How has Northwestern responded to the rise of ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms? How did the Wildcats fare against No. 23 Indiana’s undefeated football team? The Daily answers these questions and recaps other top stories from the last week.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Northwestern students can now access ChatGPT for free.
NU football fell to No. 23 Indiana 41-24 in its Big Ten home opener.
And the University will no longer offer alumni interviews for undergraduate applications.
From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Edward Simon Cruz. This is The Weekly, a breakdown of our top headlines from the past week.
Today, I’m speaking with Assistant Campus Editor Cassie Sun and Gameday Editor Jake Epstein.
Our first guest today is Cassie Sun, an assistant campus editor who’s written a few stories in the last week about how Northwestern students and faculty are responding to the rise of generative AI (artificial intelligence).
We’ve seen that the University created the Provost’s Generative AI Advisory Committee. In August 2023, they had some sessions for faculty members to learn more about generative AI platforms like ChatGPT and different ways they can use them in classrooms, adjust to their increasing popularity in academics and around the world.
And we’ve seen this year even more changes, where the University seems to be leaning even more into generative AI and its potential.
What have been some of the big changes that we’ve seen effected this school year?
CASSIE SUN: Northwestern students, faculty and staff now have access to ChatGPT through Copilot, which is the AI chatbot that comes from Microsoft. It’s special because Microsoft signed a contract with Northwestern so that the data that students input can’t be used for training, and that’s why the University wanted to partner with Microsoft, because it makes using ChatGPT safer for students.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Faculty members, professors around the country have had concerns tied to academic integrity, some of them. Others have embraced the potential for generative AI to enhance the learning experience in various ways.
Some of these concerns are tied to the way in which generative AI platforms like ChatGPT rely on large language models, where they use an existing database of information available online and then generate, algorithmically, what they believe would be the most likely answer to a prompt that one were to type in.
How have different professors and faculty members and staff at Northwestern responded to this push toward generative AI and increased access to Copilot/ChatGPT?
CASSIE SUN: I think the general trend was that professors still want students to be critically thinking and working through it by themselves. But I think a surprising amount of professors are also open to students using ChatGPT or other generative AI (tools) as a way to help them.
So, for example, I talked to (religious studies) Prof. Lily Stewart, who said she’s OK with students using Microsoft Copilot for summaries, but she still wants the students to actually read the text that’s written. And similarly, (computer science) Prof. Connor Bain talked about how just because there are calculators doesn’t mean we don’t do simple math and we’re not taught math in school still. So I think what professors are thinking is to use AI as a supplement rather than replacing the actual work that students need to do for themselves.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: There were Fall 2023 surveys from Northwestern and the Associated Student Government that found that the majority of students use AI at least occasionally or once a month. Now that it’s a year later and we’ve seen changes at the University level, how have students responded to these changes?
CASSIE SUN: So I’ve actually seen some mixed responses from students, but primarily I think students are excited for this because generative AI is so prevalent already that so many students use it in ways that help them in their classes, so it’s not necessarily realistic for Northwestern to get rid of it entirely or to ban it. So I think a lot of students think that, since it’s becoming so prevalent, it’s better to have a resource that the University has already deemed as safe to use and they won’t take the data from the students, rather than having students pay for services themselves or use other (generative AI platforms) that could be less safe to use.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: And one of your other stories this week concerned Rudy Arora, who’s been doing some work with generative AI. He had a startup. He recently got some funding for it. What’s he been up to these days?
CASSIE SUN: When I talked to Rudy, he said that he founded this startup and (he and his friend) officially launched it last December, and now I think it’s taking off, which is part of the reason why we did the story. Rudy said that the startup, TurboLearn AI, has reached half a million users, which is a huge deal. And I think it goes to show that students are really open to integrating AI into their classes.
The startup is a tool that, when students walk into lecture, they can record the lecture and then have notes automatically generated for them. So this includes flashcards; it includes quizzes, practice tests. And it’s a really helpful way that students can both listen in class without having to worry about catching every word the professor says, because they know they have this backup mechanism in place.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: That was Cassie Sun, an assistant campus editor, talking about some of the changes that have been swirling on campus related to generative AI.
Now, turning over to sports. No. 23 Indiana, we were going up against them in our conference home opener at the beautiful Martin Stadium. Unfortunately, 41-24 — the game wasn’t quite as beautiful as we might have wanted it to be. We were coming off of a bye week after that devastating loss to Washington two weeks ago. We got (graduate student running back) Cam Porter back. We were roaring. We were ready to go. Jake Epstein, Gameday editor, here with me today. What happened?
JAKE EPSTEIN: You know, first off, I just want to reiterate just how much of a privilege it is to be here. I’m so happy to be featured on The Weekly. You know, Edward, you — you run a great show, and I’m honored to be here.
But what happened? You know, the ’Cats came up against the hottest team in the Big Ten right now. I mean, the first bowl-eligible team in the country, 6-0. (Coach) Curt Cignetti has turned that Indiana team into a powerhouse and it was simply a — it was a game where Northwestern’s offense came to play, and few of us really expected that one just because in that game in Seattle, that was fortunately put on the back burner. (Sophomore quarterback) Jack Lausch and the offense just never got into gear. But yesterday as the game ran on, Jack Lausch, he looked like a Big Ten quarterback. He looked like he belonged going up against (Indiana quarterback) Kurtis Rourke, who statistically is one of the best passers in the country and the conference as well. And you know, the ’Cats, they held their own.
It was within three points late in the second half, and then the Hoosiers turned it on. Northwestern’s defense couldn’t stop anything, and that was unfortunate, really, because this is a defense that had kept this team at least competitive in the first four games of the season, but the defense was the weak link on Saturday.
And you know what that really shows me? It shows me that if they are to put together a complete game, four full quarters of complimentary football with the offense home and with the defense stopping opponents as we’ve seen them do against quality competition — like Duke with (quarterback) Maalik Murphy for the bulk of that game did not have his feet set, had to play his way into it and toward the end, of course, the defense got a little fatigued. The fatigue set in, and Duke was able to pull away in double overtime. But when you look at this defense, they have been the identity of this team. This defense has been spectacular at times.
They couldn’t really get the pressure on Rourke this Saturday, but I think if they can put together a complete game with the offense and the defense firing on all cylinders, this team could win several more games this season and perhaps push for what looks unlikely right now, but there could be four wins out there for them, four more wins for them to perhaps push for a bowl spot. Now, do I think that’ll happen? No, unfortunately, but, you know, never say never, and David Braun is someone that you never want to bet against. He’s the guy who can come in and really right a ship when it looks unsteady as it can be.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: That was Jake Epstein, our Gameday editor. We talked about this on Sunday night, so here he was doing a little Monday morning quarterbacking, so to speak, for Northwestern’s loss to No. 23 Indiana, 41-24, on Saturday. Northwestern will next be facing Maryland in College Park on Friday.
Here are the other top headlines from the week:
NU is no longer providing alumni interviews for prospective students. Applicants can now record an optional video or participate in the new Alumni Conversations program.
Evanston’s proposed 2025 budget is about $9 million less than its 2024 expenses. The budget includes support for the Capital Improvement Plan, which will fund maintenance and repairs for various public sites.
“Brat fall” came to Chicago for a day when Charli XCX and Troye Sivan rushed the United Center during their Sweat tour.
NU men’s soccer is back in the win column, defeating Trine today 4-0. The ’Cats are now 6-5.
And voting continues for Associated Student Government Senate elections. All 20 school senator seats are open. Voting closes today, Oct. 7, at 5 p.m.
From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Edward Simon Cruz. Thanks for listening to another episode of The Weekly. This episode was reported and produced by me, Cassie Sun and Jake Epstein.
The audio editor of The Daily Northwestern is me, Edward Simon Cruz. The digital managing editors are Carlotta Angiolillo and Sasha Draeger-Mazer. The editor in chief is Jacob Wendler.
Our theme music is “Night Owl” by Broke for Free, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License and provided by the Free Music Archive.
Follow us on X and Instagram @thedailynu. We’ll be back next Monday with another episode of The Weekly.
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Related Stories:
— Northwestern provides free access to ChatGPT 4.0 through Microsoft Copilot
— Football: Northwestern’s defense struggles in 41-24 loss to No. 23 Indiana
— Northwestern discontinues alumni interviews for undergraduate applicants
