July 15, 2025 • 32 mins
As the old saying goes, being in the right place at the right time has its benefits.
This couldn't be truer for Auburn University's Asim Ali, who seems to have a knack for seizing opportunities.
“I feel like I was made for this moment,” said Ali. “The vowels in my first name and my last name are both ‘AI.’"
As Executive Director of the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, Ali oversees a team of more than 90 professionals. Their main mission – provide professional development programs, services and resources to enhance instructional innovation.
“At the heart of what we do is educating and empowering faculty, staff and students to do their best work possible," said Ali.
At nine years old, Ali moved with his family from New Jersey to Alabama after his father was hired at Tuskegee University to help spearhead the college’s aerospace engineering program.
“I remember telling my cousins that we're moving to a place called Alabama,” Ali recalled. “They were like, ‘where is that?’”
In Auburn, Ali flourished.
He graduated from Auburn High School and went on to earn his undergraduate degree in software engineering at Auburn. He took a full-time position in 2004 as an information technology specialist in Auburn’s College of Education. He held that role for ten years, during which he earned his master’s in information systems management and a Ph.D. in adult education.
Eleven years ago, Ali founded Auburn Online for enhancing online and hybrid teaching methods. This initiative proved to be exceptionally timely when COVID-19 struck in 2020.
“After the pandemic, then right along came AI,” Ali said.
Today, Ali co-leads work on artificial intelligence (AI) for the Office of the Provost.
“We can't ignore it, it's going to be here,” said Ali. “So, let's be dang good at it – that's the approach we're taking.”
Thanks to the partnership with Auburn’s Office of Information Technology, the Biggio Center is fully funded to build a framework for how to engage the entire campus on AI research, infrastructure, ethics and cultural impact.
Ali says the Auburn Creed with its emphasis on human touch uniquely positions the land-grant institution to be a groundbreaking leader in defining the use of AI.
“We don't want a chatbot replacing people – that's not Auburn, that's not who we are or how we operate,” he said.
Numerous Auburn instructors and students are taking full advantage of AI technology in virtually every college. The Biggio Center has created Teaching With AI and How To AI courses and has even launched a new AI course for K – 12. They’ve also developed a course for the Southeastern Conference AI Consortium, making it available for all 16 universities in the SEC to use, as well as the Alabama Community College system.
For Ali, his job remains all about paving the way for students and colleagues to blaze their own trail to success – one byte at a time.
“It’s a blessing to be at this institution that I love, working alongside incredibly talented people who are invested in the work they're doing,” he said.
Visit Auburn’s Biggio Center website for a list of AI resources.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Hey, everybody,welcome back to the Everything
Auburn podcast.
I'm Dalton and that's my co-host Carter.
Hey, Carter. Welcome back. Welcome.
I was worriedyou're gonna do another nickname
like you did last time. Really?
That was C-Money last time.
Welcome back. Thank you.
It is a very hot campus, dude.
Summer in Alabama.
Welcome to it.
Very thankful for the.
(00:26):
I don't know who invented,air conditioning, but we're grateful.
They're my favorite person.
They're my favorite.
But welcome back.
We had another great guest here,another member of the Auburn
family here in the studio.
Yeah. For another wonderful podcast.
Yes. Today we have Asim Ali.
Right.
Give it up for Asim.
Yeah.
There's great rejoicing.
(00:46):
Welcome there.
How are you doing?
Great to be here. Thanks for having me.
What a great, fun wayto be spending time
indoors in the air conditioning.
Not great tree melting outside.
Isn't it a great treat?
Well, welcome to it.
Thanks for joining our rinky dinklittle production here.
And, having a little chatwith us, teaching us what to do.
These chairs are.
I don't know about rinky dink.
This is. We're getting comfortable.
There's cushioning.
(01:07):
We're getting better every week.
Cushioning, air conditioning.
What more could you.
What are you looking for, manYeah, exactly a happy man. Exactly.
All right.
Well, awesome for everybodywho doesn't know.
Tell the peoplewhat you do here on campus.
Yeah.
Asim Ali, I'm the Executive Directorof what we call the Biggio Center.
It's our central, unitand the provost office.
So we serve all of campus workwith all faculty,
(01:29):
all departments, on campus,essentially in supporting
their teaching and learning.
And so that includes,lots of different units.
The teaching and learning aspect has,basically supporting faculty
in how they think about their teaching,how they think about
how to improve their teaching.
So that's our educational developmentunit overseen by Doctor
(01:49):
Lindsey Decapolis.
We've got a unit called Biggio Tech,which is our support for canvas,
the learning management system suites.
Brandon Simmons oversees that area.
We've got a testing center.
A lot of students, when they hear Biggiothey're like,
oh, yeah, I give testsand they're like,
why does a testing centerneed an executive director?
That's the first thing I think of.
Yeah, when I was a student.
But, you know, that's a great way.
(02:10):
It's got academic testingin a certified environment.
So faculty canbasically send students
there and not have to worryabout the production aspect of testing.
And so we have students that go there.
And Emily Campdoes a great job of overseeing that area.
Then we've got Auburn online.
So I founded Auburn Onlineabout 11 years ago.
And that unit now is overseenby Saundra Bowers.
And that's ourinstructional designers,
(02:32):
creative designers, developers,and videographers
that essentially partner with faculty to,figure out how
to improve online and hybrid teachingand any kind of, instruction.
So in 2020,we combined all those units together.
And I wonder what, well, what happened?
You know, we were actuallyquite prescient.
(02:52):
And so, like,I started this job in January of 2020
and, six weeksin, you know, got into a nice meeting
and they were like, hey,we're kind of monitoring this thing.
Just be on the lookout.
And then like, three dayslater was like,
hey, we're going to be teaching remotelyand afters
for the first year, then spring break.
You know,just that that first week of March,
it was it was just a it was craziness.
(03:13):
It was like, hey,we don't know what's
going to really happen. Just be ready.
And so we had actually,had gotten the whole team together
and said, all right,we're going to figure out
how to support folks through this.
And we got to do it in a waythat they can't make it to us. And so,
it was actually really quite great.
We created, you know,it was not at the time,
but in retrospect,that's that's great.
(03:34):
You know,just a remarkable team.
All hands on deck. They're so talented.
We created zoom roomswhere people could drop in
and just get help on howto do any aspect of of their teaching.
Just some peoplewere trying to figure out
for the very first timehow to do certain things.
So that was really gratifying.
And all of that process was,some of the steps that we took,
(03:55):
first of all, supportingfaculty, supporting students.
Just the feedbackthat we got was so, great.
In terms offinding that there was somebody there
to help them through all of thejust everything that was happening.
And then there weresome other institutions
that reached out to usand said, hey,
we're using the ideasthat you have been sharing about what you
what you're doing at Auburn.
And we're doing the those here.
(04:16):
And so, you know, our folksaround the SEC
that we used to get together with,really appreciate it.
But anyway, we,we grew out of that and that helped.
And, you know,and if you're wondering
what happens after the pandemic,then right along came AI. And right.
And so haven't been busy at all with thatI would imagine it's you know,
it's interestinghow it's just a lot of
(04:36):
being in the right placeat the right time for,
you know, just our strategyand a lot of thinking through
how we want to supportfaculty and support students.
This at the heart of what we do ishow can we
the be the best supportersand empowerment,
empowerment of our facultyto do the best work that they can do?
And, if that's your end goal,then the other things
kind of just fall into place.
I'd be really curiouswhat you think, because
(04:57):
my perspective on it, I havenever seen something
that changes as rapidly.
Like, technology has always been fast.
Sure, but it's like every other week.
Yeah, there's some other new AI gimmick.
More technique or thing or new model,and it's just.
And everything just turns upside down,like once a month.
Just everything just keeps on changing.
(05:18):
Yeah.
The the use cases keep evolvingand the
capabilities of the technologyis certainly continuing to evolve.
It's, the technology,the heart of what's going on
has been around for a while.
The the core technology has been there.
I think there's a lot of valuein everyone.
