ChatGPT is welcomed in classrooms? One professor says Why Not! 

February 26, 2024

By Kyla Pigford, Staff Writer

A new artificial intelligence course at Xavier is embracing the evolving technology instead of running away from it. “Artificial Intelligence: Rights and Responsibilities” was created to prepare Xavier students to understand the new technology, its potential, and its limitations.  

“This sounds like a media and culture type of class,” said Dr. Quincy Hodges, an assistant professor of Mass Communication who is piloting the new course this semester and is working to develop more AI courses within the major.  

Hodges said he saw how easy it was for professors to reject the idea of what AI can do for students instead of embracing it. Hodges teaches courses in media theory, ethics, and culture with classes ranging from The Black Press, to Global Media, Mass Communication Research, and Black Cinema. So, developing a course with a similar theme was a natural progression. In fact, he felt obligated to create this course.  

“I need[ed] to investigate how AI is impacting culture and society,” Hodges said.  

The course was introduced after a “mini boot camp” with the Center for Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development which was working to prepare faculty to address AI use in the classroom. In working with Mass Communication department head, Dr. Shearon Roberts, Hodges decided he wanted more majors to be prepared to use the technology responsibly, and also innovate with it. 

Artificial Intelligence or “AI” has been on the rise within the last two decades. In 2009, Google launched the first self-driving car, Amazon’s Alexa launched in 2014, and recently popular AI software ChatGPT, launched in 2022. AI has taken the world by storm, but Hodges’ course aims to answer the question, “How can we use AI as a tool instead of a dependent?”  

With immersive assignments such as using Copilot to analyze AI-created images, and ChatGPT to understand the pros and cons of AI girlfriends, the class allows students to tackle AI head-on.  

“I feel like this course will give me a step ahead [for] what’s to come from the evolving technology [of] the world,” said Anaya Dennis, a sophomore, mass communication major who added that she feels the course will prepare her for after graduation.  

With the fast-paced advancements that are shaping the future job market, Dennis feels that the AI course will give her valuable skills and perspectives that could set her apart in the world.  

“I’ll kind of already have a way to navigate and won’t be surprised,” she said.  

Hodges believes the course is just what students needed and will shape the future of mass communication education.  

“Students really need to be aware of this technology,” he said, “People are using mass communication tools to use AI.”  

He adds that there have been several incidents regarding the inappropriate use of AI in the media recently, so it is crucial for Mass Communication students to be AI literate when entering the workforce,  

“It will impact their job in some way or some fashion,” he states, “Their future communities may be consuming as they’re producing.” he adds.  

Hodges hopes the course goes beyond the Mass Communication Department and into other disciplines across Xavier’s campus. “I hope more students become interested and involved in the course. It’s so multi-faceted,” he said.