Sacramento State starts institute devoted to the use of AI in education

Randy Diamond
·2 min read

Sacramento State has started a new institute devoted to the use of artificial intelligence in education.

The university announced Thursday that The National Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Education will offer training to facility members and students studying to become teachers.

Another big focus for the institute will be teaching the ethical use of the technology.

University officials said the institute is one of the first in the nation to focus on AI and education and will begin offering programs in the spring 2024 semester.

Sacramento State President Luke Wood appointed Alexander M. “Sasha” Sidorkin, the dean of Sacramento State’s College of Education, to head the new institute.

Sidorkin said the institute is needed because of artificial intelligence’s quick rise.

“Artificial intelligence technology is here and advancing rapidly, so we have the responsibility as educators to prepare students for the world they live in, not one from the past,” Sidorkin said.

He said that the university will hire seven new faculty members in the Department of Computer Sciences, focusing on AI and quantum computing as part of the new initiative.

While the faculty isn’t expected to start until the fall, Sidorkin said existing university staff would conduct seminars on AI next semester, educating both students and faculty.

He said once the faculty starts, the immediate emphasis will be on research and educational programs for the university community.

He said formal AI courses for students will be started at some point, but no timetable has been established.

Sidorkin said the institute will not be granting degrees.

Sidorkin is the author of the forthcoming book “Embracing Chadbods in Higher Education: The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Teaching, Administration and Scholarship.” The book is scheduled to be released in 2024.

University President Wood said in a statement that AI will transform every part of society, making it important to consider its implications.

“Every futuristic movie–like ‘The Terminator’ and ‘The Matrix’ — focuses on what happens when AI goes bad,” he said. ”The only way to ensure the fast-moving technology is properly harnessed for good is to be hands in the building of new policy, curriculum and ethically incorporating AI into the classroom.”