For those of you that are,you know, just listening out there,
(05:39):
thinking abouthow do I advise my children
to think about whatto major in and things like that?
I think the core of understandinghow technology works
and how AI works, thethe core concepts
are going to be the same.
It's just what's changing ishow do we use it,
what are the new capabilities of it?
And that does feel likebecause there's
so much investment in what's going on.
(05:59):
And that's really what's drivinga lot of the news around just
in your face all the time.
Kind of an aspect of it.
But,but I think the core things of
what is it that we have to do,serve our faculty, serve our students,
make sure that they're havingthe best experience possible
and the best teachingand learning outcomes possible.
AI is just another toolthat's going to help us,
you know, with a means to an endkind of an aspect.
(06:21):
So, we can't ignore it.
It's going to be there.
So let's be dang good at it.
Right?
And, that's really the approachthat we're taking
before we get too far into to the deep,dark hole
that I could talk about all day long,which is I,
my thing that I really loveto talk to people about
is how they got to where they're at.
Yeah.
And as a one time alum, two time alum,you are the first hat trick,
(06:45):
three time alum.
Like, I'm really curiouswhat your Auburn story is.
Yeah, I'm happy to share.
Man, I love Auburn.
It's just it's one of my favoritestories to share.
I moved to Alabamawhen I was nine years old.
My dad, was on faculty,got hired at Tuskegee University to help
start up the aerospaceengineering program there.
(07:06):
And, early 90s moved to Alabamafrom New Jersey.
I remember telling my cousinto move into a place called Alabama.
And they were like, where is that?
I think it's I think it's in the US.
And so, yeah.
So move to, you know, Alabamawhen I was really young,
graduated from Auburn High School,grew up in Auburn.
You know, shout out to my, friends.
(07:27):
I just it was a great experiencegoing through the Auburn
City school system.
And actually,I wasn't going to go
to Auburn University at first.
You know, I ended up applyingto a couple other places
and, I remember, like about 2 or 3 weeksbefore high school graduation,
I was like, who am I kidding?
Like, this isthis is where I want to go to college,
you know?
And so I walked into, Mary Martin.
That's where admissionsused to be met with Mr. Burgess.
(07:48):
His wife was the English teacherat Auburn High and, walked in
made an appointment, walked in with Mr.
Burgess and said, I want toI want to apply to go to Auburn.
And he kind of looked at melike he gave me
one of those, like he said, you guys,you know, if I had a dollar
for every Auburn High student,that doesn't even apply here
and thenall of a sudden wants to go here,
you know, it's a hardcollege to get into.
We don't just let anybodywho walks off the street get in.
(08:10):
And I was like, yes, sir.
And he goes, what did you do on?
What did you get on the act anyway?
And I told him and he goes,fill out this form and pay $25.
You'll be welcome. Yeah.
So I started off as a pre-med major, and,Auburn had just started their software
engineering program around that time,so I think a couple years old.
So I ended up changing majorsinto software engineering
and just didn't look back.
(08:31):
It was a really great experience.
Graduated with my undergraduate degreein software engineering
and took a job at Auburnand was like the best option
at that time.
Of the kind of work that I wanted to do.
I worked in the College of Educationas the I.T.
guy and dida did that for about ten years.
During that process, I,finished my master's degree
in the business schoolInformation Systems Management.
(08:51):
That's right.
I teach a classevery semester there as well.
It's just an awesome timeif we get a chance to talk about
that with you guys. And then,you know,
I did a presidential fellowshipwith President Goos
early around 2011, and,and really, during that process,
working with the folksthat worked on the president's cabinet
a little bit, interactingwith the leaders of this campus
(09:13):
at that time,I said, you know, this is this is really,
compelling work.
I think the mission sells itself,but also just the environment
and how we do it and where we do it.
I felt like I really had somethingto contribute there,
and I wanted to figure outhow that would go. And,
and so I wanted to get a PhDbecause that's, you know,
that's the currency of,of having leadership, roles.
(09:35):
And, my first visitwas to computer science,
and I was like, hey,I think I'm interested in getting a PhD.
And they're like, yeah, sure.
You know, quit your job.
We'll take you on.
And I was like,yeah, no, I'm not trying to do that.
It's the same thing in business.
And so, there was a guyin the College of Ed, doctor,
Jim Whitty and, you know,kind of explained to him
what I was experiencing isyou should get a PhD in adult education.
(09:57):
And, I said, was that mean?
And he kind of explained,you know, this idea of,
you know, how you think about how adultslearn and it's relevant for a higher ed,
context, for sure.
So I was Doctor Jim with his 100th,PhD graduate.
Oh, wow.
Did you get, like, a koozie with it?
So hundredth customer.
He gave me a cool.
He's a blacksmith as well.
(10:19):
And so he gave me a cool blacksmith.
Knife.
That was really cool.
Oh, man.
Yeah, yeah,I think I'm the only one
who has one of those.
So every hundred.
Yeah, every hundred years gets a. Yeah.
He's a he's, phenomenal dude.
Excellent.
You know, to it justhe was so supportive.
So I have three degreesin three different academic areas,
which is,you know, also like career suicide
(10:41):
if you're trying to stay in academiabecause know no man's land.
Yeah.
But you've kind of managed to combineall three, though, haven't you?
Yeah. You know, really worked out.
It's, being in the Biggio Centerand then, you know,
working certainlyto found Auburn online,
which was just a privilege of a lifetimetrying to think through
what the culture of a work organizationshould be that doesn't exist before.
(11:02):
How do we want people to be collaborativeand creative together?
What does that look like?
Being able to do that,you know, it really
it relies on all three of those areasand the work that we've been able to do.
It's really just I mean, it'sI couldn't have planned this at all.
It's, you know, I'm, I'mone of those people that just,
you can think about it allyou want, but really, it's on, you know,
(11:24):
whatever God plans is reallywhat happens.
And he's the best of planners,and that's. I'm living a dream.
And I tell you what else is really cool?
A universitynot unlike any other large organizations,
kind of like,you know, turn a cruise ship.
You know,and you've had such a cool, like, angle
and a forefront of what's happenedin the last several years,
you know, with online.
And then obviously, I stuff recentlyto be able to kind of dictate
(11:45):
some of that directionand what we're doing and,
and make some meaningful change and setsome guidelines
and boundaries and help peoplelearn and go into the future.
Is is really impressive.
But that's a hard thingto do in a large organization.
Yeah. Period.
And I tell people it's kind of funny.
I was kind of like,I feel like I was made for this moment,
the vowels in my first nameand the vowels in my last
(12:07):
name are both AI AI.
And it's kind of like,I don't know if my parents knew
I was going to, but, I love it.
It's,I, I don't have the brainpower
to figure out what might I have to like?
I don't have to, like,draw that out later
to figure out what might say,but I'm sure it's just like, yeah, mukduk
something, you know,something that doesn't flow
like it doesn't work.
And you know what else?
(12:27):
What else flowsis the acronym that we have,
which is I tell you, which is flow.
So.
Well, you said itnailed it just perfectly.
But I would really love for youto talk about how Auburn
really became a leader in the AI space,not just in higher ed,
but just in general, if you don't mind.
Yeah, absolutely. Happy to share that.
So the AI that you initiative is,has actually predates
(12:49):
the ChatGPT stuff,you know, being publicly available.
There are a couple of facultyon this campus, doctor Hari
Narayanan, who's the department chairin computer science
and software engineering.
And then doctor Jerry Dozier,who is, I had both of them,
by the way, my undergrad.
So that's a really interesting experienceto be able to.
You've gone throughso many different colleges,
you know, a lot of facultybecause you've had a lot of them.
(13:09):
I gotta tell you, professors,the best introduction I ever got was,
Provost Vinni Nathanwhen she was introducing me
one time,my wife actually got her
master's in, apparel, designand merchandizing in the Consumer
design and sciences program.
And so Doctor Nathan was like,you know, Asim And his wife,
they have degreesfrom four different colleges.
