California State University system is expanding ChatGPT to all students and faculty in the name of equity
The initiative will provide premium ChatGPT access to more than 523,000 students and faculty at the California State University system's 23 campuses.
Concerns have been raised over the $17 million price tag and the potential for the technology to severely undermine students' education.
The California State University system is drawing criticism after committing more than $16 million to provide campus-wide access to ChatGPT while simultaneously raising tuition and scaling back programs to address a multibillion-dollar budget gap.
The initiative, first announced on February 4, makes CSU the first major public university system in the country to extend premium artificial intelligence tools to students and faculty across all of its campuses. Administrators justified the purchase as an “equity” measure, saying the deal ensures students at smaller campuses are not left behind.
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, said the deal with CSU expands access to the AI to more than 523,000 students and faculty.
Faculty, however, have flagged potentially major issues.
The CSU Academic Senate passed a resolution on May 9 cautioning that widespread reliance on AI could erode students’ critical thinking and writing skills, encourage plagiarism, and expose both students and instructors to false accusations when detection software fails. Senators also pointed to ethical issues surrounding intellectual property, the use of low-paid contractors to train AI systems, and the environmental toll of powering massive data centers.
The resolution also stated the nearly $17 million commitment was “decided without consultation about pedagogical efficacy,” calling it “unsustainable.”
In July CSU told its Board of Trustees that the system’s budget deficit had grown to $2.3 billion, pushing the question of costly artificial intelligence licenses to the forefront.
Despite concerns and pushback, CSU leaders are pressing ahead.
”Many people had already signed up for individual licenses for ChatGPT, whether they were faculty, staff, or students, but only the people that could afford that were doing that. That was also leaving our community behind,” CSU Chief Information Officer Ed Clark told LAist.
”So, we wanted to think about it system-wide in terms of access, equity, outcomes for all, and that is why we went system-wide.”
[RELATED: UCLA raked in billions from feds while pushing DEI, anti-Israel ideology - REPORT]
Campus Reform has previously covered concerns about AI in higher education and the technology’s potential to disrupt the labor market for new graduates.
Although some view AI as a useful tool, students have voiced concerns about artificial intelligence eliminating entry-level jobs typically reserved for people with college degrees but no work experience. This new reality leaves many questioning how much weight four-year degrees will hold in the future.