by Mark James Miller, PFA President

“Open AI Announces New Model That Can Reason”

“Open AI’s New Model Leverages Claim of Thought”

“How To Prompt The New ChatGPT”

           There’s no escaping AI these days.  Everyday, it seems, a new and more powerful AI system is announced.  Last week Oprah Winfrey hosted a special on AI:  “AI and the Future of Us,” featuring the likes of Bill Gates and Sam Altman, informing us of what we can expect of AI in the future, both the good and the bad.  And on a daily basis we hear more of what AI can do in terms of writing student essays, solving mathematical equations, and taking on tasks that once required human effort.  Where will it end, and more to the point, what does it mean for us as part-time community college teachers, counselors, and librarians?

            AI is here to stay, and we can either embrace it and inasmuch as it is in our power make it work for us, or we can oppose it and do as the Luddites did in the early 19^th Century and try to drive it away.  (The Luddites were English textile workers whose livelihoods were threatened by the introduction of mechanized looms and knitting frames into their factories.  Needless to say, their efforts to hold back the new means of production came to naught.)  Since the latter approach is doomed to fail, it appears the best course is to learn all we can about AI, what it has to offer both to us and our students, and see where that will take us.

            To this end, the PFA has applied for, and received, a grant from the American Federation of Teachers to enable our members to learn what we can about the latest classroom technology and of course, Artificial Intelligence.  What would you like to learn about AI?  What new classroom technology do you think we need to know about?  What are the best ways we can go about educating our members on the ins and outs of these new challenges?  I would like to hear from you, our members and fellow part-time academic workers, on these questions and any others you can think of.  All this is still in the planning stages, so the sooner you can get your thoughts to me the better.