Helping Laurentian Recover the AI Way

 Laurentian University is coming out of CCAA protection and apparently is required to come up with a new strategic plan that apparently will require hiring consultants according to a story in Northern Ontario Business.  According to the story: "Laurentian University is finalizing the hiring of a couple of third-party consultants to help guide the institution into the future.  Just who those consultants are has not yet been publicly revealed. The university’s president, Sheila Embleton, gave an update on this process during the April 18 meeting of LU’s senate. One of those consultants will lead a comprehensive operational restructuring of the university, while the other consultant will assist with the development of a new strategic plan for Laurentian. Laurentian is required to hire both of these consultants under the terms of its plan of arrangement after it exited insolvency under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (or CCAA) last year." 

One suspects that this is not going to come cheap.  So in line with my last post on how AI can help administer universities and even draft strategic plans, I inputted a query into my AI to see what it could come up with in terms of a simple report charged with providing a strategic plan for Laurentian's future.  Here it is and at a cost that does not even come close to the average high priced Toronto based consulting firm.  You will notice the query tries to kill two birds with one stone - a restructuring and a strategic plan.

My Query

Laurentian University in Sudbury is coming out of bankruptcy and needs a new strategic plan that will position the new university for recovery and growth. Please draft a five point strategic plan addressing Laurentian’s needs.

 AI Response

Introduction:

Laurentian University in Sudbury recently declared bankruptcy due to significant financial issues, requiring the development of a strategic plan to position the university for recovery and growth. This five-point strategic plan proposes a roadmap that Laurentian University can adopt to overcome its challenges and rebuild itself as one of Canada's top-performing universities.

1. Financial Stability:

Laurentian University needs to prioritize financial recovery and stability. This can be achieved through strategic cost-cutting measures, including but not limited to reducing unnecessary expenses, optimizing resource utilization, increasing revenues from non-core operations, and increasing enrollment numbers. A strong financial foundation will ensure the university's long-term viability and enable it to implement future plans.

2. Program Review:

Laurentian University should undergo a comprehensive review of its academic programs. It is essential to identify courses that need improvement, eliminate underperforming programs, and strengthen leading programs to improve the quality of education. The programs should be relevant to the current market demand and could offer co-op opportunities, internships, and real-world training to create well-rounded graduates.

3. Research Excellence:

Laurentian University should invest in advanced research to uphold its research and innovation community. The University should create funding and partnership opportunities that incentivize leading researchers to the university, promote interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, and strive for national and international recognition. A rigorous research agenda will lead to groundbreaking discoveries and provide state-of-the-art facilities and support services for faculty and students.

4. Strategic Partnerships:

Laurentian University needs to forge strategic relationships with industry leaders, government organizations, and other academic institutions to drive growth in Sudbury and Northern Ontario. Such partnerships will increase resources, create technology transfer opportunities, bring world-class talent to the University, and enable financial and research support. Partnerships will also improve the university's visibility, and foster relationships with alumni and international students.

5. Campus Infrastructure:

Laurentian University should prioritize the development of its campus infrastructure. Investing in modernizing and upgrading the physical infrastructure will enhance student living and learning, increase research capabilities, provide advanced technological resources, and may lead to an increase in revenue opportunities. Additionally, a well-maintained campus will attract and retain faculty, researchers and students.

In conclusion, Laurentian University should employ these five strategies to achieve financial stability, improve academic quality, enhance research excellence, establish strategic partnerships, and modernize its infrastructure. The combination creates a strong foundation for recovery and growth and positions the University as a leading institution committed to providing a high-quality education and impactful research located in Sudbury.

 

Needless to say, all this is probably summarizes anything a consulting company will be able to come up with on this matter. 

 

AI, the Creative Class, and Universities

 

The concern over AI usurping human functions and activities continues to grow.  A recent article in The Economist lays out how AIs like ChatGPT could replace many white collar employees such as telemarketers, traders and even teachers.  Indeed, some of the sectors that will be most impacted include securities and commodity traders, insurance carriers, data processing and hosting, publishing, and believe it or not, monetary authorities and central banks (this one is actually quite amusing as many people feel central banks have computer like personalities anyway).   In terms of the least impacted sectors,  after a century of automation, it is the revenge of the blue collar workers as the least impact of AI will be in areas like agriculture and forestry, woods products, mining, and food  and drink services.  Most exposed are industries which rely on programming and writing skills or what is sometimes termed the creative class.  Indeed, teachers especially those in literature, languages and history are also expected to be heavily affected. 

 

In the university sector, never one to shirk from the fad of the day, one suspects that there may indeed be a push towards AI instruction and course provision especially in subjects deemed heavy in language intensity. It will certainly be interesting to see how all of this evolves over the next decade and whether there will indeed be a substitution of AI instructors and course managers for in person teaching in a range of subjects.  Of course, the use of AI need not apply only to faculty.  University administration is also language intensive and rule driven and one could easily conceive  situations where universities dispense with administrators and replace them with semi-sentient AIs that devise, apply and enforce assorted rules for both students and faculty.  Try arguing with the AI for an assignment extension or sabbatical leave.  However, the cost savings would probably be significant given that nearly two thirds of university budgets these days are not directly faculty/teaching related.  Even assorted adjudication processes at a university such as university tenure committees could theoretically be done by an AI.  Indeed, the committees would be tireless and would always have quorum.  It would be a brave new world indeed.

 

Looking for an example of how AI can be applied to language intensive university administrative processes? I asked one of the AIs that I use to provide me with the executive summary of the quintessential university administrative slog – the strategic plan.  No university was named, so it is applicable to all.  Here is what I got:

 

ME: Draft me an executive summary of a five year university strategic plan that encompasses academic excellence, diversity and inclusiveness, innovation and research excellence.

