The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) today released Boards and Bots: A Guide to Artificial Intelligence for College Trustees. Just as the use of artificial intelligence continues to grow, so do the challenges it poses for American colleges and universities. This new publication equips governing boards to navigate one of the most consequential technological developments facing higher education.
Rather than prescribing classroom policies, ACTA’s guide emphasizes the board’s proper role in governance. The guide outlines eight practical actions trustees can take, including:
While AI-powered tools have demonstrated the potential to improve student success and streamline administrative functions, they also raise pressing concerns about academic integrity and institutional governance. Boards and Bots argues that governing boards should learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, in which many institutions were forced to react chaotically to technological change due to a lack of preparation.
“Ultimately, AI governance is governance,” said Kyle Beltramini of ACTA. “Boards cannot afford to be bogged down with the intricacies of AI theory. Instead, they should focus on ensuring their institutions respond to this technological development in a systematic, mission-driven manner. Institutions can no longer afford to be blown forward by the winds of change.”
Read the full guide HERE.
Published through ACTA’s Institute for Effective Governance®, this guide builds on ACTA’s longstanding work helping trustees fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities and promote academic excellence and accountability.
ACTA in the NewsArtificial Intelligence
Meta recently published an ad titled, “Talk it out with Meta AI – Book Club,” where AI serves as both an event planner and literary professor within the span of 30 seconds. The ad clearly misses the irony of its own title as talking things out is the point of a book club. Cringeworthy enough on its own, the ad inspires broader concerns with turning too quickly to AI to outsource some of the most human things in life.
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