In theater, humans tell stories through their bodies as the instrument of the art form, Emily Roxworthy, dean of the School of Dramatic Arts, said. With the advent of generative artificial intelligence, she said that the tool could be used to fully focus on the human element of creativity.  

Roxworthy is one of fifteen members of the AI Strategy Committee interim President Beong-Soo Kim announced in an Aug. 23 memo, that will create the guidelines for generative AI use in the classroom. 

As the summit nears, the Daily Trojan interviewed five members of the AI Strategy Committee to understand the perspectives that members are bringing to the dialogue of integrating generative AI into education.

Geoffrey Garrett, dean of the Marshall School of Business, said the goal of the Committee isn’t to push every USC student to become a computer scientist. Instead, Garrett said he was interested in hearing how professors across disciplines could integrate AI into their fields. 

“If machines do more things that humans used to do, what’s left for the humans is to be human and to be better humans,” said Garrett, the chair of the committee. “We’ve got to think really hard about responsible AI, but we also have a responsibility to our students, to our staff, to faculty, to help everybody be super users of the technology, because the technology is genuinely transformative.” 

Garrett said it was important to be aware of the ethical issues AI raises, including in intellectual property and sustainability. However, he said the way forward wasn’t to ban AI, but to think critically alongside students about what a human leader will look like in an AI age.

“We couldn’t say, for example, that ‘We have concerns about AI, so let’s just not include it. Let’s make USC an AI-free zone,’” Garrett said. “As you will leave the University and enter the world out there, everyone’s going to expect you to have lots of [familiarity] with AI tools.”

Shrikanth Narayanan, Nikias Chair in Engineering at Viterbi School of Engineering, also said that USC should not shy away from AI. Instead, Narayanan said that students and professors should explore how to make AI an accessible tool for learning and creating alongside each other. 

“I’m hoping that students will not just play a role, but lead. … That has been the way we can be a contributor, not just a consumer, of this AI revolution,” Narayanan said. “It’s very Trojan to really think and create, make and break, and create newer things at USC without boundaries.”

Roxworthy said AI can pose a threat to many artists, but she wants it to be used as an important tool for unique expression.

“My vision is that AI will allow us to really focus on what is unique about being a human,” Roxworthy said. “Some sort of collaboration where AI actually allows human actors and other dramatic artists, designers, stage managers, writers, [and] directors, to focus fully on the human element of what we do, and hopefully use AI as tools to unleash even more creativity.” 

Roxworthy also said that while she acknowledged students’ use of AI when completing coursework, it’s important to assign students meaningful projects that can only be done with a human touch.“If an assignment [or] if a project can be cheated through AI … it wasn’t a good assignment to begin with. … Your presence in the learning experience should make a difference,” Roxworthy said. 

Gaurav Sukhatme, executive vice dean at Viterbi, said he hopes that AI will make learning easier and allow students to utilize their time better.

“I view [the rise of AI in education] as one of those pivotal moments where maybe some of the more routine aspects of learning you can get a lot more assistance on, which frees you up to think more critically … [and] do more analysis,” Sukhatme said.

Morteza Dehghani, professor of psychology and computer science at Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, said he worried about the balance between embracing AI and keeping students’ coursework humanly unique. 

“There’s a certain type of reasoning that is pushed from these AI models onto us, and that’s going to erode the beautiful diversity that exists, not just at USC, but within human societies,” Dehghani said. 

Dehghani said that during the growth of generative AI usage, general education should be emphasized, where all students are exposed to areas in the liberal arts and humanities. 

“It is my strong opinion that now, more than ever, we need liberal arts. We need to focus more on educating students about generally, liberal arts, …. philosophy, about history, about writing literature,” Deghani said. 

In the future, the committee will host an AI Summit on Nov. 11 where students, experts in the AI industry, faculty and staff can come together to brainstorm the best ways for USC to effectively implement AI in education. The committee also plans on hosting campus-wide workshops for faculty Nov. 13 to help them integrate AI into their teaching. 

Garrett hopes USC can leverage AI to create new programs and experiential learning opportunities for students, and members plan on incorporating AI into current courses and creating new classes that teach students how to use AI effectively.