What really matters is top-down management intent. Scott Strobel has been the Provost of Yale since 2020. As a successful science researcher and Caltech graduate he understands the technology and has sought, through his Yale Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, recommendations that were delivered in June. It has taken only tw0 months to get a plan and funding in place. That is impressive.
He has no doubts about the role of AI in the Yale mission…
“To fulfill the university’s mission to improve the world and prepare the next generation of society’s great leaders and thinkers, we must explore, advance, and harness AI for its benefits while providing ethical, legal, and social frameworks to address the challenges it poses.”
Yale’s Four AI-related priorities:
1. Secure access to Generative AI tools
They have their own AI platform, the Clarity Platform, which will be used to secure walled garden access to ChatGPT4o walled garden for full faculty, students & staff. They are also open to using other models in the future. Other tools will also be secured such as Microsoft Copilot & Adobe Firefly. This is real action, dissolving any issues around the digital divide and data protection. It also avoids the obvious AI on the sly problem (see later).
2. Addition of New faculty & AI seed grants
There is a clear intention to enhance curricula with AI and real grants through their Poorvu Center for Teaching & Learning to find new ways to include AI tools and content in their curricula. This is the most impressive aspect of their intent, to allow AI to enhance teaching and learning. Harvard did this in their CS50 course but this is a promise to apply it to ALL teaching and learning. In the midst of layoffs and college closures, Yale are hiring, with 20 new appointments in this area alone. It is built upon a belief that…
“Additional faculty expertise will strengthen Yale’s depth of knowledge and enhance the learning environment for students, who will be expected to understand, navigate, and make decisions about AI technologies throughout their lives and careers”
3. Enhanced Interdisciplinary collaboration
A campus-wide research symposium on AI with dig deep into how AI can be leverages across all activities within the institution. This includes money on the table with a research seed grant program. Library AI-powered tools will also be funded to increase access to relevant digital services and resources.
4. Improvements in Computing infrastructure
None of the above will happen easily without beefing up infrastructure and compute, so 450 CPUs are being bought to expand existing compute capability as well as demand-driven cloud GPU spend. This provides a secure and independent infrastructure to deliver all of the above.
AI on the SLY
Most schools and Universities, obsessed by a single issue – AI cheating for essays. Thye have started by seeing AI is the enemy, all the while sprinting to produce AI courses to attract students. While the vast majority of those students are already using AI, the institutions and most faculty remain doggedly negative.
The recent Harvard survey showed 95% using ChatGPT, 30% paying for AI subscriptions, Students felt that AI lightens their academic load and reduces their need to ask staff for help. They see the issue clearly. 45% say AI could hurt future career prospects and 20% have already changed their course paths due to AI's influence. A fascinating insight from the data was that many now have a sense of purposelessness in their education. What do they want? Free access to a paid plan for AI and consistent rules of engagement. On top of this, courses on AI, a more AI-aware career planning services and help in finding find meaning in their education.
Yale have transcended these problems by accepting that AI is here to stay and recognising that this is an important feature of all learners' education.
Conclusion
There’s MOSQUITO projects, sound buzzy but they’re short-lived, often dying as soon as funding runs out. Then TURTLE projects, duller but with substance, scalability & sustainability. They’re long-lived. You need strategic turtle projects, like Yale.
“Whether you are studying, teaching, researching, or working at Yale, I encourage you to explore the resources available now and engage with the opportunities to come” says Strobel .
This is exactly what a leader in a world-leading institution should be doing. Consulting, doing your homework, bringing people with you and then being clear about the goal and sub-goals, in line with your mission.
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