They've got three kids.
So we're trying to figure outhow to knock out the other colleges
(13:32):
as well.
But, yeah.
No, I mean, the biggeryour family gets, we're going to start
adding more colleges. Yeah, yeah.
No service.
That's good, that's good, I like it.
You know, I think we're done,y'all.
Thanks for coming.
Thanks for watching. Bye bye, friends.
We're, We're done on that.
Yeah.
So, you know, doctorHari Narayanan and
and Doctor Dozieruse the mission enhancement funds.
(13:53):
We have internal funding programto basically put together
the framework for how to engagethe entire campus
on artificial intelligence.
And there's multiple different committeesaround research and infrastructure
and ethics and cultural impact of it.
And there's a committee on education.
So I chair the education committee.
There's folks across campusthat are working with us,
(14:15):
a lot of folks in the Biggio Centerwho are engaged in that work.
And essentiallywhat our charge is,
I kind of have thought about itfrom three different areas.
One is when we think about AI,literacy is very important.
And this idea that we should knowwhat is artificial intelligence,
how does a the basics of how it works?
What are those?
And then how is it going to impact mein terms of how I can use it?
(14:37):
What are the use caseswhere the implications of that?
And so I literacy is very importantfor us.
We create opportunitiesfor students for faculty,
for professionals on campus, acrosswherever department
they may be working in.
We've gotten into the K through 12 space.
And what we want to dothere is basically make sure
people understand what AI is,how does it impact you and how to use it.
(15:00):
We look at AI tools.
What are thoseresources and tools
that people need access toso that they can experiment.
They can try things they cancritically think about.
Is this a useful resource,or is this something
that's not going to be as useful?
Make that determination for themselves.
And then the third aspectis collaboration.
And we really wantto create the opportunities
that allow people to say, hey,I want to do research
(15:22):
with others in this area.
I want to do some kind of experimentationin the classroom
or some kind of work in termsof professional opportunities,
partnerships with businessesand those kinds of things.
So we think about how do we createjust experiences
for our academic communityto be engaged in that way?
And that's the approach we've taken.
It's a lot, though.
I can only imagine thatthat is a rather busy job.
(15:46):
It is a busy job for,it would be difficult
if someone wasn't inspired to do it.
I, you know, for me, like, this is, it'sa blessing to be in this time
and in this place and at this moment,being able to have the opportunity
to really be at this institutionthat I love, working with people
who are incredible to workwith, who are very talented
(16:08):
and and interested in the workthat they're doing.
And my job is literallyto provide them with the resources
and theand create some pathways for them
to be able to do their excellent work.
And that's really what we've beenable to try.
And sometimes we try some things and say,okay, that's
not really going to work broadly.
Let's, you know, try something different.
Sometimes we try things and say, this isthis has got potential.
(16:30):
And so then we try to figure outhow to incorporate that into,
you know, the programingthat we're providing for folks.
So let's let'syou know let's get into it. Right. Yeah.
What do you what do you use an AI for?
I mean that's one of my favorite thing.
I just I mean, we only got a,you know,
we only have so much time, right.
What like, what are your costs? Yeah.
So what I tell people to dois think about the work that you do
in the kind of three buckets, right?
There's a bucketthat's like you're kind of tedious,
(16:53):
repetitive tasks.
Those are the kinds of thingsthat I really good at.
And so we call it AI automation bucket.
Let's like I do that right.
Do you need to come upwith an outline for an article
you just readthat's going to help
you better understandsome work that you're working on? Now?
If it's for an assignment in class,let's make sure we're doing that
in the ethical way.
And the fact that writing papers with it.
Right, exactly.
(17:14):
But if you and I are meetingand, you know, say
we're in a research group togetherand we got to understand
this new research paperthat just got published. Okay.
Let's runthat through a couple of
AI tools that let us interactwith this and dive in deeper
and identifysome related research with this topic,
the thing that we could do,but I can do it better and faster.
So let's use it for that.
That frees up our timeto do things in the second bucket,
(17:36):
which are what we would callAI augmentation task. Right?
These are things that I can do,but humans
do it better if we work with AI to do it.
So things that I could do,but I can help me do it better.
Let's use AI for those things as well,in judicious ways,
and certainly in ways that we evaluatewhat the output looks like.
(17:57):
And that what that really does, though,is it opens up time
and opportunity for us to focus onwhat's in that third bucket.
And that's the bucket ofyou need a human to do this.
And AI is not going to be ableto do this right now,
and AI is not going to be able to do thisanytime soon.
And what I wantto be able to think about is
how do we teach the conceptsthat we're teaching in
(18:20):
that mindset as well?
Maybe you say, hey, you know what,I want to
I want you to understand how I doesthis better.
I want to understandhow to augment the work
that you're doing with AI on this.
But let's really focus,make sure you're understanding
how to do these skills really well,because I is not going to do that.
And this is going to beyour competitive advantage
when you're out in the fieldtrying to work
and trying to get jobsand trying to advance in your careers.
(18:41):
And it just so happens,you know, for my friends
in the humanitiesand liberal arts on this campus,
I really see thatthat's going to be the resurgence
in terms of the skillsthat we look for, empathy,
working with others.
I tell you one thing that I really likethe augment side,
because that's one thingthat's frustrated me.
And we also met earlier.
Right, is that people use AIand everyone is using it different.
(19:04):
We're all figuring out together, right?
Everyone's a different stepsof the journey.
But I think a lot of people useAI as like a final product.
Personally, I don't really like that.
Right.
Because it's notI like the augment thing.
Like I can dosteps two through seven
for me, really well.
And they can do that in,you know, a couple minutes.
(19:25):
I've still got to do steps one,eight, nine and ten though.
And it just speeds that process upand kind of that ingesting.
But it's not a final product. Yeah.
And you know it helps memaybe think a little bit outside the box
and connect to a couple thingsI didn't think about
or bring a little bit more,but it just helps me
do some of the more menial stuff faster.
But it's not the final productand there's still me there.
You talk about,you know, for you,
(19:47):
I like how you talk about it'snot you're not just a videographer,
you're a storyteller.
Oh, and I'm a man. Yeah.
Just open the can of worms.
I know how long.
Yeah, let's be a two hour long podcast.
But how?
Well, you're able to take the piecesand put them together
to weave that story.
I mean, there's not an AIthat does that, right? Right.
Now, there are a lot of,you know, repetitive tasks
(20:09):
like writing a pressrelease or something like that.
But that's not what PR is all about.
You know, there's a lot moreand it's a lot of relationships.
It's a lot of what people are.
You know, Orban, with our creed,when we talk about the human touch
and just the importance of what we talkabout the Auburn family like that,
we are in our institutionally,we're so uniquely positioned
to really make sense of this, what AI is,and not that it should take over society,
(20:35):
but how do we make sense of itin a way that,
you know, judiciously and,and, and understanding
how to use it and criticallythink about what the output is.
And I don't want a chat botreplacing people that's not Auburn
and that's not who we are,and that's not how we operate.
But now whoeveris answering those questions
for students,if they have access to AI tools
(20:55):
that help them do their,you know, do their work faster or better
so that it's an easier caseload for themthen that kind of stuff.
And you know thatthat's a quality of life improvement
that we should absolutely approach.
And look at in your roleand kind of what you're doing with a
you and I or I and I you see,I did it too. That's, that's is what that
is what are some of those first stepsthat students, faculty,
(21:17):
staff, people on here on campusthat tools
that are resources, placesthey can learn those kind of entry points
to anybody who wants to kind ofget involved with using
AI here at Auburn.
Yeah, we've got a lot of resourcesavailable.
We've createda resource called teaching with AI,
which is an online course,that the big data center created.
We actually launchedthat course early in, the spring of 2023.
(21:40):
And, it's a, it's an onlinecourse that allows faculty
to go through and understandhow to teach with
and make sense of AI, partnerwith their students
in terms of understanding the technology.
Better, better.
We actually we partneredwith the Southeastern Conference.
