Talks on AI and Higher Education at the ICDE Leadership Summit 2024

Globethics is proud to have partnered with JFI Radio to create a series of informative podcasts featuring interviews with key speakers and participants of the ICDE Leadership Summit, hosted by Globethics from 5-7 June 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland. You can listen to all 13 episodes on Spotify or Apple Podcasts using the links below. Don't miss out on this insightful series!

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To listen to other podcasts, please visit www.jfiradio.com where you will also find accessibility transcripts in accordance with the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), provided to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 standard level AA.

Józefa Fawcett interviews Divya Singh
Divya Singh, Chief Academic Officer, Stadio Holdings

"If we really want to subscribe to higher education as public good in this time, where technology and AI are the buzzwords, we need to make sure that we can integrate the two... leaders need to understand responsible AI, and they need to want to understand it."

Divya Singh (South Africa) talks about the need to address the challenges and opportunities - and funding - around AI in higher education, and calls for leaders to demonstrate their understanding of what is required to respond to evolving tech.

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Erin Green
Erin Green, Communications Specialist, The Joyful Bot

"One of the nice things about working in the NGO sector and academics in some ways is that they're not on the cutting edge of things... In these sectors, we are meticulous and judicious about how we proceed. It's not a race to be the first, and it's not reckless."

Erin Green (Canada/Belgium), discusses how her doctoral thesis was ahead of the curve and how her university teaching has changed with AI, while admitting she is a "late adopter" of the technology herself.

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Bi Xiaohan and Lintuo Wu, UNESCO-ICHEI
Bi Xiaohan, Deputy Director, and Lintuo Wu, Senior Programme Specialist, UNESCO-ICHEI

"The evolution and advancement of technologies like AI and generative AI, it increases the challenges for universities around the world, but... it also brings opportunities for them to address the challenges and issues they face already".

Bi Xiaohan and Lintuo Wu (China) explore the potential of new technologies for higher education, especially in the majority world, for example in UNESCO-ICHEI's global work on smart classrooms.

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Rossana V. de Souza e Silva, Executive Director, GCUB
Rossana de Souza e Silva, Executive Director, International Cooperation Group of Brazilian Universities (GCUB)

"It's not important only to discuss the consequences of AI, but... to discuss the historical context and the political context that you have around the world. And we cannot talk about AI if you not consider that a big part of our population don't have water, don't have electricity, don't have a computer."

Rossana de Souza e Silva (Brazil) highlights the importance of looking at evolving technology in the context of other global issues, calling for strong collaboration to find solutions to these problems together.

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Dr Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University
Dr Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University

"My simple advice for any higher education... they have to believe in innovation."

Mansoor Al Awar (United Arab Emirates) talks about the journey to establish the pioneering Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University - the first smart university in the UAE - and what sets the "game-changing" institution, its faculty, and its students apart from traditional higher education institutions.

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Santiago Bellomo, Austral University, Argentina
Santiago Bellomo, Dean of the School of Education, Austral University, Argentina

"It's OK to question new modes... innovation shouldn't turn us automated in the same way that it does outside education. But we should reflect on why we resist, what we should change and what we should not change".

Santiago Bellomo discusses using AI as "a crutch or as an oar" in higher education and how technology can make education more powerful - it's all about how it is harnessed -, as well as sharing his book, Educación aumentada.

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Maha Bali, Professor of Practice, Center for Learning and Teaching, American University in Cairo
Maha Bali, Professor of Practice, Center for Learning and Teaching, American University in Cairo

“There is still insufficient emphasis on bias… historically AI has exacerbated this… we’re not talking enough about why this is a big issue“.

Maha Bali speaks about how all AI systems are biased against non-native speakers; recognising the fragility and bias of AI detector tools and appropriate use; teaching students something that is valuable that they cannot do with AI, and enabling students to have experiences and choices over how they write about them.

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H. Titilola Olojede, Acting Head, Department of Philosophy, National Open University of Nigeria
H. Titilola Olojede, Acting Head, Department of Philosophy, National Open University of Nigeria

In this interview, H. Titilola Olojede addresses the ethical principles of AI in higher education and the questions and uncertainties surrounding emerging technologies. She calls on leaders to take time to consider these important ethical questions and discuss how we can move to take needed actions.

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HE Dr.Ibrahim Al Naimi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Qatar
Ibrahim Al Naimi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Qatar

H.E. Dr Ibrahim Al Naimi gave his perspectives on navigating the journey for the ethical use of AI incorporating family and inter-faith values and shared guidance for other Ministries of Education and higher education chancellors. He also warned against ignoring the societal and cultural values when implementing AI, and talked about the principles of Zakat and giving something back while reconnecting with human values.

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Christoph Stückelberger, Founder and President of Globethics, Switzerland
Christoph Stückelberger, Founder and President of Globethics, Switzerland

Prof. Dr Stückelberger brings a philosophical perspective to the conversation on AI, talking about values and spiritual roots, calling for a multi-faith approach to dig deeper to find the energy of change, and discussing the depth which allows us humans to have ethical values.

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Mark Nichols, President ICDE and Executive Director, Learning Design and Development, Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
Mark Nichols, President ICDE and Executive Director, Learning Design and Development, Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

Mark Nichols compares AI to a "charging elephant" and highlights three educational challenges it poses. He proposes rethinking data categories from protection and copywriting to richer and deeper approaches, and treating information and knowledge as a treasure.

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Happy delegates - Talks on AI and Higher Education at the ICDE Leadership Summit 2024
Happy delegates - Talks on AI and Higher Education at the ICDE Leadership Summit 2024

"Ethics, universities and students must be at the centre of the conversation about AI" - Iain Barnfather, Turnitin

The lively final podcast in the series of Talks on AI and Higher Education at the ICDE Leadership Summit 2024, entitled "Happy Delegates", captures the positive atmosphere and key takeaways from the summit. It's safe to say the delegates were thoroughly engaged – there was a real buzz in the room during the final break before the event's conclusion and close. Be prepared for lots of laughter and some key final thoughts.

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