Statement Release at IGF Kyoto

With artificial intelligence broadening its impact on all aspects of life, Elon University leaders have coordinated development of a statement of principles to guide higher education institutions as they prepare humanity for the revolution brought about by this rapidly evolving and groundbreaking technology.

The statement was co-authored by Elon President Connie Ledoux Book, Elon scholar-in-residence Lee Rainie and Professor Divina Frau-Meigs of Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and has generated feedback and support from higher education organizations, leaders and scholars from around the world.

The authors were joined by fellow scholars on Monday, Oct. 9, in Kyoto, Japan, at the 18th annual United Nations Internet Governance Forum. They led a discussion about the multitude of ways higher education institutions can develop artificial intelligence literacy and commit to serving society’s best interests as these technologies continue to expand.

Book explained that the six principles offered in the statement embody a call for the higher education community to be an integral partner in development and governance of AI.

“The statement provides a framework for leaders at colleges and universities around the world as they develop strategies to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” Book said during the session, which generated in-person and online attendees from around the globe. “At Elon University, faculty are adapting the statement as they create policies on AI and design new approaches to teaching and learning.” (See an Elon University white paper on generative AI strategy)

The six foundational principles that are outlined in the statement are:

1. People, not technology, must be at the center of our work
2. We should promote digital inclusion within and beyond our institutions
3. Digital and information literacy is an essential part of a core education
4. AI tools should enhance teaching and learning
5. Learning about technologies is an experiential, lifelong process
6. AI research and development must be done responsibly

The statement issues a call for the higher education community, and not just those within traditional technology fields, to be deeply involved in the development of governance mechanisms for AI, mechanisms that should be crafted by multiple stakeholders.

“Educators in all fields are well suited to provide intellectual and ethical guidance, conduct much-needed research, serve as trustworthy watchdogs and be advocates for learners, teachers and society,” the statement reads.

Rainie joined Elon this year as scholar-in-residence after serving for 24 years as director of internet and technology research at the Pew Research Center. He has also been a research partner for Elon’s Imagining the Internet Center for more than 20 years. At the session in the Kyoto International Convention Center, Rainie explained that the six principles bring time-tested truths to artificial intelligence and are essential for maintaining human rights, human autonomy and human dignity.

“Clearly, we are at a singular moment now as AI spreads through our lives,” Rainie said. “In the past, tools and machines were created to enhance or surpass the physical capacities of humans. The advent of AI brings technologies that enhance or surpass our cognitive capacities.”

Rainie has begun his work at Elon with a research survey of global experts and the general public in the United States to explore the views of both groups about how the benefits and harms of AI may unfold in the years to come. That work, which will be released in early 2024, builds upon the decades of work of the Imagining the Internet Center to catalogue the insights of hundreds of experts about how the digital revolution impacts humanity.

Rainie noted that past surveys have generated a wide range of answers to questions about the digital revolution, but there is a universal purpose that can be seen driving those answers. “They want us to think together to devise solutions that yield the greatest possible achievements with the least possible pain,” Rainie said.

With the introduction of new generative AI tools such as ChatGPT in late 2022 and the increasing integration of AI technologies into a broader range of platforms, discussion around its long-term impact has exploded. Given the increasing complexity of AI systems and the newness of the technology, those discussions have often foster panic upon many in the population.

“As researchers, we have to resist the panic, the current panic about AI systems and the fact they might produce superintelligence that is more intelligent than us,” said Frau-Meigs, who serves as the UNESCO chair for Savoir-Devenir in sustainable digital development. “We need to lift fear and anxiety. … we as universities have to come up with solutions for learners worldwide.”

Frau-Meigs said it is important to promote media and information literacy first to create a familiarity with concepts and issues that allows larger segments of the public to move on to AI literacy. “We want to leave a space for understanding and for adoption,” she said.

Joining the statement authors for Monday’s session were other scholars from a range of disciplines who examined how higher education can proactively engage in AI governance and development.

Alejandro Pisanty, a member of the Internet Hall of Fame and professor of internet governance and the information society at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said the ongoing development of AI is having an impact on higher education by drawing talent away from university research centers. “First-world countries are seeing what we have suffered from in developing countries for decades, which is brain drain,” said Pisanty, a member of the Internet Hall of Fame.

That makes it important for higher education to take a proactive role in the development and governance of AI in the years ahead. “The highest cost we would incur is the cost of doing nothing,” he said.

Francisca Oladipo, vice chancellor and professor of computer science at Thomas Adewumi University in Nigeria similarly warned against inaction and the temptation to think that the issues surrounding AI are only related to this in fields related to technology and computer science.

“In Nigeria, we have viewed AI as something for computer people, but that’s no longer the case,” Oladipo said. “We need to be more inclusive to embrace everyone because the application of AI is across every field.”

Eve Gaumond, a law researcher at the University of Montreal Public Law Research Center is focused on artificial intelligence in higher education, freedom of expression in a digital context and access to justice. She said it is crucial that those developing AI systems in higher education have a deep understanding of the technologies and ask good questions. “Oftentimes ed tech looks like modern snake oil,” Gaumond said. “And modern snake oil can have real negative impacts. The datafication of students’ lives can discourage them from engaging in meaningful, formative experiences, and it’s especially worrisome when we know that the data starts being collected as early as primary level and continue following them through high school and university.”

Siva Prasad Rambhatla, retired professor and leader of the Centre for Digital Learning, Training and Resources at at the University of Hyderabad, India, discussed the digital divide and the disparities between the “Global South” and the “Global North.”

“So the challenges are real and they require multidisciplinary approaches,” Rambhatla said. “We need to have local AI models of learning, because there can’t be universal kind of content. Most of the things are local, therefore what we need is a local knowledge, local content, and that needs to be given in order to make people to learn better about it. Because problems are a local and solutions can be only local.”

Wayne Wei Wang, a member of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Data and Artificial Intelligence Governance, teaching fellow at the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) think tank in Brazil, and doctoral student at the University of Hong Kong School of Law, discussed issues related to fair use and copyright law, as well as misinformation and fake research with bogus citations, which has implications for scientific discovery.

The final panelist was IGF 2023 Youth Trustee from Brazil, Renata de Oliveira Miranda Gomes, who recently earned a master’s degree in communication at the University of Brasilia.

“I’m aware of arguments that point out how AI can facilitate plagiarism, or cutting corners when used in assignments,” Gomes said. “However … it can also make your online life easier. It can be a tool to develop critical thinking and analytical skills. My argument is that educators and students should work together, and the principles here presented (in the statement) are proposing to find solutions that can help all parties involved.”

Here is a full video of the IGF session: