepare students for AI engineering roles.
  • There are efforts to develop strong, responsible AI policies and a digital literacy plan for public schools.
  • The discussion also emphasizes the need for student involvement in creating AI software and the potential of AI to alleviate bureaucratic burdens.
Rita Joseph
1:50:40
So I passed the resolution earlier this year asking for educators to be trained on AI.
1:50:48
Is that happening in CUNY?
1:50:52
The professor's being trained because every time we think we know one AI, there's another one that comes out to counter at the first time.
1:50:59
Constantly changing.
1:51:00
Constantly.
1:51:01
So I keep saying you think Chad GBT, then you have quilt bot that can detect, that can give you a paper that you cannot detect.
1:51:08
AI in it, and it and it's growing.
1:51:10
So how are we addressing that?
1:51:11
Because the students are moving faster than you guys are.
1:51:15
They're already ahead of it, and you think to what does it turn in?
1:51:18
That pay that there's a paper you submit.
Phong Yang
1:51:21
Yeah.
Rita Joseph
1:51:21
There's already an AI that can that that you can they can use, so you do not detect that the paper was created through AI.
1:51:29
So they're moving fast.
1:51:31
How fast are you keeping up with?
Reine Sarmiento
1:51:33
So We are part of an investment of $75,000,000,000 for artificial intelligence in which our faculty are participating in.
1:51:43
And and we know the kids are ahead of us.
1:51:46
Right?
1:51:47
But what we need to be able to do is train the fact to be able to to have them use it responsibly and for us to be able to detect it.
1:51:56
On the student staff side, we need to get better about paper processing of and the bureaucratic measures we put these students through, and artificial intelligence could help us do that.
1:52:06
So I'm looking at it from my perspective as an opportunity to alleviate some of the burden on our staff.
1:52:15
Mhmm.
1:52:16
Of the manual process that are happening so that we could have a better experience for our students.
1:52:21
And we look forward to the collaboration of the entire state on the artificial intelligence as it as it pertains to education.
Rita Joseph
1:52:29
Absolutely.
1:52:30
I've asked for guardrails to be put around so students can use a responsibility it can be used responsibly.
Reine Sarmiento
1:52:35
Yeah.
Rita Joseph
1:52:36
Right?
1:52:37
We can also create ways where I know there I know New York City Public School is using a mirror for dyslexia and also for reading, but we can also use it.
1:52:46
And I know through that, you can create the pipeline because we also have biases in all of these software.
1:52:51
So our students have to be at the table to help create these softwares as well.
1:52:54
So I think this is a great moment because I had a student from CUNY that I did a round table on caucus, and he was like, chair, I went into a classroom, and the kids were running circles around this teacher because they didn't know.
1:53:06
Because now I'm I when I talk to people, I'm like, so what are you using?
1:53:09
Oh, Grammarly, I said no, but they have right tune.
1:53:11
They already created 2 more ahead of Grammarly.
1:53:14
If you're using my journey, they already have Leonardo.
1:53:17
So you're behind.
1:53:19
Alrighty.
1:53:19
As they move as they move, they move twice or three times the amount of AI artificial intelligence software that's being out there to use.
1:53:28
So even for note taking, sticky note app app is great for note taking.
1:53:33
Our student struggles with that, but with guardrails.
1:53:35
And and safety around that.
1:53:37
So New York City Public Schools, I know you're currently using 3350 schools, I believe you're using a era for reading and dyslexia.
1:53:44
And how were you guys keeping up with the AI phenomena?
Melanie Mac
1:53:51
That's right.
1:53:51
I think I was on the hat seat in the fall talking to to you all and to accounts member Gutierrez about this.
1:53:58
It's it's this is incredibly important.
1:54:00
This is a defining moment teaching and learning.
1:54:03
And so, I mean, there's a there's a couple of connections with CUNY.
1:54:06
We're actually we have the first state certified data science program at Bushwick Leader's High School in partnership with LaGuardia Community College.
1:54:16
They're helping the data science pathway.
1:54:18
So when we think about our young people learning about machine learning and really being gaining the skills, developing a portfolio that demonstrates and understanding of AI and its applications before they even leave high school.
1:54:30
We are looking to cultivate more of these tech pathway programs through future ready NYC.
1:54:35
So there is the aspect of this that is thinking about preparing students for the workforce in which they need to have both AI literacy, but we also need our students to be able to fundamentally be prepared to become an AI engineer, right, and understanding that software engineering is something that is is quickly being kind of outpaced by a role like an AI engineer.
1:55:02
For our staff, there is a fundamental AI literacy, you know, opportunity where We I believe we shared the city wide training that we've continued to we've continued to cultivate the AI policy lab that's working with stakeholders.
1:55:17
Across the city from citizen families to all of our closest partners to understand what what strong responsible AI policy should look like that will ultimately be open source and something that we can share as a national exemplar.
1:55:33
And that's That's work that's happening in real time this semester.
Rita Joseph
1:55:37
Absolutely.
1:55:37
I'm waiting for New York City Public Schools to create the digital literacy plan.
1:55:41
There was one in place to think you guys scratched it, but it's time, especially with what happened with the remote learning and also doing COVID.
1:55:48
There was a lot of lessons learned, and this is an opportunity.
1:55:50
Again, I know.
1:55:51
I'll keep saying that.
1:55:52
New York City public schools have an opportunity to really reinvent the digital literacy plan for New York City.
1:55:57
So this is 2 2 decades of experience, and I'm also undercover techie.
1:56:03
So this is a lot of so I wanna see the work and investment go into those areas because even scientists are using AI just to track data, data collection, and and how we use it in the future.
1:56:15
And talk about reconnect.
1:56:17
You mentioned reconnect earlier.
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