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Schools embed ‘algorithmic bias,’ ‘social good,’ ‘equity’ into AI initiatives
Programs at colleges and universities are incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, principles into artificial intelligence research and education, a watchdog group report found.
The Defending Education investigation highlights AI hubs at schools, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California Berkeley, Columbia University, Virginia State University, and Morgan State University. Defending Education argues that these programs could influence how AI is developed and used as educators increasingly adopt the technology.
According to the watchdog group, some universities embed concepts such as “algorithmic bias,” “social good,” and “equity” into their AI initiatives.
“Algorithmic bias is associated with the claim that AI systems are typically created by white or Asian men, and as a result, the answers that AI systems may provide to students or educators will be influenced by these specific white and Asian men who created them,” Defending Education states.
For example, the UC Berkeley AI Research Lab hosts an initiative that aims to “to drive critical research, innovation and collaboration towards responsible and equitable AI.”
Genevieve Smith, founding director of the Responsible AI Initiative, told The College Fix via email that researchers examine ethical decision-making and linguistic bias in artificial intelligence.
“You can see our research published on topics, such as ethical decision-making regarding AI in workplaces or linguistic bias in ChatGPT,” she said.
She also pointed to MIT’s Gender Shades project, which exposed racial and gender error rates in facial-recognition software, and studies on racial bias in healthcare algorithms, as key examples of the field’s work.
“I would also suggest learning more about the ways that machine learning and AI systems work to understand how these issues, including related to performance discrepancies, manifest,” she said.
The Defending Education report also highlights MIT’s Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education, known as RAISE.
The initiative offers research-based AI curricula for K-12 students and includes lessons that address ethics and “algorithmic bias” in AI.
Further, Columbia University hosts an AI for Social Good and Society initiative, which describes its work as advancing research, education, and training at the intersection of artificial intelligence and social good. One project examines how AI chatbots perform for LGBTQ communities.
Virginia State University also has a Center for Responsible AI. According to Defending Education, the center’s areas of focus include digital equity and “responsible AI” applications in areas such as public administration and law. The center also works on AI education and outreach.
Morgan State University’s Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Systems focuses on developing “socially responsible and equitable” AI systems. Its work includes research and educational outreach to students and educators.
Other AI initiatives at Seattle University, Howard University, Morehouse College, and the University of Washington address topics including AI ethics, social justice, equity, “responsible AI,” and access to AI education.
Defending Education argues that these schools aim “to embed DEI into AI tools to ensure that students receive politicized answers and receive a politicized education in the nation’s classrooms.”
Casey Harper, an investigative reporter for Defending Education, said AI will play a significant role in the future of education, and that universities are attempting to influence how the technology is developed and used.
“Within a few years, a majority of classrooms will integrate AI tools in all areas of learning, from assisting students on projects to helping teachers in drafting their lesson plans. University officials understand this,” Harper told The College Fix.
“Their goal is to embed DEI into AI tools before schools adopt them in yet another attempt to institutional DEI into America’s classrooms. This cannot be allowed to continue,” she said.
Harper added that AI should empower educators to prepare students for the modern workforce, rather than serving as a vector for bad actors to influence young minds.
The debate comes as universities continue to develop protocols surrounding AI use.
For example, UC Berkeley School of Law banned students from using AI to complete coursework or exams earlier this year, The Fix previously reported.
In addition, social science Core classes at the University of Chicago will prohibit both students and instructors from using AI beginning this fall.
Meanwhile, Harvard College Dean David Deming recently suggested that students and educators use AI “writing-intensive” courses. He said this would allow professors to stay out of the “the AI-detection business,” which “damages trust between faculty and students,” according to the Harvard Crimson.