They expressed an interest.
There's a group calledthe Southeastern Conference
AI consortium, that's overseenby the academic side of the SEC.
(22:02):
And, and so, you know, Doctor Laney, who?
Powell. Who's the,AI academic, I mean, the
academic commissionerfor the Southeastern Conference
said, hey,we've got to say AI consortium.
Let's figure outwhat kind of resources
we can providefor all of the member institutions.
And so, they, choseto use the AI course from Auburn.
(22:25):
We modified and createdas an AI as a SEC version of it,
and then that course was availablefor everybody
in the Southeastern Conference to use.
It was used by the entireall of the instructors that teach in the,
Alabama Community College system.
We've actually made the versionavailable broadly.
And so we've got overalmost 14,000 or more,
(22:46):
faculty from around the worldwho've engaged with this course.
And, essentially they learn how to use AIand make sense of it for their classroom.
Through this resource,there's a group called edge,
which is the largestprofessional association for people
who are interestedin educational technology.
And so educators reached out to me.
They said, you know,we were going to develop our own course,
(23:07):
but yours is good.
Can we just licensing itfrom you and use that as our.
And so that's, you know,if you are associated with educators
and you sign up for the edgeof course, teaching with a
AI coursethat's actually the Auburn course
facilitated by educators folks.
And so it's really elevatedthe Auburn brand considerably
from that perspective.
We've got a resource calledhow to AI that's
(23:28):
available for any learnerwe desire for students.
But, you know,all of us are lifelong learners.
Anybody who's just interested inhow do I code with this?
How do I create text?
How do I create graphics or video?
Ethically?
What are the you know,what are some prompts
for creating a tutoror bot or something like that?
You can go to this,you know, how to AI resource
and basically go througha, an engaged way of learning
(23:51):
how to use these tools and,in a very safe way.
And so you're not giving up your datato someone
just because it's an Auburn,freely available resource.
All these are on our website.
Somebody goes to Big Auburn Edu,they can find the AI section,
and there's,lots of stuff listed there
in terms of things that are available.
We've got a new courseavailable for K through 12.
(24:11):
For teachers,there's a tremendous, focus
in terms of making surethat teachers
and administrators have the resourcesthey need and understanding.
So we actually partnered with,a lot of K through
12 teachers and, and a lot of,K through 12
librarians and said, okay,let's figure out
what's the best resource.
And we weaved it together as a storyof basically
(24:33):
having an innovation teamat a school that you're a part of.
And so when you sign into this course,you're basically a part
of that innovation team.
And now you go throughunderstanding AI,
making strategic decisionsfor this school, for your teaching,
for partnering for you know, andand communicating with your students and,
and with their parents.
And it kind ofgoes through those key
(24:53):
uses, of AI through this course.
The only Auburn really likeemphatic thing in there is
there's an eagle that flies around.
But the school hey, we got but,we got it, we got it,
we got it, you know. Right.
We got to do it. Right? Right.
That's cool.
That reminds me, like,I remember, like, growing up, and,
you know,I would do math different ways
(25:14):
than my parents wouldor whatever, and I'm imagining it.
My own kids like, oh, my gosh,they're going to be so fluent in AI.
Like, if they're going to be learning it.
Oh yeah.
And so we wantI mean, you know, that is
part of it is we wantthe students are coming and there's a
that's our future students. Right.
They're coming inand we want them to have,
that we want them tofirst of all understand
it, have access to it.
It's the future workforce.
(25:35):
You know, we want to make surethat we have the workforce
in the state of Alabamathat's going to be ready
for the coming economy.
And AI is absolutelya part of that economy.
Yeah, I know it's kind of adjacent to AI.
It's not necessarily AI,but it's adjacent.
Another thing that you've been doinga lot of work in is, VR work.
Yeah.
And VR and AR, and they kind of go handand there's some AI stuff
(25:56):
right out there,but there's also a lot of work
you're doing there forAuburn students and faculty.
And that also adjacent area.
We've got this awesomeinitiative called UX.
I work with Alicia BaggageTesting over in it,
so I want to give a shout out toJim O'Connor, who's the CIO at Auburn.
He's the one who, you know, kind ofcame up with
got to figure out how to fund this.
(26:16):
Coming on the offthe heels of the pandemic,
we had to figure out how to make learningmore, immersive.
And, you know, and so he,he kind of gave us the green light
to just figure things out.
And he that, you know,he provides the resources for it.
And, and so,it's a great partnership
between Office of Information Technologyand with the big center.
And what we really do is we say, okay,we're not going to build
(26:39):
a virtual Metta World of Auburn.
That's just not it.
There's no that'snot where the tech is headed.
That'sthere's not a lot of learning gain there.
What we really look at is,you know, when you're
sitting in that chemistry classor when you're sitting in a,
you know, in any other class, theresome of those concepts where
it doesn't really quite make sense.
(27:00):
What's being explained, or maybe twodimensional paper is not the best way
to understand a concept.
And so we asked the facultyto submit proposals
on those learning outcomes.
How so?
That's at the heart ofit is the learning outcomes. Very cool.
What what would you you know,what are those learning outcomes
that you think would be good candidatesfor creating an immersive
(27:22):
learning experience around.
And then we've got this teamin Auburn online
that basically develops virtualand augmented reality experiences.
You know, Alex Atari, who leadsthat team, does
a great job of basicallyworking with the faculty, saying,
okay, let's createa fully accessible and,
you know, the way thatthe storytelling aspect comes into it.
(27:43):
How do we create an immersive experiencethat makes this make sense? Better?
And, it's really been impressive to see.
It runs the gamutfrom the sciences, engineering.
There's lots of stuffgoing on in building science.
And, and some of the other programsand architecture.
I've seen some stuff here.
Yeah, it's very cool.
(28:03):
I'm a visual guy.
Shock, surprise as a video guy. Right?
I'm a visual guy.
And that is so helpful.
It really is.
Because, like, reading in a bookhas always been my Achilles
heel in academia.
Is is just becauseI'm so visual, it's hard for me
to kind of tangibly translate that,but be able to see it,
hold it right,manipulate it is so helpful.
(28:24):
Yeah.
We're also seeingI play a role in that
because we can create charactersand we can create experiences
that are AI drivenessentially within a virtual environment.
So if we create, for example,an experience in a class
which harkensback to maybe the 1950s or something,
we can createperiod appropriate characters
(28:46):
that can communicate in that way.
If we want to use AI to,you know, graphically experience
what certain environments may look like,and then so that allows us
to speed up the development work.
So I think it's really,as AI continues to grow
and as you know,it starts to become more and more
a part of our everyday lives.
You said thatyou teach some classes here on campus,
(29:08):
so why should somebody take that classic.
It sounds like somethingI would want to take. Yeah.
Why not sign up for my class?
It's,So I teach one class every semester.
It's, introto information systems management,
and it's, students that are eitherminoring or majoring in anything
in business.
And, so my studentshave about 130 students,
and they are from all different majors.
(29:29):
And, you know, sometimesif you just use the textbook,
it may have an example of something.
And if you're a finance major,you may look at that
example and say that, that,really apply to me.
I don't really understandthis, this concept.
So I can use AI to createcontent with my students,
where I say, okay, let's use this conceptand actually create a case study
(29:49):
that's relevant for you in financeand create another case study
that's relevant for you in marketing.
And so now you're getting contentand learning opportunities
that are relevant for you.
And then I have them actuallyuse AI in the class
so they can develop their skills,as they're going through the class
and better understandthe professional impact
(30:10):
that the technology will have,on their careers, on their,
you know, as the,as they think about what they want to do
after, college.
My goal is for my studentswhen they go in for a job interview,
for them to confidently be able to say,because I've had this class,
I understandthe emerging technology of our time
and the impact it'sgoing to have
in terms of the professionthat I'm seeking to be a part of.
(30:34):
I want them to be the best candidatefor that job.
And, I want them to be in a positionwhere they actually shape
the future and say,oh, here is what I think
the best uses of this technology will be.
