ChatGPT and DEI

It's been quite some time since a technology has been introduced that so thoroughly captured the interest, inspection, concern, and contempt of society as ChatGPT. The rise of AI has drawn attention and concern from all corners of the internet and speculation as to it's benefits and risks in a wide array of fields. We find ourselves concerned about automation and unemployment, privacy, changes to our job responsibilities, automated coding, and even the creation of recipes and workout plans. Most troubling to many educators is the potential that AI has to encourage cheating. Why write your own English essay when you can ask ChatGPT to do it? Why fill out your own college application essays when you can ask ChatGPT to do it?

These are all very interesting ethical, moral, and economic questions. However, I've found myself wondering about the implications that AI has on the DEI (diversity, equity, & inclusion) work being done at universities and companies all around the world. AI presents some interesting opportunities and pitfalls for social justice work on college campuses. I'd like to explore some of these ideas in the next few days, and I welcome your thoughts as well.

Communication

Let's start with communication. Colleges and universities have stumbled in some pretty spectacular ways when it comes to effectively communicating a commitment to social justice. They have hired countless professionals and firms, conducted focus groups, sent out surveys, and reached out to community organizations. Interestingly, most of the statements still seem to sound the same. Since these AI technologies are drawing on available human knowledge that can be searched, it stands to reason that it would be similarly capable of generating a diversity mission statement. I was recently granted access to Google's Bard AI, so I thought I'd give it a spin.

My request to Bard: I would like to read an ideal diversity mission statement for a public land grant university.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Bard's response:

Diversity Mission Statement

The University of [insert name] is a public land-grant university committed to providing access to higher education and a transformative learning experience for all students. We believe that a diverse and inclusive campus community is essential to our mission of teaching, research, and service. We are committed to creating a campus where all students, faculty, and staff feel welcome, valued, and respected.

To achieve this goal, we will:

• Promote diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our university life, including admissions, hiring, and retention.
• Provide support and resources for students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Engage in community outreach and partnerships to promote diversity and inclusion in our region.

We believe that a diverse and inclusive campus community is essential to our success as a university. We are committed to creating a campus where all students, faculty, and staff can thrive and reach their full potential.

Specific Actions

To achieve our diversity mission, we will take the following specific actions:

• Increase the number of students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Provide support and resources for students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds, including mentoring, scholarships, and cultural awareness training.
• Engage in community outreach and partnerships to promote diversity and inclusion in our region.
• Evaluate our progress on a regular basis and make adjustments as needed.

We believe that these actions will help us create a more diverse and inclusive campus community that is essential to our success as a university.

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Does the statement sound familiar? Have you seen similar language at your university or organization? What does it say about our expressed commitments to DEI that the language has become so seemingly generic? We'll explore these questions and more as we continue our DEI AI journey tomorrow!