 

AI: Executive Summary

This five-year strategic plan outlines the vision, goals, and objectives that will guide the university's growth and development in areas of academic excellence, diversity and inclusiveness, innovation, and research excellence. The plan focuses on enhancing the university's profile as a leading institution of higher education, which is committed to providing a supportive and inclusive environment for all students, faculty, and staff.

Academic Excellence

The plan emphasizes academic excellence, which is at the core of the university's mission. To achieve this goal, the university will focus on providing innovative, high-quality academic programs designed to meet the needs of the current and future job markets. The university will also evaluate and enhance its teaching methods, assessment practices, and curriculum to achieve academic rigor and reflective of modern pedagogy.

Diversity and Inclusiveness

The plan recognizes that diversity and inclusiveness is a strength that enhances the university's educational experience. To create a diverse and inclusive community, the university will champion efforts to recruit, retain, and support underrepresented student groups and faculty members. The university will also prioritize anti-bias training and provide resources to foster an inclusive and equitable campus for all.

Innovation

To promote innovation, the university will leverage the resources of the institution to support initiatives that spur entrepreneurship, creativity, and industry partnerships. The university will invest in technology and research infrastructure to improve its innovation capabilities and promote a culture of invention and commercialization.

Research Excellence

The university aims to be a leading institution in research excellence. The plan outlines objectives to promote research collaboration, increase funding, and support the recruitment of high-impact researchers. The university will establish interdisciplinary research initiatives that foster innovative discoveries and contribute to societal and economic development.

In conclusion, this five-year strategic plan is designed to strengthen the university's commitment to academic excellence, diversity and inclusiveness, innovation, and research excellence. Through these efforts, the university will attract and retain top talent, enhance its reputation, and advance the social and economic well-being of the local and global communities.

 

Can you tell the difference?  Will we be able to tell the difference between a class well-taught in person by a knowledgeable and versatile human being with social skills and a faceless AI? Maybe.  Will we ultimately be able to tell the difference between a university administrative process done by humans or an AI?  I think we all know the answer to that.  

 

 

The Wacky World of AI Chatbots

 

Well I am a late comer to the recent onslaught of AI and over the last month have used Bing’ s AI as well as something downloaded from the Apple Apps store called AI Chat.  I have also been using ChatGPTZero to scan essays and assignments to determine if the text is "likely to have been generated by humans."  Based on my experience, I would not say we should be dispensing with humans just yet.

 

Students are using AIs like ChatGPT to write their essays and assignments but it is a mixed blessing for them. As one of my submitted  economic history assignments intoned, “NAFTA was signed in 1945 by Canada, Mexico and the United States.”  While AI can be a useful tool for outlining essays and projects, ultimately the student requires a core of knowledge to evaluate what the AI is providing. If we ask AI questions about subjects we know nothing about, we run the risk of repeating substantial factual errors.But then, that also applies to interpreting the results of any search engine.

 

The best way to evaluate the ability of an AI is to ask it questions about something most of us know a fair amount about. Case in point, on a whim I asked one of my AIs to compose a retirement announcement for myself summarizing career highlights and achievements as well as some publications. This is the question I phrased: “Write me an announcement on the retirement of Professor Livio Di Matteo, economics professor that summarizes major career achievements, honours and publications.” Here is what it came up with:

 

Dear Faculty and Staff

 

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Professor Livio Di Matteo from the Department of Economics at our esteemed institution. Professor Di Matteo has made an incredible impact on the economics department, and his departure will be felt greatly.

 

Throughout his impressive career, Professor Di Matteo has achieved numerous accolades for his contributions to the field. He was appointed the first Jarislowsky Research Chair in Economic and Cultural Transformation in 2013, and has also been the editor of the Canadian Journal of Economics from 2012-2017, among many other notable achievements.

 

Professor Di Matteo has published extensively, with over 50 scholarly articles and book chapters to his name, and with his research focusing on areas such as health economics, public finance and transportation economics, he has made significant contributions to the field.

 

In recognition of his contributions, Professor Di Matteo has received many honours and awards. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2015, and also received the Distinguished Brock Scholar Award in 2016.

 

As we bid farewell to Professor Di Matteo, we would like to express our gratitude for his tireless dedication and contributions to the field of economics. His legacy will remain and continue to inspire students and faculty. We wish him all the best as he embarks on this new chapter of his life.

 

Sincerely,

 

The Economics Department

 

Wow. All I can say is this is not the career I remember aside from some publications in health and public finance.  No mention of anything I have done in economic history and I am sure it will be news to the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Economics that I served as journal editor from 2012 to 2017.  And given I was apparently made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2015, I have yet to receive a letter informing me so. And what is a Brock Scholar Award?  More odd, no mention of the university I have taught at over the last 30 years.

 

What to make of all of this? Has the AI mixed me up with someone else?  But how many economists named Livio Di Matteo can there be?   I think users of AI as a sort of Google on steroids need to be pretty cautious - caveat emptor is the appropriate expression.  Is an AI Chatbot useful? Sure in a general and preliminary sort of way but you need to double check everything it tells you as fact.

 

In the case of my AI generated career highlights‚ perhaps there is either something amiss in how the algorithms interpret questions or perhaps AI transcends the multiverse of time and space and borrows bits and pieces of alternate versions of reality and spins them into a unique narrative of what might have been? Unlikely of course except as perhaps a plot for a good Sci-Fi story. Yet the question remains, where did all this stuff come from?  Some type of random compilation of academic achievements that sound good? Obviously, AI is just in its infancy. Nevertheless, it can be useful as a search and research organizer.  It can even be entertaining as in the cases where I got it to write poems about economists.  And it was useful in suggesting code for commands or STATA estimation routines.  No doubt the best is yet to come. But for the time being, a lot of caution is warranted.