These two new Ferris State students are actually AI
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As Ferris State University gets ready for its spring semester, two virtual students will begin classes as part of a new artificial intelligence experiment.
Ferris State University offers one of three AI undergraduate programs in the entire country.
“We are leaders in the artificial intelligence area, and why not put us to the test?” said Dr. Kasey Thompson, special assistant to the president for innovation and entrepreneurship at Ferris State.
Their latest test is the development of two virtual students named Ann and Fry. The AI students, who do not currently have physical forms, will enroll as freshmen at the university this upcoming semester.
“They’re being held to the same standard that a student online or a student in that classroom would be held to,” Thompson said.
Ann and Fry will start their academic journey by taking hybrid general courses.
“They will receive all of the syllabi for the various courses that they take. They will not only interact with assignments with their professors, but they’ll also have opportunities to interact with other students in the class,” Thompson said.
To make decisions like choosing a major, the experiences of human students within Ferris State’s artificial intelligence program will play a role.
“We had our artificial intelligence students talk about some of their experiences, some of their experiences coming in as freshmen, some of their anxieties coming in as freshmen,” Thompson said. “And we actually started to use a lot of those experiences as prompts for Ann and Fry.”
Depending on which courses they choose, technology will be placed in a classroom that allows them to engage students and staff.
“There will be speech recognition, and they’ll also have the ability to respond,” Thompson said.
This is also an experiment with purpose. The data collected from Ann and Fry will help the university to better understand the experiences of non-traditional students.
“How do we challenge our faculty to teach in a way that may have to meet the needs of a student who is not going to be sitting there 10 feet from them?” Thompson said. “The whole role of a university and college is evolving to meet the needs of how society is evolving, and what we’re hoping to learn from Ann and Fry is: What does that look like? How can we make that experience better for students? The enrollment, the recruitment, the retainment of students.”
Thompson says the goal is for Ann and Fry to continue their education until they reach the doctorate level, but that will depend on how their journeys pan out.
“We know life happens, circumstances could happen. They may change majors, or they may decide to venture off into other categories,” Thompson said.
Ann and Fry do not have physical forms at this point, but Ferris State University does have roving robots available. It’s possible that they could be used for Ann and Fry in the future.
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