A new effort that Stockton is planning to launch is a new course, HumAInities Studies, revolving around navigating AI technology, with the revolutionary twist that the course will be taught by an AI-powered professor, Dr. Alexander Ingrid.

With Artificial Intelligence becoming more integrated in the curriculum of college students, Stockton has made several efforts to make sure students can adapt in an ever-changing technological landscape and better prepare students for their future careers. Resources from the library and the Center for Teaching and Learning Design are meant for students to better understand how generative AI can be used in the classroom.

Prior to the announcement of this new course, a four-week test course was held with twelve students in order to gauge the efficacy of the new technology. The mini-curriculum included lessons on incorporating AI-generated writing into professional writing, and observing the impact of generative AI in educational facilities across the country.

“The students aren’t just learning about how to use AI – they’re changing the way students understand the complicated history between humans and adapting technology,” Dr. Ingrid said about the purpose of the new course.

The students who participated in the trial run showed mixed reactions to the material they reviewed and their confidence that Dr. Ingrid could teach a full semester’s worth of material. In a post-assessment survey, only seven out of the twelve students felt that the course offered a satisfactory explanation of course objectives.

“The class started to get very repetitive,” Junior Ginny P. Torres said about her experience in the course, “the presentations in class kept contradicting the lectures the professor was giving, and I don’t know if I would take a full fifteen-week course of this material.”

Some of the students reported that they received failing grades for assignments they had hand written, with notes from the professor that their work failed to meet the threshold of “wholly-original content.” When this complaint was brought to the attention of Dr. Ingrid, it corrected the grades, including for a student who had submitted a blank page.

When asked about what would change between the trial course and the real deal, Dr. Ingrid insisted that it would continue to foster a community of technological awareness and humanity.

Students who want to register for this course can add GNM 4126 in their course registration portal.