PennWest Launches Center for AI and Emerging Technologies
Pennsylvania Western University has announced the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, a new technology center with the goal of helping students and staff with new and emerging technologies.
“The PennWest Center for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies is a center within the university that will help organize, promote, and provide important programming and support for all those interested in and affected by the rapidly evolving technology landscape,” said James Fisher, vice president for Academic Affairs.
The PennWest Center for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies is a new center within PennWest with the primary mission of helping students, staff, and faculty learn about and research new technology. The new center is set to open during the spring 2025 semester and will be directed by Camille Dempsey.
“Our vision is to establish the PennWest Center for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies as a leading force in AI-driven education, research, and community engagement in Western Pennsylvania and beyond,” said Camille Dempsey, director of the PennWest Center for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies. “We envision a future where PennWest University is recognized for producing graduates who are not only technologically proficient but also literate in AI, ethical leaders, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners capable of addressing the complex challenges posed by AI and other emerging technologies in the shift towards a culture of virtuality.”
Dempsey said that the new center is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, with a mission to foster an environment where all of PennWest can explore, harness, and innovate the transformative potential of AI and emerging technologies.
Dempsey said the new center’s mission is driven by five key pillars:
1. Improving institutional effectiveness through the strategic adoption of AI and emerging technology.
2. Supporting PennWest faculty in adapting to AI's paradigm-shifting impacts on teaching.
3. Preparing students to become career-ready lifelong learners, AI ambassadors, and adaptable leaders.
4. Addressing the economic, ethical, cultural, political, and legal challenges posed by AI.
5. Engaging with community partners to help them navigate challenges and serve stakeholders in an AI-driven world.
“Through education, research, credentialing, community engagement, and strategic partnerships, the center serves as a dynamic hub where academia, industry, and the broader community converge to explore and leverage AI's transformative power,” said Dempsey. “By staying at the forefront in technological innovation, we ensure that PennWest graduates are prepared for success in 21st-century careers as technology continues to reshape the world.”
The new center will also develop ways to assist teachers in combating cheating with AI. Dempsey said current AI detection tools are unreliable, so the center will train staff to recognize and address AI-generated work.
“You are the expert and AI is the tool,” said Dempsey. “We don’t want to give everything creatively and intelligently to AI.”
The new center will have a student committee. PennWest students can get involved in the center directly by becoming a member of the committee.
“AI is already present in some way or another in most classrooms, whether that is at this point explicit or implicit,” said Fisher. “The goal of the Center is in part to acknowledge, harness, and consciously address that reality, with an emphasis on AI proficiency, safety, responsible use, and equitable access.”
A goal of the new center is to welcome AI into the PennWest classrooms, encouraging coursework involving AI alongside the current curriculum to help students be aware of AI.
“AI is not going away,” said Dempsey. “It will continue to blow up, and we want you to be aware. We want you to shine the light on what is possible.”