Experts on the swift and disruptive advances in artificial intelligence are kicking off BW’s 2023-24 “Voices of Discovery” series, while efforts to integrate generative AI across campus grow.
“I get that it’s scary, but we need more people to get through the fear and anxiety and figure this out.”
That’s the advice from Paul Roetzer, founder and CEO of Marketing AI Institute, as he kicked off the “Voices of Discovery” series at Baldwin Wallace University with “A look beyond: AI and the next frontier for business.”
Noting that “AI is changing everything,” Roetzer demonstrated for the audience in BW’s Gamble Auditorium how generative AI is transforming the world of work and is increasingly baked into digital tools we are already using.
The author of “Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing, and the Future of Business” argued that business leaders and current and future employees can no longer ignore the rapid evolution and adoption of the technology.
“A little bit of AI can go a long way in efficiency,” he advised.
At the same time, Roetzer acknowledged that there are many unanswered questions about the impact, ethics and potential regulation to minimize misuse of the technology.
Roetzer’s Marketing AI Institute aims to make the technology “more approachable and actionable for marketers and business leaders.” That’s a goal BW is pursuing for students and faculty, as well.
BW has been exploring the applications and impact of AI since before ChatGPT ushered generative tools into the mainstream. Dr. Kelly Coble (philosophy), Dr. Jennifer Perry (psychology) and Dr. Brian Krupp (computer science) co-taught an experimental seminar, Artificial Intelligence: Ethics and Societal Impact, open to students across majors.
Undergraduate digital marketing majors and strategic marketing graduate assistants use AI throughout the curriculum, from generating ideas to understanding customers to interpreting analytics and more. Students in BW’s Digital Marketing Center (DMC), under Professor Tim Marshall's direction, will partner with the City of Berea and local chambers of commerce to offer training to small businesses on a variety of AI marketing communication approaches.
And, student entrepreneurs in the BW Start Smart program will be able to complete the Marketing AI Institute's Piloting AI for Marketers certification course at no cost through a Burton D. Morgan Foundation and LaunchNET initiative.
Roetzer advised students attending his lecture to learn all they can about AI and showcase those skills in interviews where hiring managers are looking for talent embracing the technology.
Even the act of preparing for those interviews is benefiting from AI. The BW Career Center now connects students to resources such as LinkedIn's Interview Preparation feature. Students record themselves during a mock interview and receive instant, AI-powered feedback on how they can improve their delivery.
For BW faculty and staff, there is also support to build an AI-powered campus.
A new AI Faculty Champions program offers coaching and collaboration around AI applications both in and out of the classroom. For all faculty and staff, BW's Educational Technology team and education professor Dr. Gabriel P. Swarts developed a self-paced online course, AI Resources for Higher Ed, which offers resources for leveraging AI to improve the student experience.
Roetzer’s talk is the first in a series of events under the “Voices of Discovery” banner. Next up is a Burrell Observatory Lecture and Open House on Saturday, Sept. 23, featuring NASA’s Jeffrey Woytach presenting "Artemis: Back to the Moon."
AI is back in the spotlight on Wednesday, Oct. 18, when the head of the design team that created Siri and Impact Advisor at Humanistic.ai, Tom Gruber, presents “How AI can enhance our memory, work and social lives.”
The series concludes on Monday, April 8, 2024, with a campus-wide path of totality solar eclipse event.
Most events are free and open to the public, but some may have limited seating and require a ticket. View the evolving list of events and ticket information at bw.edu/events/voices.
