A President’s Journey to AI Adoption (opinion) – Inside Higher Ed

This post was originally published on this site.

As a university president, I’ve learned that responsible leadership sometimes means eating the proverbial dog food—testing things out myself before asking others to dive in. So, when AI began making waves and early adopters on campus started using it, I rolled up my sleeves and gave it a try.

Honestly, I was hoping it would flop, much like the overhyped MOOCs of yesteryear or previous prophecies of AI being “just around the corner” that didn’t materialize. Not because I’m a Luddite—far from it—but because the idea of integrating yet another transformative technology into work, life and play felt like too much to handle right now.

Couldn’t we just pause for a year or two?

Didn’t look like it.

Now, after more than a year of hands-on experience and completing MIT’s executive program Leading the AI-Driven Organization, this is the short version of the story of how I ate the dog food and came to savor it with gusto.

I started small by using AI to help draft responses to routine emails. I would feed it the email and prompt it for a response with a certain tone and conveying a particular message. It would instantly produce a draft, and I would give it notes on how to improve. After a couple of iterations, it was cut and paste time. As I kept at it, the AI’s need for notes diminished as it “learned” my style and values. At this point, I can feed it a full email thread, ask it for the major decision points, quickly skim the thread for accuracy, articulate my decisions and ask it for a draft response. With minimal editing, I can be hitting the send button in a small fraction of the time it would have taken me to do this on my own. This small change freed up hours each week that I can now use for the things that matter most.

As a president who still teaches an introduction to digital logic circuits course, I wanted to see how AI could enhance learning. I used ChatGPT to analyze past student performance data and create quizzes designed to assess specific learning outcomes. I also used AI to brainstorm ways to present complex concepts like finite state machines by linking course material to Gen Z cultural touch points like handheld gaming consoles and the use of graphics processing units to power AI. Students responded by performing better in projects and exams and participating more in class sessions. These experiences showed me how AI could be a bridge to span generational difference in a fun way—all in the pursuit of improved learning outcomes.

AI also helped me manage my team. During a challenging period involving conflicting viewpoints among senior administrators, I fed anonymized email threads into an AI tool that summarized key positions and highlighted shared values we could build upon. This helped to provide clarity by distilling complex arguments into actionable insights. We were able to move forward with solutions that felt fair and aligned with our institutional mission.

Encouraged, I expanded my use of AI into speechwriting. For convocation, I uploaded historical documents about our institution’s 125-year history and outlined key themes I wanted to address. The AI suggested connections between past milestones and current challenges and helped me refine a narrative that celebrated resilience while inspiring hope for the future.

What shocked me was how this process deepened my own connection to our institution’s story and values. The final speeches weren’t just polished—they felt authentic and emotionally resonant with our community—because they conveyed my sincere sentiments even if they were crafted with the aid of an editorial partner whose suggestions were void of emotions but full of clarity, precision and linguistic sophistication.

These experiments showed me how AI could be an invaluable partner in the nuanced work of academic leadership—not by replacing human judgment but by enhancing it.

For commencement speeches, I took it a step further by asking the AI to help translate my perfectly inspiring yet somber draft into Gen Z vernacular. After a few iterations, which included me working with my Gen Z social media team (after producing a viral “the president does Gen Z” Instagram post) and using AI to understand what they were talking about, I had a more accessible and engaging speech for younger audiences while still preserving my core message. “You did a big thing” became “You slayed … no cap.” Based on their comments after the event, they intuitively knew that a bot had to be involved—because the words were right, but the delivery cringe.

While much of my journey with AI has been focused on leadership and education, I’ve also explored its potential in my personal life.

These lighter, more creative applications have not only been fun but also revealed how versatile and accessible AI can be.

