FOR YOUR EXPERTISE.
>> THANK YOU.
>> THE EXPLOSION OF MAINSTREAM
USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
TOOLS HAS LED TO THE VERY
DEVELOPERS OF THIS TECHNOLOGY
WARNING OF ITS DANGERS,
INCLUDING EXTINCTION, BUT THEIR
EXTENSIVE EVERYDAY USE IS HERE
TO STAY.
WE TURN TO LOIS BROOKS, CHIEF
INFORMATION OFFICER AND VICE
PROVOST FOR INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY AT UW MADISON, AND
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
>> THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME.
>> SO IT'S NOT ONLY A.I., BUT
GENERATIVE A.I., WHICH CAN
GENERATE TEXT OR IMAGES THAT HAS
REALLY EXPLODED INTO THE
MAINSTREAM.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE MASS USE OF
THIS GENERATIVE A.I. THAT'S BEEN
A GAME-CHANGER?
>> SO A.I. HAS BEEN PRESENT FOR
QUITE A LONG TIME, AND YOU'VE
PROBABLY INTERACTING WITH IT
THROUGH THINGS LIKE CHAT BOX OR
FINDINGS THE BEST TRAVEL FARES.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH GENERATIVE
A.I. IS TOOLS LIKE CHAT GPT MADE
IT ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE TO BEGIN
TO GENERATE CONTENT, SO YOU CAN
GO GENERATE A REPORT OR THE
DRAFT OF AN EMAIL OR AN IMAGE OR
VIDEO YOURSELF, AND SO WE'VE
SEEN THIS EXPLOSION IN
CREATIVITY WITH PEOPLE CREATING
SONGS AND POETRY AND MOVIES AND
ALL SORTS OF THINGS WITH A.I.,
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE
QUALITY OF SOME OF IT IS SO GOOD
THAT IT'S HARD TO TELL WHETHER
IT WAS GENERATED BY MACHINE OR
NOT, SO WE HAVE SIMULTANEOUSLY
AN EXPLOSION OF NEW CONTENT AND
A CONCERN THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW
IF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT WAS
CREATED BY AN A.I. ENGINE OR THE
HUMAN WHO IT'S ATTRIBUTED TO.
>> WHY IS THAT DANGEROUS, IF AT
ALL?
>> IF YOU'RE LOOKING, FOR
EXAMPLE, AT A VIDEO OF SAYING
SOMETHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU
DON'T KNOW IF THAT PERSON
ACTUALLY SAID THAT OR IF SOMEONE
USED A.I. TO GENERATE IT.
SIMILARLY, IF YOU'RE READING A
REPORT, AN ANALYSIS OF
SOMETHING, YOU DON'T KNOW
WHETHER THAT WAS WRITTEN BY AN
EXPERT WHO COULD BE CREDIBLE OR
AN ENGINE THAT MAY BE PUTTING
OUT FALSE INFORMATION.
AND AGAIN, BECAUSE THE QUALITY
IS GOOD ENOUGH, SOMETIMES IT'S
QUITE HARD TO TELL.
>> IF THE ACCURACY GETTING
BETTER AND BETTER?
>> IT'S HARD TO SAY.
THERE IS MORE AND MORE DATA
BEING AMASSED WITHIN THE ENGINES
THAT CAN BE USED TO CREATE MORE
OUTPUT, BUT THE ACCURACY WOULD
COME FROM TWO THINGS, ONE, FROM
THE DATA ITSELF BEING ACCURATE
THAT WENT INTO IT AND THEN FROM
THE ALGORITHMS USED TO CREATE
GIVING YOU ACCURATE INFORMATION,
SO I COULDN'T SAY IF IT'S
BECOMING MORE ACCURATE, BUT I
WILL SAY THE QUESTIONS ABOUT ITS
ACCURACY ARE BECOMING MORE
PRESENT AND SHARPER.
>> WHICH IS IMPORTANT AS WELL.
SO SPEAKING OF DATA, THE
UNIVERSITY RECENTLY PUT OUT A
STATEMENT RESTRICTING THE USE OF
INSTITUTIONAL DATA THAT IS NOT
CONSIDERED PUBLIC FROM BEING
ENTERED INTO ANY GENERATIVE A.I.
TOOL.
WHY THAT RESTRICTION?
>> WELL, WE ALREADY HAVE
RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA THAT'S
LEGALLY PROTECTED, LIKE STUDENT
DATA OR MEDICAL INFORMATION.
WE DO USE SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS
TO MANAGE THAT DATA, BUT WE VERY
CAREFULLY CHECK IT FOR
CYBERSECURITY AND ENTER INTO
CONTRACTS TO HELP WITH
CORRECTION.
THESE A.I. TOOLS HAVEN'T BEEN
SCRUTINIZED.
THE WAY THEY WORK MAY OR MAY NOT
BE APPROPRIATE FOR CERTAIN KINDS
OF DATA AND WE'RE NOT IN A
CONTRACTUALLY PROTECTED
ENVIRONMENT.
