TERC Staff Present on AI Ethics in Higher Education at ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education)Conference
On June 23, 2025 Jim Hammerman presented his paper titled “Expanding AI Ethics in Higher Education Technical Curricula: A Study on Perceptions and Learning Outcomes of College Students“ co-authored with Miss Indu Varshini Jayapal and Dr. Theodora Chaspari, both of the University of Colorado Boulder, during Technical Session 2: Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education. The session examined the use of AI technologies to enhance teaching, learning, administrative processes, and student engagement at colleges and universities.
Abstract: The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into real-world applications requires researchers and developers to critically evaluate the ethical implications of their work. However, AI ethics education is limited in technical courses. This risks developing technology that may unintentionally harm society. Here, we present results from a pilot curriculum that integrates the various ethical topics related to AI into a graduate-level machine learning course. Activities include a combination of case studies, project-based learning, and critical classroom discussions on the ethical implications of current events in AI. Read more.
June 25, 2025 a poster was displayed at the NSF Grantees Poster Session II – ECR: Core. Identity Intersections of Indigenous Engineers and Computer Scientists featuring work by Nuria Jaumot-Pascual Ph.D., Maria Ong, and Tiffany Smith of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society.
Abstract: This paper explores how the identities of Indigenous computer scientists and engineers intersect with their cultural values around their motivations to be in these disciplines and around how they approach their work. This paper draws from a larger study funded by the National Science Foundation and is based on a set of fourteen photo elicitation interviews with Indigenous engineers and computer science students and professionals. Participants shared photographs and reflected on supports, challenges, and motivations due to the lived intersections of their identities as computer scientists and engineers and as Indigenous individuals. We found that the values of giving back and Nation building and the integration of traditional Indigenous knowledge with western disciplinary training are among the main motivators for Indigenous computer scientists and engineers to be in their disciplines. We recommend integrating Indigenous values and knowledges and western training to support the development of positive identities of Indigenous students and professionals in engineering and computing.