SCHEV

Two George Mason faculty appointed to Virginia AI task force

Nathan Kahl — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 13:23:33 +0000

Two George Mason faculty appointed to Virginia AI task force Nathan Kahl Sat, 07/27/2024 - 09:23

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Amarda Shehu, a professor of computer science and associate sean in the College of Engineering and Computing, and Padhu Seshaiyer, a professor of mathematical sciences and the former associate dean for academic affairs for the College of Science, were named to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) EO30 task force, prompted by Executive Order (EO) 30 by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Both Shehu and Seshaiyer acknowledge that this is a timely and important initiative by SCHEV, and they are excited that ��AV is an integral part of this process, supporting SCHEV, and by extension, institutes of education across the commonwealth.

Shehu's research is on AI and machine learning. Photo by the Office of University Branding

The EO states that it “recognizes the dual nature—both the opportunities and risks—of this developing technology in education. K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions must embrace innovation, experimentation, and new educational opportunities for students as well as ensure appropriate guardrails and necessary constraints exist to safeguard individual data privacy and mitigate discriminatory outcomes.”

SCHEV leaders chose Shehu and Seshaiyer for the task force because of their longstanding work and leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), STEM, and education; both admit there is a lot to consider around AI, and they are glad that Virginia is putting forth this effort.

Shehu said a broad conception of AI is necessary. “We need to think a little bit more holistically regarding the different opportunities and potential risks with regards to integrating AI in education. What kind of guidelines should we have for universities and for community colleges, not just for educators, but also for all the different organizations that they work with across Virginia.”

Seshaiyer explained that the task force has broad representation. “While we talk about promoting innovation and economic growth, there's also this whole aspect of ethical boundaries and considerations in AI development and deployment," he said. "It requires government, industry, and academia coming together to understand AI research, workforce development, and responsible AI.”

Shehu said the task force’s work and function are evolving. “A lot of the meetings I imagine will be thought experiments and the members feeding off one another based on our expertise. Some of us may be more positioned toward exciting applications, while some will want to caution, ‘Hey, hold on a second—you can't really do acquisition like this because you have to go through so many regulatory processes.’”

Shehu said they had been asked to consider and build on examples and guidelines from states, countries, and regions to be forward-thinking in their approach. One approach would be for the task force to categorize AI applications that are definitely a no, some that are yes, and some that still exist in a gray area.

Seshaiyer has encouraged students to experiment with AI in assignments. Photo provided

“For instance, AI assessing your emotions and your reactions and anything like that used for surveillance—that's a ‘no’ unless in situations of national security,” she said. “Consider personalized learning settings that are popping up where you might see clear value for an AI agent that sits and monitors you to read facial features so it can figure out if I'm confused or if I'm understanding. But for the task force, that’s a no, because that is surveillance. Please keep in mind we are thinking about children and students, a highly vulnerable population.”

Seshaiyer said, “For higher ed we have K-12 on one side, and workforce on the other side, so we are theoretically coming up with all sorts of academic ideas about AI and its implications. We test it on a nice cookbook problem, while the workforce side is looking at it from a business perspective, and K-12 is of course thinking of the learning implications. This is an example of having the tension in understanding AI implications by different stakeholders between impact, thoughtfulness, and speed.”

Those dealing with children have multiple considerations, he added. “So, the question for the principal or the Chief Information Technology Officer of the school system is, ‘How do I navigate this space? Which software is feasible, appropriate and at the right price point? Is it safe to use and are there any backdoors in terms of data privacy?’ There are these really practical questions for which they don't have answers because nothing is formally written, but they also don't quite know how to evaluate AI and its implications even if there are answers of how to actually evaluate it.”

The recommendations and guidance provided will impact rank-and-file faculty members, but also must be understood by deans, presidents, and provosts in higher ed, the faculty members said.

Seshaiyer said, “This could have impact across the curriculum. Should I change the content or the way I teach a class? Do I need to go back because maybe I was doing it all wrong or I thought I was doing it right? So, if I were to put my money into the recommendations, it would be training, training, training,”

The task force members are currently working on creating a draft of emergent themes on opportunities, issues, and executive order responsibilities. They have not yet been told what their timeframe is or the expected length of service.

Topics

Artifical Intelligence

SCHEV

Machine Learning

Faculty and Staff News

Mason’s success highlighted during SCHEV visit

Colleen Rich — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 20:34:16 +0000

Mason’s success highlighted during SCHEV visit Colleen Rich Wed, 03/20/2024 - 16:34

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Gregory Washington

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) met this week at ��AV, where Mason President Gregory Washington shared Mason successes and urged the group to work with state government officials to formulate a more equitable funding model for the state’s public four-year universities.

President Gregory Washington with Mason students pianist GaYoung Lee (left) and soprano Jamilah Barnes. Lee and Barnes gave a performance during the SCHEV visit. Photo provided

When state and tuition funding are combined, Mason receives more than $6,000 less per in-state student compared to the mean of its five doctoral peer institutions in the commonwealth. Mason is the largest and most diverse public four-year university in Virginia, and Washington emphasized its role as an innovation leader in the Washington, D.C., corridor, one of the nation’s major economic hubs.

“It’s incredibly important that the most technically rich and savvy region in the state have a major research institution that is supported, and supported at a high level,” Washington said during his presentation to SCHEV members on Tuesday morning in Merten Hall at the Fairfax Campus. “Not just the state depends on it. The country actually does as well.”

SCHEV meets six times per year, including twice on the campuses of public universities. Its two-day gathering this week was its first on a Mason campus since 2015.

Using data from a recent SCHEV “fact pack” analysis of Virginia’s public four-year institutions by Boston Consulting Group, Washington highlighted several Mason accomplishments with SCHEV members, including enrollment growth, acceptance and completion rates, affordability, efficiency, state economic impact, and other factors. Washington also cited the university’s state-leading rankings in innovation and social mobility and its emergence this year as a top-50 public university.

One of the fact-pack findings that made an impression on SCHEV officials was that 73% of in-state Mason graduates stay in Virginia—3% higher than public four-year institutions in the state—and 29% of out-of-state students remain in Virginia after graduation, 9% higher than the state average.

Washington encouraged SCHEV members to continue to produce data that provides an accurate portrayal of the value provided by Mason and the university’s importance to student success and commonwealth prosperity.

“We need advocacy, not just with the state government, but also beyond,” Washington said. “People listen to SCHEV. People outside of this state hear what you all say and that’s incredibly important. We need you focused on providing data to our institutions and state government so that our elected officials make decisions based on factual information.”

“The reality is we are in a global race for talent. And the winners of that global race will be those institutions that create…not just the very, very thin margin of the best minds, but many, many, many capable minds that can be focused on the global grand challenges. We believe that there’s not an institution better positioned in this state.”

The SCHEV meeting Tuesday also featured reports from its Student Advisory Committee, a group that includes student representatives from colleges and universities around the state. Committee co-chairs from Norfolk State, Central Virginia Community College, and William & Mary, as well as Mason Student Body President Paul Wyche, addressed campus safety, mental health, college affordability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion issues.

“Forty thousand students—40,000,” SCHEV chair Ken Ampy noted in his opening remarks Tuesday. “Outstanding growth here at George Mason. The second thing I will say is cyber security engineering. That program was the first of its kind in the country, and now other programs are modeled after it….Kudos again to the outstanding things going on here.”

On Monday, SCHEV members took a bus tour of the Fairfax Campus, led by University Libraries archivist Bob Vay. The tour concluded at the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial for a talk by Mason integrative studies and history professor Wendi Manuel-Scott.

Topics

Campus News

SCHEV