SO THERE WAS NOTHING -- A.I.
ITSELF ISN'T BAD AND THERE'S
NOTHING NEW ABOUT THIS.
IT WAS REALLY A REMINDER TO OUR
COMMUNITY OF THE STANDARDS WE
ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE FOR
WORKING WITH SENSITIVE DATA.
>> SO MACHINE LEARNING HAS BEEN
AROUND FOR A WHILE AND IN
ACADEMIC USE.
WHAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF IT, ITS USE
AT THE UNIVERSITY?
>> WELL, WE'VE BEEN DOING A.I.
RESEARCH FOR MORE THAN A DECADE
AT THE UNIVERSITY AND OUR
RESEARCHERS ARE CONTRIBUTING TO
THE DEVELOPMENT, TO THE POWER
AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A.I. TO
RESEARCH INTO ETHICS AND BIAS.
WE'RE ALSO USING IT IN RESEARCH.
SO JUST A FEW EXAMPLES, IF
YOU'RE WORKING WITH A CHEMICAL
THERAPY, PERHAPS MEDICINE, AND
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE
CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL
INTERACTIONS, YOU CAN TRAIN A.I.
ALGORITHMS TO DO THAT WORK FOR
YOU, BUT IT CAN DO IT ON A MASS
SCALE THAT YOU COULDN'T ACHIEVE
BEFORE.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE, ONE OF OUR
RESEARCHERS IS WORKING WITH
AGRICULTURAL ANIMALS AND
TRACKING DATA ON THE ANIMALS
AROUND THEIR WELL-BEING, THEIR
NUTRITION AND SO ON, BUT AGAIN,
THE DIFFERENCE IS HE CAN DO THIS
WORK ON A MASSIVE SCALE THAT HE
WASN'T ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE
PAST, AND SO WE'RE SEEING IT
COME IN IN TRANSPORTATION,
SPACE, SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND IN
MANY AREAS.
>> AS TO STUDENTS' USE OF A.I.,
GENERATIVE A.I. TO COMPLETE
ASSIGNMENTS, EVEN MAJOR ONES
LIKE TERM PAPERS, WHAT IS THE
UNIVERSITY'S POSITION ON THIS?
>> WELL, THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO
TAKE THAT QUESTION.
ARE THEY USING A.I. IN A WAY
THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED OR THAT'S
NOT BEEN ASSIGNED?
SO WE TEACH A.I., WE TEACH IT IN
COMPUTER SCIENCE, WE TEACH IT IN
COMPUTERS THAT USE A.I., SO
HELPING OUR STUDENTS LEARN HOW
TO USE IT APPROPRIATELY.
THERE IS ALSO AN ACTIVE
CONSIDERATION AROUND THE USE OF
S.I. TO GENERATE A PAPER THAT
THE STUDENT WAS EXPECTED TO
WRITE.
THERE'S AN ACTIVE CONVERSATION
IN A COUPLE OF WAYS.
FIRST, THE STANDARDS HAVEN'T
CHANGED.
CHEATING HAS ALWAYS BEEN
DISALLOWED.
THIS IS JUST A NEW WAY TO
POTENTIALLY DO IT.
BUT WE'RE ALSO HAVING ACTIVE
CONVERSATION WITH OUR PROFESSORS
AROUND ARE THERE WAYS TO ASSESS
PERFORMERS THAT STEP AROUND
THIS, ACTIVE LEARNING,
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING, THAT
WOULD NOT INTRODUCE THE
POSSIBILITIES OF A MACHINE
GENERATED RESPONSE.
>> ARE WE MOVING TOO FAST FOR
THESE TOOLS WITHOUT ADEQUATE
SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE?
>> THERE'S AN INTERESTING
QUESTION NOW AROUND REGULATORY
COMPLIANCE AND A.I. AND A
STATEMENT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
AROUND THE USE OF WATER MARKING
IN IMAGES.
I THINK IT'S MOVING VERY, VERY
QUICKLY, DISMT CONCERN I HAVE IS
WHETHER THE CONVERSATION AROUND
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE IS
STRICTLY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT,
THE CONGRESS AND LEGISLATURE,
AND BIG TECH COMPANIES.
AND I THINK TO DO THIS
CORRECTLY, THERE NEEDS TO BE A
WAY FOR EXPERTS, FOR EMPHASIS,
FOR CITIZENS TO WEIGH INTO
CONVERSATION AS WELL.
SO WE ARE MOVING QUICKLY.
WILL WE MOVE SO QUICKLY THAT WE
AS CITIZENS CAN'T WEIGH IN ON
THE CONVERSATION IS A CONCERN
FOR ME.
>> INTERESTING.
LOIS BROOKS, THANKS VERY MUCH.
>> THANK YOU.
>> FOR MORE ON THIS AND OTHER
ISSUES FACING WISCONSIN, VISIT
OR WEBSITE AT PBS WISCONSIN
DOT-ORG AND THEN CLICK ON THE
NEWS TAB.
THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR TONIGHT,
I'M FREDERICA FREYBERG.
HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.
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