AI at FSU

Welcome to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) pages of the Fayetteville State University website. These pages provide a central location for information about AI, guidance about AI use, and resources to help students, faculty, staff, and administrators make use of this new software tool that is transforming higher education. 

This site will grow as we incorporate more information, guidance, and resources.

What is AI?

According to Bowen and Watson (2024), AI "refers to the ability of computer systems to mimic human intelligence."* Although the term was coined as early as 1956, AI burst onto the public stage in 2022, when OpenAI released ChatGPT, the first AI software product available for the mass market. ChatGPT was trained to recognize ordinary language, to analyze prompts written in ordinary language, and to respond in ordinary language. ChatGPT could use the vast archive of information on which it was trained to provide focused, relevant, and creative responses to prompts it was given. OpenAI provided a version of its software for free, and ChatGPT quickly became one of the most widely adopted software programs in history. ChatGPT was soon joined by other AI software programs such as Gemini (from Google), LLaMA (from Meta), Perplexity, etc. Microsoft has used ChatGPT to power its AI tool Copilot. AI has been incorporated into other software such as Grammarly. AI has quickly become embedded in a wide variety of app- and web-based platforms.

How Does AI Affect Higher Education?

At its core, Artificial Intelligence has the potential to address some of education's biggest challenges including the acceleration of skill acquisiton and the innovatioin of teaching and learning. AI is unlocking new ways to create, learn and teach at a pace that could only previously be imagined. AI is affecting everything in our lives from how we teach, learn, work, create and even how we live. Understanding AI’s role and impact is crucial for everyone. At FSU, our initiatives are focusing on how AI can enhance and improve teaching and learning and to augment our operations and provide value added improvements to what we are already doing well, By engaging with AI, it is our goal to foster learning, curiosity and informed decision making campus wide, while still considering the ethical implications that come with the use of AI.

Site Map

The FSU AI site consists of the following pages:

*José Antonio Bowen & C. Edward Watson. (2024).Teaching with AI : A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning.Johns Hopkins University Press.