CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is hosting an AI Basecamp event, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21 in Del Norte Hall to give the campus and community a chance to assess the impact and explore the uses and concerns over Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“We’re calling it a base camp (as opposed to a summit) because as far as AI has come in such a brief period of time, it still feels like a moment where we’re just beginning,” said Lorna Gonzalez assistant vice resident of Digital Learning.
“An event like this is meant to bring our community together to hear about what’s happening regionally and to have a shared experience about something that has been highly disruptive and will continue to be,” Gonzalez said.
The event is a public inquiry into the uses and effects of AI on regional business, health care and education.
The in-person event is filled, but the public is invited to watch a livestream of the event.
“AI is going to be and already is transformative in so many aspects of our lives,” said Jill Leafsted, CSUCI dean of Extended University and Digital Learning. “It’s developing faster than we’ve seen any other form of available technology.
“We need more people to be exposed to and asking more questions about AI. I think education plays a role in informing our region about these technologies.”
The day will open with remarks from CSUCI President Richard Yao, followed by a panel of speakers from the regional workforce, including executives from Cottage Health and The Trade Desk as well Tom McCoy, the superintendent of the Oxnard Union High School District.
The second panel of speakers will be comprised of CSUCI students, including the CSUCI student government president, two incoming first-year students, a graduating senior, and a master’s degree student.
“They will talk about their experience so far with AI, how they’re learning about it, their concerns, their hopes, and how it’s preparing them for the workforce,” Leafstedt said.
The third panel will be faculty members from CSUCI discussing how they have integrated AI into their teaching.
Five breakout sessions after lunch will go further into the integration of AI into higher education with subjects ranging from using AI to analyze student data to deep fakes to AI bias. Sessions will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Del Norte Hall.
Gonzalez acknowledged that there is a lot of concern about AI — how effective it is or is not, and whether it will replace the human worker.
“It can’t do your job as well as you can,” Gonzalez said. “What it can do is help you do your job better than you do.
“When people are speaking out of fear, they typically haven’t tried AI themselves. The more you try it, the more you see its possibilities and limitations.”
Registration for the livestream is available online.