And, I get the opportunityto do that with these students
through the way I teach using AI,you know, or
helping them understand how to understandAI in the context that they're in.
(30:55):
Awesome. Well, wonderful.
I mean, this this is great.
And hopefully they'll come back lessonscome back and get two,
three, 4 or 5 degrees, you know,from every college on campus here.
Truthfully, I couldtalk about AI all day.
I'm sure you could.
I know the three of them.
I mean, this could go on for hours,but unfortunately I cannot.
But I want to thank you for comingand sharing some of your thoughts
and all the workthat you and your team does,
(31:16):
to help push Auburn forwardand push the rest of the world.
And, you know, my pleasure.
Rising tide lifts all boats.
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
It's really been an exciting,time to have just this conversation
and chill out with you guys. It's great.
You know, we love it.
You know, this is what we live for.
This is. This is awesome.
So thank you for coming.
And thank you for listening.
We'll be back againnext month with another wonderful
member of the Auburn family.
(31:37):
And, we can't wait to talk to you.
Then, if you like what you heard,go back and listen to the old ones.
We got so many back therethat we've done in the past
down here in this, awesome studio.
But until next month.
We'll see you then.
I'm Carter, War Eagle.
I'm Dalton, War Eagle.
I'm Asim, War Eagle.
Hey, everybody,welcome back to the Everything
Auburn podcast.
I'm Dalton and that's my co-host Carter.
Hey, Carter. Welcome back. Welcome.
I was worriedyou're gonna do another nickname
like you did last time. Really?
That was C-Money last time.
Welcome back. Thank you.
It is a very hot campus, dude.
Summer in Alabama.
Welcome to it.
Very thankful for the.
(00:26):
I don't know who invented,air conditioning, but we're grateful.
They're my favorite person.
They're my favorite.
But welcome back.
We had another great guest here,another member of the Auburn
family here in the studio.
Yeah. For another wonderful podcast.
Yes. Today we have Asim Ali.
Right.
Give it up for Asim.
Yeah.
There's great rejoicing.
(00:46):
Welcome there.
How are you doing?
Great to be here. Thanks for having me.
What a great, fun wayto be spending time
indoors in the air conditioning.
Not great tree melting outside.
Isn't it a great treat?
Well, welcome to it.
Thanks for joining our rinky dinklittle production here.
And, having a little chatwith us, teaching us what to do.
These chairs are.
I don't know about rinky dink.
This is. We're getting comfortable.
There's cushioning.
(01:07):
We're getting better every week.
Cushioning, air conditioning.
What more could you.
What are you looking for, manYeah, exactly a happy man. Exactly.
All right.
Well, awesome for everybodywho doesn't know.
Tell the peoplewhat you do here on campus.
Yeah.
Asim Ali, I'm the Executive Directorof what we call the Biggio Center.
It's our central, unitand the provost office.
So we serve all of campus workwith all faculty,
(01:29):
all departments, on campus,essentially in supporting
their teaching and learning.
And so that includes,lots of different units.
The teaching and learning aspect has,basically supporting faculty
in how they think about their teaching,how they think about
how to improve their teaching.
So that's our educational developmentunit overseen by Doctor
(01:49):
Lindsey Decapolis.
We've got a unit called Biggio Tech,which is our support for canvas,
the learning management system suites.
Brandon Simmons oversees that area.
We've got a testing center.
A lot of students, when they hear Biggiothey're like,
oh, yeah, I give testsand they're like,
why does a testing centerneed an executive director?
That's the first thing I think of.
Yeah, when I was a student.
But, you know, that's a great way.
(02:10):
It's got academic testingin a certified environment.
So faculty canbasically send students
there and not have to worryabout the production aspect of testing.
And so we have students that go there.
And Emily Campdoes a great job of overseeing that area.
Then we've got Auburn online.
So I founded Auburn Onlineabout 11 years ago.
And that unit now is overseenby Saundra Bowers.
And that's ourinstructional designers,
(02:32):
creative designers, developers,and videographers
that essentially partner with faculty to,figure out how
to improve online and hybrid teachingand any kind of, instruction.
So in 2020,we combined all those units together.
And I wonder what, well, what happened?
You know, we were actuallyquite prescient.
(02:52):
And so, like,I started this job in January of 2020
and, six weeksin, you know, got into a nice meeting
and they were like, hey,we're kind of monitoring this thing.
Just be on the lookout.
And then like, three dayslater was like,
hey, we're going to be teaching remotelyand afters
for the first year, then spring break.
You know,just that that first week of March,
it was it was just a it was craziness.
(03:13):
It was like, hey,we don't know what's
going to really happen. Just be ready.
And so we had actually,had gotten the whole team together
and said, all right,we're going to figure out
how to support folks through this.
And we got to do it in a waythat they can't make it to us. And so,
it was actually really quite great.
We created, you know,it was not at the time,
but in retrospect,that's that's great.
(03:34):
You know,just a remarkable team.
All hands on deck. They're so talented.
We created zoom roomswhere people could drop in
and just get help on howto do any aspect of of their teaching.
Just some peoplewere trying to figure out
for the very first timehow to do certain things.
So that was really gratifying.
And all of that process was,some of the steps that we took,
(03:55):
first of all, supportingfaculty, supporting students.
Just the feedbackthat we got was so, great.
In terms offinding that there was somebody there
to help them through all of thejust everything that was happening.
And then there weresome other institutions
that reached out to usand said, hey,
we're using the ideasthat you have been sharing about what you
what you're doing at Auburn.
And we're doing the those here.
(04:16):
And so, you know, our folksaround the SEC
that we used to get together with,really appreciate it.
But anyway, we,we grew out of that and that helped.
And, you know,and if you're wondering
what happens after the pandemic,then right along came AI. And right.
And so haven't been busy at all with thatI would imagine it's you know,
it's interestinghow it's just a lot of
(04:36):
being in the right placeat the right time for,
you know, just our strategyand a lot of thinking through
how we want to supportfaculty and support students.
This at the heart of what we do ishow can we
the be the best supportersand empowerment,
empowerment of our facultyto do the best work that they can do?
And, if that's your end goal,then the other things
kind of just fall into place.
I'd be really curiouswhat you think, because
(04:57):
my perspective on it, I havenever seen something
that changes as rapidly.
Like, technology has always been fast.
Sure, but it's like every other week.
Yeah, there's some other new AI gimmick.
More technique or thing or new model,and it's just.
And everything just turns upside down,like once a month.
Just everything just keeps on changing.
(05:18):
Yeah.
The the use cases keep evolvingand the
capabilities of the technologyis certainly continuing to evolve.
It's, the technology,the heart of what's going on
has been around for a while.
The the core technology has been there.
I think there's a lot of valuein everyone.
For those of you that are,you know, just listening out there,
(05:39):
thinking abouthow do I advise my children
to think about whatto major in and things like that?
I think the core of understandinghow technology works
and how AI works, thethe core concepts
are going to be the same.
It's just what's changing ishow do we use it,
what are the new capabilities of it?
And that does feel likebecause there's
so much investment in what's going on.
(05:59):
And that's really what's drivinga lot of the news around just
in your face all the time.
Kind of an aspect of it.
But,but I think the core things of
what is it that we have to do,serve our faculty, serve our students,
make sure that they're havingthe best experience possible
and the best teachingand learning outcomes possible.
AI is just another toolthat's going to help us,
you know, with a means to an endkind of an aspect.
(06:21):
So, we can't ignore it.
It's going to be there.
So let's be dang good at it.
Right?
And, that's really the approachthat we're taking
before we get too far into to the deep,dark hole
that I could talk about all day long,which is I,
my thing that I really loveto talk to people about
is how they got to where they're at.
Yeah.
And as a one time alum, two time alum,you are the first hat trick,
(06:45):
three time alum.
Like, I'm really curiouswhat your Auburn story is.
Yeah, I'm happy to share.
Man, I love Auburn.
It's just it's one of my favoritestories to share.
