“An alien lifeform”: Teaching students the power and responsibility of AI

Artificial intelligence’s use is widespread ― from business to agriculture, transportation, health care and even smart home devices. With a capacity to enhance productivity, Professor Vince Castillo knows it’s here to stay. It’s why he’s helping shape the way it’s taught and used at Fisher.

“Disruptive technologies emerge consistently, but not since the internet has there been one that so drastically impacts teaching and learning (as AI),” Castillo said in a 2024 Supply Chain Management Review article.

Castillo, assistant professor of marketing and logistics, and a handful of his faculty colleagues are actively exploring ways to apply AI ― from basic Generative AI (GenAI) to customized programs ― to their academic curricula, research and entrepreneurial creations. They’re also committed to ensuring that academic integrity and the use of AI can coexist.

Castillo began using GenAI loosely in his classroom in spring 2023 as a way to introduce responsible use of the technology to his students. He started by giving GenAI access to his curriculum. At the same time, he also encouraged students to use GenAI for their assignments with the caveat they had to declare they were using it, provide printouts or links to the chat threads, and provide feedback about its use.

In his Master of Supply Chain Management courses, Castillo uses AI in assignments to encourage higher order thinking. Students read an assigned article, use GenAI to summarize it and then critique the summary for accuracy.

Another tool Castillo uses to help students think critically and understand AI’s sustainability is podcasts. He uploads his podcast, related documents, lecture slides and notes to GenAI which then creates a script and dialogue based on the information. Students listen to it on Spotify and are quizzed on what AI got right and wrong.

In his undergraduate marketing research course, Jeff Dotson builds on traditional teaching techniques using AI capabilities like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to have students rapidly draft and refine surveys.

“I use AI throughout my courses wherever it adds value,” said Dotson, associate professor of marketing and logistics. “I frame it as a tool to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of student work.”

Andrea Contigiani, assistant professor of management and human resources, is experimenting with AI in his MBA entrepreneurship class by having students apply it to every step of the “entrepreneurial process,” exploring if and how AI can complement human creativity.

“We use AI for idea generation, market research, interview data collection and analysis, prototyping, strategic analysis and more,” said Contigiani. “Optimism is critical in entrepreneurship, so we generally take an optimistic view of AI.

“In developing startup ideas, we make sure to understand when AI is not helpful and, in particular, when it is possibly harmful. It is hard to imagine cases where technology is actually harmful, though we have seen cases where it didn’t add much value. In class, we share what we’ve learned, through an open and psychologically safe discussion.”

Nate Craig, associate professor of operations and business analytics, teaches a graduate-level course titled, “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Business: Decisions from Data,” and brings that perspective to Executive MBA (EMBA) students as the program’s academic director.

Beyond readily available GenAI technology, Castillo and Contigiani have also developed their own AI technology-based programs.

Beginning in 2024, Castillo began experimenting with ChatGPT to create his “Supply Chain Brutus” that he now uses in his graduate supply chain courses. Supply Chain Brutus is a chatbot based on open-source AI models augmented with access to his custom textbook, course notes and instructions on how to behave. It acts like a tutor, helping students learn the fundamentals of analytics and how they can tailor GenAI for specific uses like building out interactive supply chain maps.

Creating his own chatbot provides Castillo with teaching advantages. He can access the students’ conversations behind the scenes to provide feedback on their work or to check if their assignments are original or AI-generated. It also provides data privacy, as all the information collected stays within Ohio State and the data governance unit.

Castillo said teaching students about GenAI and having them use Supply Chain Brutus helps them make informed choices and also enhances their readiness for a career in supply chain management. They can see how AI can be used for procurement purposes, warehouse management systems and future supply chain issues.

Likewise, Contigiani has developed a tool, an AI-based startup coach that asks insightful questions to help students identify critical challenges and opportunities for their business. Besides using it in the classroom, he is planning to test its effectiveness in a large-scale field study, to be launched later this year.

“My ‘Buckeye Startup Coach’ is an app built on a standard GenAI model that is augmented with a series of carefully vetted materials,” said Contigiani. “The students interact with it as they develop their startup ideas knowing that the feedback they receive is based on trusted knowledge.

“Like a lot of other folks at Fisher and beyond, I believe AI is fundamentally transforming the way we do business. We all need to learn it and I want to make sure my students have a chance to experiment with it.”

Dotson couldn’t agree more.

“These tools are here to stay and students who understand how to use them effectively will have a clear advantage,” Dotson said. “Our job is to prepare them for a workplace where AI is part of everyday problem solving.”