AI Task Force Announcement
Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,
Recent advancements in Artificial intelligence (AI) have made it a hot topic in higher education. We are writing to share with you a new University-wide task force focused on developing best practices and shared approaches around the use of AI at Brandeis.
Brandeis remains committed to engaging with new technologies like AI across education, research, and university administration, by providing the community with the knowledge they need to be successful in their academic, creative, and administrative endeavors. While this particular technology presents many opportunities for innovation in a university, it also presents challenges in areas such as academic integrity, teaching & learning, intellectual property, and data security. Like many of our peer institutions, we have been formulating guidance on positive ways to engage with in classwork, research, and administration. Many areas at Brandeis are already developing similar initiatives and policies, however, most of these efforts are independent and their goals vary widely. Some areas have already started to use AI.
In response to the fast-paced nature of AI, a set of interim recommendations have already been developed by a working group on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning, which was formed in fall 2023 at the request of the Provost and managed by Irina Dubinina, Professor of Russian and Director of the Russian Language Program. The work that this group has completed is comprehensive and will be invaluable as we set the stage for the next phase of how Brandeis plans to manage AI use amongst our community.
To this end, we are convening a new Task Force for AI composed of faculty and staff experts from across the University in consultation with other stakeholders to develop a coordinated approach, set best practices, develop clear workflows, and ensure the safe and responsible use of generative AI for our community. The work from this task force will help to further the goals of Brandeis surrounding the use of AI across all disciplines while ensuring that policies or procedures developed at the University align with the values and strategic plan of Brandeis.
This task force will work closely with existing governing bodies at Brandeis such as the Academic Technology Advisory Committee, Information Technology Advisory Committee, Data Governance Program, Committee on Academic Standards and Policy, and others to provide the support needed to manage the effective use of AI in their endeavors and those they support across Brandeis.
The charge to the task force will include the following:
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Gather information about existing and upcoming initiatives across Brandeis and those being implemented at other major institutions.
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Create a set of recommended best practices, procedures, and workflows that can be adopted university-wide regarding the acquisition and use of AI platforms by students, faculty, and staff, and provide an education platform to help prevent misuse of these technologies; working with ITS Security and Brandeis Data Trustees and Stewards to ensure the safety and security of Brandeis data.
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Provide guidance for the prioritization of wide-reaching AI product acquisitions, projects, and initiatives being developed by departments on campus or being brought to various Brandeis governance committees and working groups. Work with existing IT and university governance bodies to ensure new policies, procedures, and workflows fit into their existing structures.
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Develop recommendations for how generative AI can be used to amplify teaching and learning outcomes, for faculty and student research, and for staff administrative tasks and projects.
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Act as the primary point of contact for taking requests or suggestions from the community and for reporting to or taking requests from the Provost and the EVP.
The efforts the task force will undertake are complex and will involve faculty and staff from across all of Brandeis. This is a high-level group that will reach out to other members of the Brandeis community as questions and solutions arise. This is an evolving issue and the membership of the task force will change as we learn more.
We would like to thank, in advance, the members of the task force for their service and give special acknowledgement to Matthew Sheehy, University Librarian, and Steve Knowles, Director for Strategic Outreach and Engagement at ITS who have agreed to serve as co-chairs.
Brandeis University AI Task Force
Co-Chairs:
Matthew Sheehy, University Librarian
Steven Knowles, Director of Strategic Outreach & Engagement, ITS
Current Members:
Irina Dubinina, Professor of Russian and Director of the Russian Language Program
Laura Hibbler, Deputy University Librarian
Ian Rifkin, Director, Data and Systems Integration
David Albrecht, Chief Information Security Officer
Scott Moore, Associate Director, English Language Programs, Lecturer in University Writing
Ezra Tefera, MD, MSc. Program Director RJxTP, Heller School
Nianwen Xue, Professor in the Computer Science Department and the Language and Linguistics Program
Rajnish Kaushik, Director of Licensing and Strategic Alliances, Office of Technology Licensing
Sincerely,
Carol A. Fierke, Ph.D, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Stew Uretsky, EVP Finance and Administration