I moved to Alabamawhen I was nine years old.
My dad, was on faculty,got hired at Tuskegee University to help
start up the aerospaceengineering program there.
(07:06):
And, early 90s moved to Alabamafrom New Jersey.
I remember telling my cousinto move into a place called Alabama.
And they were like, where is that?
I think it's I think it's in the US.
And so, yeah.
So move to, you know, Alabamawhen I was really young,
graduated from Auburn High School,grew up in Auburn.
You know, shout out to my, friends.
(07:27):
I just it was a great experiencegoing through the Auburn
City school system.
And actually,I wasn't going to go
to Auburn University at first.
You know, I ended up applyingto a couple other places
and, I remember, like about 2 or 3 weeksbefore high school graduation,
I was like, who am I kidding?
Like, this isthis is where I want to go to college,
you know?
And so I walked into, Mary Martin.
That's where admissionsused to be met with Mr. Burgess.
(07:48):
His wife was the English teacherat Auburn High and, walked in
made an appointment, walked in with Mr.
Burgess and said, I want toI want to apply to go to Auburn.
And he kind of looked at melike he gave me
one of those, like he said, you guys,you know, if I had a dollar
for every Auburn High student,that doesn't even apply here
and thenall of a sudden wants to go here,
you know, it's a hardcollege to get into.
We don't just let anybodywho walks off the street get in.
(08:10):
And I was like, yes, sir.
And he goes, what did you do on?
What did you get on the act anyway?
And I told him and he goes,fill out this form and pay $25.
You'll be welcome. Yeah.
So I started off as a pre-med major, and,Auburn had just started their software
engineering program around that time,so I think a couple years old.
So I ended up changing majorsinto software engineering
and just didn't look back.
(08:31):
It was a really great experience.
Graduated with my undergraduate degreein software engineering
and took a job at Auburnand was like the best option
at that time.
Of the kind of work that I wanted to do.
I worked in the College of Educationas the I.T.
guy and dida did that for about ten years.
During that process, I,finished my master's degree
in the business schoolInformation Systems Management.
(08:51):
That's right.
I teach a classevery semester there as well.
It's just an awesome timeif we get a chance to talk about
that with you guys. And then,you know,
I did a presidential fellowshipwith President Goos
early around 2011, and,and really, during that process,
working with the folksthat worked on the president's cabinet
a little bit, interactingwith the leaders of this campus
(09:13):
at that time,I said, you know, this is this is really,
compelling work.
I think the mission sells itself,but also just the environment
and how we do it and where we do it.
I felt like I really had somethingto contribute there,
and I wanted to figure outhow that would go. And,
and so I wanted to get a PhDbecause that's, you know,
that's the currency of,of having leadership, roles.
(09:35):
And, my first visitwas to computer science,
and I was like, hey,I think I'm interested in getting a PhD.
And they're like, yeah, sure.
You know, quit your job.
We'll take you on.
And I was like,yeah, no, I'm not trying to do that.
It's the same thing in business.
And so, there was a guyin the College of Ed, doctor,
Jim Whitty and, you know,kind of explained to him
what I was experiencing isyou should get a PhD in adult education.
(09:57):
And, I said, was that mean?
And he kind of explained,you know, this idea of,
you know, how you think about how adultslearn and it's relevant for a higher ed,
context, for sure.
So I was Doctor Jim with his 100th,PhD graduate.
Oh, wow.
Did you get, like, a koozie with it?
So hundredth customer.
He gave me a cool.
He's a blacksmith as well.
(10:19):
And so he gave me a cool blacksmith.
Knife.
That was really cool.
Oh, man.
Yeah, yeah,I think I'm the only one
who has one of those.
So every hundred.
Yeah, every hundred years gets a. Yeah.
He's a he's, phenomenal dude.
Excellent.
You know, to it justhe was so supportive.
So I have three degreesin three different academic areas,
which is,you know, also like career suicide
(10:41):
if you're trying to stay in academiabecause know no man's land.
Yeah.
But you've kind of managed to combineall three, though, haven't you?
Yeah. You know, really worked out.
It's, being in the Biggio Centerand then, you know,
working certainlyto found Auburn online,
which was just a privilege of a lifetimetrying to think through
what the culture of a work organizationshould be that doesn't exist before.
(11:02):
How do we want people to be collaborativeand creative together?
What does that look like?
Being able to do that,you know, it really
it relies on all three of those areasand the work that we've been able to do.
It's really just I mean, it'sI couldn't have planned this at all.
It's, you know, I'm, I'mone of those people that just,
you can think about it allyou want, but really, it's on, you know,
(11:24):
whatever God plans is reallywhat happens.
And he's the best of planners,and that's. I'm living a dream.
And I tell you what else is really cool?
A universitynot unlike any other large organizations,
kind of like,you know, turn a cruise ship.
You know,and you've had such a cool, like, angle
and a forefront of what's happenedin the last several years,
you know, with online.
And then obviously, I stuff recentlyto be able to kind of dictate
(11:45):
some of that directionand what we're doing and,
and make some meaningful change and setsome guidelines
and boundaries and help peoplelearn and go into the future.
Is is really impressive.
But that's a hard thingto do in a large organization.
Yeah. Period.
And I tell people it's kind of funny.
I was kind of like,I feel like I was made for this moment,
the vowels in my first nameand the vowels in my last
(12:07):
name are both AI AI.
And it's kind of like,I don't know if my parents knew
I was going to, but, I love it.
It's,I, I don't have the brainpower
to figure out what might I have to like?
I don't have to, like,draw that out later
to figure out what might say,but I'm sure it's just like, yeah, mukduk
something, you know,something that doesn't flow
like it doesn't work.
And you know what else?
(12:27):
What else flowsis the acronym that we have,
which is I tell you, which is flow.
So.
Well, you said itnailed it just perfectly.
But I would really love for youto talk about how Auburn
really became a leader in the AI space,not just in higher ed,
but just in general, if you don't mind.
Yeah, absolutely. Happy to share that.
So the AI that you initiative is,has actually predates
(12:49):
the ChatGPT stuff,you know, being publicly available.
There are a couple of facultyon this campus, doctor Hari
Narayanan, who's the department chairin computer science
and software engineering.
And then doctor Jerry Dozier,who is, I had both of them,
by the way, my undergrad.
So that's a really interesting experienceto be able to.
You've gone throughso many different colleges,
you know, a lot of facultybecause you've had a lot of them.
(13:09):
I gotta tell you, professors,the best introduction I ever got was,
Provost Vinni Nathanwhen she was introducing me
one time,my wife actually got her
master's in, apparel, designand merchandizing in the Consumer
design and sciences program.
And so Doctor Nathan was like,you know, Asim And his wife,
they have degreesfrom four different colleges.
They've got three kids.
So we're trying to figure outhow to knock out the other colleges
(13:32):
as well.
But, yeah.
No, I mean, the biggeryour family gets, we're going to start
adding more colleges. Yeah, yeah.
No service.
That's good, that's good, I like it.
You know, I think we're done,y'all.
Thanks for coming.
Thanks for watching. Bye bye, friends.
We're, We're done on that.
Yeah.
So, you know, doctorHari Narayanan and
and Doctor Dozieruse the mission enhancement funds.
(13:53):
We have internal funding programto basically put together
the framework for how to engagethe entire campus
on artificial intelligence.
And there's multiple different committeesaround research and infrastructure
and ethics and cultural impact of it.
And there's a committee on education.
So I chair the education committee.
There's folks across campusthat are working with us,
(14:15):
a lot of folks in the Biggio Centerwho are engaged in that work.
And essentiallywhat our charge is,
I kind of have thought about itfrom three different areas.
One is when we think about AI,literacy is very important.
And this idea that we should knowwhat is artificial intelligence,
how does a the basics of how it works?
What are those?
And then how is it going to impact mein terms of how I can use it?
(14:37):
What are the use caseswhere the implications of that?
And so I literacy is very importantfor us.
