The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Carleton College a grant of $150,000 for the project “Navigating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Liberal Arts Education.” With the support of Mellon Foundation funding, the project will enable Carleton faculty members to anticipate the challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence (AI) will be presenting for the College curriculum, for graduates, and for society as a whole.
The Carleton AI project advances the College’s strategic goal of remaining at the forefront of liberal arts teaching and learning. In his request to the Foundation, President Poskanzer wrote: “Advances in the development of artificial intelligence and expansion of the internet into almost all areas of life and society are arguably among the most important factors transforming how we live and work. As AI becomes ubiquitous in every area of social and academic activity, we shall need to draw on the insights of humanistic disciplines to understand, embrace, and value the kinds of thinking, learning, and actions that make us distinctively human.”
Dean of the College Beverly Nagel will be working with faculty to implement project strategies related to “Navigating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Liberal Arts Education.” In workshops, seminars, and symposia, faculty will explore the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence in disciplines, economy, and society. As a result of the initiative, faculty will identify and refine liberal arts strategies that will contribute to the excellence and distinction of Carleton College at a crucial time of change in higher education. In support of the project, the College will hire at least one new faculty member to provide leadership and coordination for College efforts involving AI.
The project, says President Poskanzer, will provide a crucial outcome related to the College’s strategic goal of improving liberal arts teaching and learning: “As Carleton faculty survey the many critical issues of our time, the issue of artificial intelligence is likely to be involved in all of these, including health, nutrition, international development, and environmental protection. Our students will surely need to prepare to grapple with the theory and practice of artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies, as they become leaders in their communities and professions. Liberal arts colleges have a responsibility—and strategic opportunity—to prepare students to engage these issues.”