Artificial intelligence was the focus of a recent conference at Arizona State University, where leaders and experts discussed its role in education, innovation, and equity. The “Agentic AI and the Student Experience” event, hosted by ASU Enterprise Technology over three days, included speakers, panels, and workshops that addressed the rapid changes brought by AI to higher education.
ASU President Michael Crow delivered the keynote address. He described AI as a tool with potential to expand educational access globally. “We’re each given this unbelievable gift and then we try to drive everybody through a factory model of learning,” Crow said.
Crow also emphasized that technology should not replace human roles but instead enhance them. He shared an example from his own experience: “She was unbelievable with what she was able to do in my interactions with her. And nothing about AI takes away the Mrs. Bakers. Nothing about AI takes away the value of the library,” he said.
Crow explained that understanding core knowledge is vital for citizens today. “Mastery means, do you understand what it is? Do you understand what carbon dioxide is? Do you understand what it means if you change the amount that’s in the atmosphere?” he asked.
He warned against a future where access is limited only to some: “That’s the trajectory we are on right now. If we really want our entire species to reach the potential that we have as a species, we’ve got to figure this out.”
Since 2024, ASU has partnered with OpenAI, known for ChatGPT. The university established principles for responsible use of AI, started an Innovation Challenge resulting in hundreds of faculty projects, and developed CreateAI Builder—a platform for building secure AI tools within ASU.
Roger Kohler from ASU’s AI Acceleration team led a workshop on using CreateAI Builder to make custom tools while protecting data and ensuring transparency. He stated: “We all in higher ed really need to show that AI is a power for good. It’s not just for profit. And that there’s a way to use AI with principled innovation, and we don’t try to replace humans, but we enhance humans.” Kohler added: “We can’t wait for policy because it’s so dynamic.”
Marina Gorbin from the Institute for the Future spoke about society’s short-term focus versus long-term needs when adapting new technologies like AI: “Our society’s very much short-term oriented… When we think about AI and what’s happening today, there are a lot of patterns in terms of technology evolution that we really need to be paying attention to,” she said.
Gorbin argued for viewing access to technology as essential infrastructure: “Why is it that access to health is not a right? Why is it that access to basic technology infrastructure for broadband is not a right? There has to be a public option in all of these things,” she said. She concluded: “Increasingly, I think AI and AI infrastructure is becoming this basic asset.”
Former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema discussed her efforts after leaving office—including launching ASU’s Spark Center for Innovation in Learning focused on supporting neurodivergent students through technology such as early identification tools using AI.
Sinema announced with Lev Gonick (ASU CIO) the Global AI Challenge competition aimed at developing solutions for neurodiverse learners: “We’re not just looking for good ideas,” she said. “We are going to help turn those good ideas into reality so they go into the world and help real people.” Contestants will receive mentorship from OpenAI and Microsoft.
During the conference two initiatives were announced:
– ASU student workers collaborated with Cintana Education and Amazon Web Services on an admissions chatbot project; next steps include creating tutoring agents serving partner universities worldwide.
– Xbox Game Camp will be available at ASU through collaboration with Microsoft—its first time offered in Arizona—to provide training resources for aspiring game creators.
In addition to its internal developments around artificial intelligence in education settings, Arizona State University has received external recognition; it was named number one in innovation by U.S. News & World Report eight years running according to the annual Best Colleges rankings.
Furthermore, outside campus partnerships highlight ASU’s engagement with emerging technologies such as smart traffic cameras being piloted by Argos Vision—a tech startup connected with Arizona State University—alongside the City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department aiming at safer streets through advanced data analytics.