We create opportunitiesfor students for faculty,
for professionals on campus, acrosswherever department
they may be working in.
We've gotten into the K through 12 space.
And what we want to dothere is basically make sure
people understand what AI is,how does it impact you and how to use it.
(15:00):
We look at AI tools.
What are thoseresources and tools
that people need access toso that they can experiment.
They can try things they cancritically think about.
Is this a useful resource,or is this something
that's not going to be as useful?
Make that determination for themselves.
And then the third aspectis collaboration.
And we really wantto create the opportunities
that allow people to say, hey,I want to do research
(15:22):
with others in this area.
I want to do some kind of experimentationin the classroom
or some kind of work in termsof professional opportunities,
partnerships with businessesand those kinds of things.
So we think about how do we createjust experiences
for our academic communityto be engaged in that way?
And that's the approach we've taken.
It's a lot, though.
I can only imagine thatthat is a rather busy job.
(15:46):
It is a busy job for,it would be difficult
if someone wasn't inspired to do it.
I, you know, for me, like, this is, it'sa blessing to be in this time
and in this place and at this moment,being able to have the opportunity
to really be at this institutionthat I love, working with people
who are incredible to workwith, who are very talented
(16:08):
and and interested in the workthat they're doing.
And my job is literallyto provide them with the resources
and theand create some pathways for them
to be able to do their excellent work.
And that's really what we've beenable to try.
And sometimes we try some things and say,okay, that's
not really going to work broadly.
Let's, you know, try something different.
Sometimes we try things and say, this isthis has got potential.
(16:30):
And so then we try to figure outhow to incorporate that into,
you know, the programingthat we're providing for folks.
So let's let'syou know let's get into it. Right. Yeah.
What do you what do you use an AI for?
I mean that's one of my favorite thing.
I just I mean, we only got a,you know,
we only have so much time, right.
What like, what are your costs? Yeah.
So what I tell people to dois think about the work that you do
in the kind of three buckets, right?
There's a bucketthat's like you're kind of tedious,
(16:53):
repetitive tasks.
Those are the kinds of thingsthat I really good at.
And so we call it AI automation bucket.
Let's like I do that right.
Do you need to come upwith an outline for an article
you just readthat's going to help
you better understandsome work that you're working on? Now?
If it's for an assignment in class,let's make sure we're doing that
in the ethical way.
And the fact that writing papers with it.
Right, exactly.
(17:14):
But if you and I are meetingand, you know, say
we're in a research group togetherand we got to understand
this new research paperthat just got published. Okay.
Let's runthat through a couple of
AI tools that let us interactwith this and dive in deeper
and identifysome related research with this topic,
the thing that we could do,but I can do it better and faster.
So let's use it for that.
That frees up our timeto do things in the second bucket,
(17:36):
which are what we would callAI augmentation task. Right?
These are things that I can do,but humans
do it better if we work with AI to do it.
So things that I could do,but I can help me do it better.
Let's use AI for those things as well,in judicious ways,
and certainly in ways that we evaluatewhat the output looks like.
(17:57):
And that what that really does, though,is it opens up time
and opportunity for us to focus onwhat's in that third bucket.
And that's the bucket ofyou need a human to do this.
And AI is not going to be ableto do this right now,
and AI is not going to be able to do thisanytime soon.
And what I wantto be able to think about is
how do we teach the conceptsthat we're teaching in
(18:20):
that mindset as well?
Maybe you say, hey, you know what,I want to
I want you to understand how I doesthis better.
I want to understandhow to augment the work
that you're doing with AI on this.
But let's really focus,make sure you're understanding
how to do these skills really well,because I is not going to do that.
And this is going to beyour competitive advantage
when you're out in the fieldtrying to work
and trying to get jobsand trying to advance in your careers.
(18:41):
And it just so happens,you know, for my friends
in the humanitiesand liberal arts on this campus,
I really see thatthat's going to be the resurgence
in terms of the skillsthat we look for, empathy,
working with others.
I tell you one thing that I really likethe augment side,
because that's one thingthat's frustrated me.
And we also met earlier.
Right, is that people use AIand everyone is using it different.
(19:04):
We're all figuring out together, right?
Everyone's a different stepsof the journey.
But I think a lot of people useAI as like a final product.
Personally, I don't really like that.
Right.
Because it's notI like the augment thing.
Like I can dosteps two through seven
for me, really well.
And they can do that in,you know, a couple minutes.
(19:25):
I've still got to do steps one,eight, nine and ten though.
And it just speeds that process upand kind of that ingesting.
But it's not a final product. Yeah.
And you know it helps memaybe think a little bit outside the box
and connect to a couple thingsI didn't think about
or bring a little bit more,but it just helps me
do some of the more menial stuff faster.
But it's not the final productand there's still me there.
You talk about,you know, for you,
(19:47):
I like how you talk about it'snot you're not just a videographer,
you're a storyteller.
Oh, and I'm a man. Yeah.
Just open the can of worms.
I know how long.
Yeah, let's be a two hour long podcast.
But how?
Well, you're able to take the piecesand put them together
to weave that story.
I mean, there's not an AIthat does that, right? Right.
Now, there are a lot of,you know, repetitive tasks
(20:09):
like writing a pressrelease or something like that.
But that's not what PR is all about.
You know, there's a lot moreand it's a lot of relationships.
It's a lot of what people are.
You know, Orban, with our creed,when we talk about the human touch
and just the importance of what we talkabout the Auburn family like that,
we are in our institutionally,we're so uniquely positioned
to really make sense of this, what AI is,and not that it should take over society,
(20:35):
but how do we make sense of itin a way that,
you know, judiciously and,and, and understanding
how to use it and criticallythink about what the output is.
And I don't want a chat botreplacing people that's not Auburn
and that's not who we are,and that's not how we operate.
But now whoeveris answering those questions
for students,if they have access to AI tools
(20:55):
that help them do their,you know, do their work faster or better
so that it's an easier caseload for themthen that kind of stuff.
And you know thatthat's a quality of life improvement
that we should absolutely approach.
And look at in your roleand kind of what you're doing with a
you and I or I and I you see,I did it too. That's, that's is what that
is what are some of those first stepsthat students, faculty,
(21:17):
staff, people on here on campusthat tools
that are resources, placesthey can learn those kind of entry points
to anybody who wants to kind ofget involved with using
AI here at Auburn.
Yeah, we've got a lot of resourcesavailable.
We've createda resource called teaching with AI,
which is an online course,that the big data center created.
We actually launchedthat course early in, the spring of 2023.
(21:40):
And, it's a, it's an onlinecourse that allows faculty
to go through and understandhow to teach with
and make sense of AI, partnerwith their students
in terms of understanding the technology.
Better, better.
We actually we partneredwith the Southeastern Conference.
They expressed an interest.
There's a group calledthe Southeastern Conference
AI consortium, that's overseenby the academic side of the SEC.
(22:02):
And, and so, you know, Doctor Laney, who?
Powell. Who's the,AI academic, I mean, the
academic commissionerfor the Southeastern Conference
said, hey,we've got to say AI consortium.
Let's figure outwhat kind of resources
we can providefor all of the member institutions.
And so, they, choseto use the AI course from Auburn.
(22:25):
We modified and createdas an AI as a SEC version of it,
and then that course was availablefor everybody
in the Southeastern Conference to use.
It was used by the entireall of the instructors that teach in the,
Alabama Community College system.
We've actually made the versionavailable broadly.
And so we've got overalmost 14,000 or more,
(22:46):
faculty from around the worldwho've engaged with this course.
And, essentially they learn how to use AIand make sense of it for their classroom.
Through this resource,there's a group called edge,
which is the largestprofessional association for people
who are interestedin educational technology.
And so educators reached out to me.
They said, you know,we were going to develop our own course,
(23:07):
but yours is good.
Can we just licensing itfrom you and use that as our.
And so that's, you know,if you are associated with educators
and you sign up for the edgeof course, teaching with a
AI coursethat's actually the Auburn course
facilitated by educators folks.
