by Isabelle Camoin ’26 on October 30, 2025
News
Last Wednesday, Oct. 22, the Dialogue, Inclusion, and Democracy Lab hosted a dialogue in Moore Hall 125: “AI Unpacked: A Dialogue about Ethics, Impact, and our Responsibility.” The event, structured as a World Café dialogue, brought together professors, faculty, and students to discuss the reality of what our classrooms on campus are facing and the societal implications of using artificial intelligence. Professors, faculty, and students from various departments and areas of study— ranging from marketing and finance to arts and the humanities—came together to discuss how AI is being used in the classroom, whether as a supplement to learning or not. Different topics of discussion presented in the World Café format included: the rapid growth of AI, relationships to AI, AI and its social impact, and policy around AI on the PC campus.
The event opened with an introduction from Yessenia Tavarez ’27, a D.I.D. Lab fellow who shared background on why they were hosting the event and setting community guidelines for engaging in respectful conversation with one another. Ultimately, the style of conversation was chosen to allow for a space where everyone could express their perspectives and concerns, and ask questions. Tavarez also presented some of the D.I.D. wall responses that have been written around campus in response to the question, “Do you use AI? What are its implications?”, opening the floor for attendees to discuss the answers. In particular, some were concerned by the response, “I use it for therapy.”
Attendees rotated their discussion topics, giving the opportunity to integrate conversations of classroom experience and the technicalities of how AI has come to the forefront of most discussions outside of the college campus. During the final 10 minutes of the event, each group gave a recap of the overall takeaways in their discussion.
The table discussing our relationship to AI reflected on the demands of academic culture and the pressure to complete too many assignments leading to the use of AI to shortcut time as a means of completion. The table discussing social impact highlighted being able to think for yourself and the hindrance of this exercise when using AI.
The table discussing policy explored how AI is integrated into classroom policy and the need for a transparent understanding when providing guidelines on how to use AI. One professor shared that their policy was created and agreed upon by the class in the first week, with the understanding that AI can be used as a prompt for generating research, but not as a replacement for original thought. A student shared that there was an unequal footing in the classroom when assignments were graded because all other students had used ChatGPT to curate the assignment, while they did not.
A general understanding amongst most professors was that there has been no clear guidance on how to go about navigating the reality of this rapidly developing technology. Many professors and faculty expressed that they have not had sufficient training in understanding and using AI outside of what students have shown them. Peter Rogers, head of research in the Phillips Memorial Library, shared a multitude of insights on the different platforms and ways to use and understand AI in an academic setting. He also called attention to the work the library has done in sharing helpful tips amidst the confusion on when and how AI can be used in classwork. There are two pages on the Phillips Memorial website that one can look to if they are interested: one titled Generative AI and another titled AI and the Research Process. Both pages explore how AI works, what its purpose is, and some guidelines on best practices if one were to choose to use AI for assistance.
Ultimately, the spectrum of how and if AI has a place on campus varies based on the area of study and one’s perspective. The multiple conversations held on campus in the past week on this issue demonstrate the necessity to develop a collective understanding of how to move forward. Questions brought forth in the event that could be worth considering include: “How has AI changed the way we interact with technology in the past few years?”, “What are some examples of AI applications that aren’t chatbots (like ChatGPT)?”, “What are your reasons for using AI for assignments and studying?”, “Is AI changing our relationship with learning?”, “Has its accessibility decreased the value of scholarly information?”, “What policies do you know to already exist in regards to AI?”, and “Is there a need for a transparent policy of AI use in the classroom?” It was a thoughtful conversation that engaged a lot of people’s concerns and is worth continuing it in the future.