WATERVILLE — With the appointment of a top IBM executive to lead its Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Colby College — like other colleges and universities across Maine — is continuing to lean into the use of artificial intelligence in higher education.

The hiring of David Watts, former vice president at the international technology and consulting company, along with recent gifts like the $50 million Netflix donation to Bowdoin to study AI, is building on the work that’s being done in this emerging field of computer science.

Watts, who starts in August, sees Colby as a leader in driving responsible AI development and usage in society and higher education.

“I think that in five years, AI will be woven into the fabric of our everyday lives,” Watts said. “In academia specifically, AI will be crucial to how colleges function, teach and conduct research across all disciplines, not just computer science. Fluency in engaging critically with AI tools will be important for enhancing innovative and creative output. Whether it be for accelerated scientific discovery, or generating new forms of artistic expression, I see Colby as a leader in driving responsible AI development and usage by society.”

Created with a $30 million grant awarded in 2021, Colby’s Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence was one of the first AI institutes at a liberal arts college in the country, Michael Donihue, the institute’s interim director, said.

AI, or artificial intelligence, can do just about anything. Accessed through programs like ChatGPT, Claude, or Colby’s own Mule Chat, people can ask the program to write an essay, research a certain topic or generate images.

Donihue said Colby’s approach to using AI is different. The institute takes a human-centered approach to using AI.

“What we mean is, the human has a role to play,” Donihue said. “We can’t just rely on the data independent of it. We talk about the ethical implications, or the implications on culture, or if we are violating human intellectual property. (We’re) asking, where is the human in this development?”

Simply put, the college uses it as a tool, rather than as a way for students to get their homework done. Students are encouraged to ask critical questions to get the results that they want from AI and to double check the answers they receive.

“When you get the results, you have to ground the truth in it, and you have to make sure it makes sense, or follow up so you can put it in a package,” Donihue said. “That’s called critical thinking. That makes AI a tool versus an answer generating machine. AI will give you answers, but it won’t teach you how to write, or do math. It’s understanding the new ways to think of it as a tool.”

A human-centered approach also allows for conversation with students and faculty about responsible ways to use AI in and out of the classroom.

One of the concerns is its impact on the environment, and the enormous amount of energy AI can consume, experts have said, including those at the University of Maine and its School of Earth and Climate Sciences and elsewhere. The University of Maine System is focusing some of its research on Green AI, the thoughtful and ethical implications of AI use.

Other colleges and universities across the state are using AI, while the UMaine System has started to roll out AI programs for staff members to make their jobs behind the scenes more efficient.

The system has a task force to identify ways to use AI across its campuses and is separating AI use into two categories: for administrative jobs and for use in or out of the classroom, said Ryan Low, the vice chancellor of finance and strategic AI for the UMaine System.

“There are places where we think AI can help us streamline things and make us more efficient,” Low said. “It can give us better information for decisions when we want to lean into it, and if we can be more efficient, it’s dollars going back into the classroom.”

Low said, for example, the finance department can use AI as a budget forecasting tool. Something that would usually take Low months he can now get instantly based on the information he puts into a spreadsheet.

“Exercises that might have taken several weeks, if we can use it to generate something in a day or two days, we are way ahead. We double check everything,” he said. “The tools are just getting better and better.”

At Colby, the Davis Institute can help faculty develop policies that make sense to their discipline if they choose to use it.

“We are not saying that everyone has to use AI. There is academic freedom, and some faculty believe that it’s not the way people learn,” Donihue said. “But, if we want to use it as a tool, it’s important for data and privacy concerns to have people working in a space where nothing will be used by the AI company to improve results. So, with this, we have the control.”

As Watts prepares to take over the role from Donihue, he brings over 30 years of experience to Colby’s Davis AI Institute and plans to advance its innovation.

His desire to make a shift to academia comes with an intent to use his expertise in a way that makes an impact on the next generation of students.

“AI unites disciplines, that’s where innovation thrives. I’m excited about helping Colby expand how AI is applied, imagined, and regulated,” he said. “If we are even fractionally successful, the ripple effect on students and society will be enormous,” Watts said in a news release.