The Embrace Technology Improvement Team met to start tackling issues around technology in the HSFI community!
A strength in our group is our ability to set standards and boundaries for our meetings. Our first order of business was to make group norms and rules to ensure that each member of our team would feel supported. We wanted to ensure that we could share multiple view points and opinions, while maintaining respect for one another. We took time to discuss what a “good meeting” and “bad meeting” would look like. We agreed that a good meeting would include us taking turns sharing ideas, bouncing off one another, having in-depth discussions, and everyone feeling seen and heard. We discussed how a bad meeting would have one team member dominating the discussion, members feeling judged or overlooked, and people speaking over one another. Our first meeting was a success! We made sure every team member was able to speak freely and feel valued.
Another one of our group’s strengths was our ability to have a robust discussion. We come from a wide range of backgrounds and interests, which helped us create many strong ideas. A major topic we explored was the use of AI. Both staff and students expressed being largely anti-AI. The staff members noted that they have seen students’ critical-thinking skills decline when relying on it, and that assignments completed with AI often contain obvious errors and inconsistencies. The students agreed and said that they find it strange how heavily their peers depend on AI. One student explained that she used to use it regularly until she learned more about its impact on the brain and the environment. This conversation led to our first pilot idea: to create a showcase for the student lounge on Earth Day, featuring artwork that highlighted the negative effects of AI on users and the planet. However, after further discussion, we realized that using social media would be a more effective way to reach people. This led to our current plan: developing an interactive Instagram page where we will share facts and research about AI and other related topics. Overall, our group members brought valuable ideas, experiences, and research, allowing us to collaborate effectively and brainstorm multiple creative project ideas together.
We are excited to have more meetings and to come up with more ways to help the HSFI community be the best it can be!