Evolving Principles

These evolving principles (AI-ACT) are intended to guide our academic approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI). They are consistent with our campus values; best practices in the responsible use of AI; and they amplify our strengths as a liberal arts college committed to excellence. The principles are evolving and can be iterated collectively.

Access

In a learning environment, everyone should have the right to access, at levels appropriate to their need, the same digital tools and learning opportunities. This applies to students, faculty, and academic staff. A commitment to digital inclusion is an essential foundational principle for an institution whose purpose is to educate, just as ‘access’ is one of our cornerstone campus values.

Informed Judgment

Study after study shows that human judgment is invaluable in an AI world. Exercising this judgment effectively requires foundational AI literacy premised on understanding what AI can and cannot do. It includes engaging with big ideas relating to AI and society. And it calls for doubling down on the human capacity to ask questions and think critically and ethically. These durable human skills equip people to thrive regardless of changes in technology.

Agency

The capacity to exercise agency is a prerequisite for effective teaching and learning. Consistent with our commitment to academic freedom and basic tenets in higher education, faculty are responsible for defining the content and goals of their courses, communicating expectations, and evaluating students fairly and consistently. Students, in turn, make choices about their learning, from engaging in self-reflection to practicing integrity and deciding whether AI will replace their own thinking. These practices extend to AI, shaping lifelong capacities related to purpose, resilience, and decision making.

Connection

A liberal arts college is at its best in fostering human connections as a core part of learning and mentoring; this is one of Trinity’s stated values and one of our longstanding strengths as a college. The use of AI should not displace this focus on human connections. When AI is used to support learning, this should free people up for more meaningful connections. When AI enables new connections, these should be complemented by in-person human interactions.

Trust

Learning in a community always requires some measure of trust. Those engaged in teaching and learning must understand rights to privacy, just as they must follow consistent practices of disclosure and attribution that ensure authenticity. Transparency is what individuals and the institution practice, but the broader goal is to build a culture of trust in which every person can develop to their fullest potential and technology is a force for good in society.