• Understanding my dogs’ behavior: As a dog owner who recently added a puppy to the pack, I’ve often wondered about the quirks in my dogs’ behavior. By sharing details about their habits and personalities with an AI tool, I received practical training tips and insights into their needs.
• Planning a Vegas getaway: For a New Year’s trip to Las Vegas, I turned to AI to help create a great itinerary.
• Generating funny images for kids: AI became a source of joy for my five children when I used it to generate whimsical images related to some of our favorite inside jokes. They even started responding to my texts!
• Creating songs for family and colleagues: Using tools like Sora, I experimented with generating songs for special occasions—tributes for colleagues, playful tunes for family gatherings and even a personalized song for a former editor of this publication.
• Learning about complex topics: AI has also been an incredible learning partner. I’ve used it to dive into topics like the future of artificial intelligence, philosophy, faith, quantum computing and photography in ways that are enlightening and enjoyable.

The tools I found most helpful in the beginning were simple yet powerful—you can try these out for free and subscribe for a fuller experience to those you find most helpful (typical cost: $20/month):

1. Microsoft Copilot: A productivity-focused AI assistant integrated into Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel and Teams. It streamlines tasks such as drafting emails, summarizing documents, analyzing data and generating ideas, saving users significant time and improving efficiency.
2. ChatGPT: A versatile AI chat bot by OpenAI that excels at generating human-like text responses. It’s ideal for brainstorming ideas, summarizing documents, answering questions and even creating content tailored to specific needs.
3. Claude: Developed by Anthropic, Claude is a conversational AI tool designed for tasks like text generation, summaries, brainstorming and problem-solving. It’s known for its ability to process large amounts of information with a focus on transparency and ethical AI principles.
4. Perplexity: A research-focused AI assistant that provides direct answers with citations. It’s great for summarizing content, conducting fact-checking, organizing information and answering real-time questions with contextual insights.
5. Notebook LM: Google’s AI-powered tool for document interaction and content synthesis. It can summarize documents, generate FAQs or study guides, and even create audio overviews (podcasts!) from text-based content while ensuring data privacy.

I also turned to podcasts to stay informed and inspired during my journey:

1. Hard Fork: Hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, this podcast explores the cutting edge of technology, including AI, social media and the future of tech, with curiosity, humor and sharp analysis.
2. The TWIML AI Podcast: Hosted by Sam Charrington, this podcast features deep dives into machine learning and AI applications through interviews with top researchers, practitioners and innovators in the field.
3. AI Unleashed: Hosted by Gianni Samwer, this podcast focuses on responsible AI adoption, exploring ethical challenges, real-world use cases and strategies for ensuring AI is used safely and effectively across industries.

Reading has always been a cornerstone of my learning process, and these books profoundly shaped my understanding of AI:

1. Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, by Max Tegmark: A visionary exploration of AI’s potential to reshape humanity’s future. Tegmark blends scientific insight, speculative scenarios and ethical considerations to examine how AI could impact consciousness, society and global decision-making.
2. The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values, by Brian Christian: A deep dive into the ethical challenges of ensuring AI systems align with human values. Christian combines history, on-the-ground reporting and technical insights to explore the risks and solutions surrounding machine learning’s unintended consequences.
3. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working With AI, by Ethan Mollick: A practical guide to collaborating with AI as a co-worker, coach and creative partner. Mollick provides actionable advice on integrating AI into daily tasks while emphasizing the importance of human oversight and ethical considerations.
4. The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century’s Greatest Dilemma, by Mustafa Suleyman: A thought-provoking analysis of emerging technologies like AI, synthetic biology and quantum computing. Suleyman discusses their transformative potential and ethical challenges while proposing strategies for containing their risks to ensure a balanced future.

While these tools, podcasts and books were invaluable, I’ve realized that success with AI is less about the specific tools you use and more about the mindset you bring to them. I approached AI as a curious learner—just as I want my students to do. I experimented, make mistakes and learned as I went along.

I’ve come to think of AI not as a replacement for my expertise but as an augmentation—a partner to help me focus on what truly matters so I can do my job, and live my life, better. Even if my puppy is still eating my wife’s shoes.