And so it's really elevatedthe Auburn brand considerably
from that perspective.
We've got a resource calledhow to AI that's
(23:28):
available for any learnerwe desire for students.
But, you know,all of us are lifelong learners.
Anybody who's just interested inhow do I code with this?
How do I create text?
How do I create graphics or video?
Ethically?
What are the you know,what are some prompts
for creating a tutoror bot or something like that?
You can go to this,you know, how to AI resource
and basically go througha, an engaged way of learning
(23:51):
how to use these tools and,in a very safe way.
And so you're not giving up your datato someone
just because it's an Auburn,freely available resource.
All these are on our website.
Somebody goes to Big Auburn Edu,they can find the AI section,
and there's,lots of stuff listed there
in terms of things that are available.
We've got a new courseavailable for K through 12.
(24:11):
For teachers,there's a tremendous, focus
in terms of making surethat teachers
and administrators have the resourcesthey need and understanding.
So we actually partnered with,a lot of K through
12 teachers and, and a lot of,K through 12
librarians and said, okay,let's figure out
what's the best resource.
And we weaved it together as a storyof basically
(24:33):
having an innovation teamat a school that you're a part of.
And so when you sign into this course,you're basically a part
of that innovation team.
And now you go throughunderstanding AI,
making strategic decisionsfor this school, for your teaching,
for partnering for you know, andand communicating with your students and,
and with their parents.
And it kind ofgoes through those key
(24:53):
uses, of AI through this course.
The only Auburn really likeemphatic thing in there is
there's an eagle that flies around.
But the school hey, we got but,we got it, we got it,
we got it, you know. Right.
We got to do it. Right? Right.
That's cool.
That reminds me, like,I remember, like, growing up, and,
you know,I would do math different ways
(25:14):
than my parents wouldor whatever, and I'm imagining it.
My own kids like, oh, my gosh,they're going to be so fluent in AI.
Like, if they're going to be learning it.
Oh yeah.
And so we wantI mean, you know, that is
part of it is we wantthe students are coming and there's a
that's our future students. Right.
They're coming inand we want them to have,
that we want them tofirst of all understand
it, have access to it.
It's the future workforce.
(25:35):
You know, we want to make surethat we have the workforce
in the state of Alabamathat's going to be ready
for the coming economy.
And AI is absolutelya part of that economy.
Yeah, I know it's kind of adjacent to AI.
It's not necessarily AI,but it's adjacent.
Another thing that you've been doinga lot of work in is, VR work.
Yeah.
And VR and AR, and they kind of go handand there's some AI stuff
(25:56):
right out there,but there's also a lot of work
you're doing there forAuburn students and faculty.
And that also adjacent area.
We've got this awesomeinitiative called UX.
I work with Alicia BaggageTesting over in it,
so I want to give a shout out toJim O'Connor, who's the CIO at Auburn.
He's the one who, you know, kind ofcame up with
got to figure out how to fund this.
(26:16):
Coming on the offthe heels of the pandemic,
we had to figure out how to make learningmore, immersive.
And, you know, and so he,he kind of gave us the green light
to just figure things out.
And he that, you know,he provides the resources for it.
And, and so,it's a great partnership
between Office of Information Technologyand with the big center.
And what we really do is we say, okay,we're not going to build
(26:39):
a virtual Metta World of Auburn.
That's just not it.
There's no that'snot where the tech is headed.
That'sthere's not a lot of learning gain there.
What we really look at is,you know, when you're
sitting in that chemistry classor when you're sitting in a,
you know, in any other class, theresome of those concepts where
it doesn't really quite make sense.
(27:00):
What's being explained, or maybe twodimensional paper is not the best way
to understand a concept.
And so we asked the facultyto submit proposals
on those learning outcomes.
How so?
That's at the heart ofit is the learning outcomes. Very cool.
What what would you you know,what are those learning outcomes
that you think would be good candidatesfor creating an immersive
(27:22):
learning experience around.
And then we've got this teamin Auburn online
that basically develops virtualand augmented reality experiences.
You know, Alex Atari, who leadsthat team, does
a great job of basicallyworking with the faculty, saying,
okay, let's createa fully accessible and,
you know, the way thatthe storytelling aspect comes into it.
(27:43):
How do we create an immersive experiencethat makes this make sense? Better?
And, it's really been impressive to see.
It runs the gamutfrom the sciences, engineering.
There's lots of stuffgoing on in building science.
And, and some of the other programsand architecture.
I've seen some stuff here.
Yeah, it's very cool.
(28:03):
I'm a visual guy.
Shock, surprise as a video guy. Right?
I'm a visual guy.
And that is so helpful.
It really is.
Because, like, reading in a bookhas always been my Achilles
heel in academia.
Is is just becauseI'm so visual, it's hard for me
to kind of tangibly translate that,but be able to see it,
hold it right,manipulate it is so helpful.
(28:24):
Yeah.
We're also seeingI play a role in that
because we can create charactersand we can create experiences
that are AI drivenessentially within a virtual environment.
So if we create, for example,an experience in a class
which harkensback to maybe the 1950s or something,
we can createperiod appropriate characters
(28:46):
that can communicate in that way.
If we want to use AI to,you know, graphically experience
what certain environments may look like,and then so that allows us
to speed up the development work.
So I think it's really,as AI continues to grow
and as you know,it starts to become more and more
a part of our everyday lives.
You said thatyou teach some classes here on campus,
(29:08):
so why should somebody take that classic.
It sounds like somethingI would want to take. Yeah.
Why not sign up for my class?
It's,So I teach one class every semester.
It's, introto information systems management,
and it's, students that are eitherminoring or majoring in anything
in business.
And, so my studentshave about 130 students,
and they are from all different majors.
(29:29):
And, you know, sometimesif you just use the textbook,
it may have an example of something.
And if you're a finance major,you may look at that
example and say that, that,really apply to me.
I don't really understandthis, this concept.
So I can use AI to createcontent with my students,
where I say, okay, let's use this conceptand actually create a case study
(29:49):
that's relevant for you in financeand create another case study
that's relevant for you in marketing.
And so now you're getting contentand learning opportunities
that are relevant for you.
And then I have them actuallyuse AI in the class
so they can develop their skills,as they're going through the class
and better understandthe professional impact
(30:10):
that the technology will have,on their careers, on their,
you know, as the,as they think about what they want to do
after, college.
My goal is for my studentswhen they go in for a job interview,
for them to confidently be able to say,because I've had this class,
I understandthe emerging technology of our time
and the impact it'sgoing to have
in terms of the professionthat I'm seeking to be a part of.
(30:34):
I want them to be the best candidatefor that job.
And, I want them to be in a positionwhere they actually shape
the future and say,oh, here is what I think
the best uses of this technology will be.
And, I get the opportunityto do that with these students
through the way I teach using AI,you know, or
helping them understand how to understandAI in the context that they're in.
(30:55):
Awesome. Well, wonderful.
I mean, this this is great.
And hopefully they'll come back lessonscome back and get two,
three, 4 or 5 degrees, you know,from every college on campus here.
Truthfully, I couldtalk about AI all day.
I'm sure you could.
I know the three of them.
I mean, this could go on for hours,but unfortunately I cannot.
But I want to thank you for comingand sharing some of your thoughts
and all the workthat you and your team does,
(31:16):
to help push Auburn forwardand push the rest of the world.
And, you know, my pleasure.
Rising tide lifts all boats.
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
It's really been an exciting,time to have just this conversation
and chill out with you guys. It's great.
You know, we love it.
You know, this is what we live for.
This is. This is awesome.
So thank you for coming.
And thank you for listening.
We'll be back againnext month with another wonderful
member of the Auburn family.
(31:37):
And, we can't wait to talk to you.
Then, if you like what you heard,go back and listen to the old ones.
We got so many back therethat we've done in the past
down here in this, awesome studio.
But until next month.
We'll see you then.
I'm Carter, War Eagle.
I'm Dalton, War Eagle.
I'm Asim, War Eagle.
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