AI in Higher Ed: Advancing Critical Thinking in and Beyond the Classroom
Date: June 5, 2025
Institute Description
The BHCC 2025 Institute will delve into the paradox of AI in higher education: how can we harness its benefits while addressing the many challenges it poses. Often, the advantages of AI are celebrated without fully acknowledging its shortcomings, such as unexpected errors and gaps in knowledge. As AI proficiency increasingly becomes a job requirement, developing critical thinking—an awareness of how to reflect on and address its gaps—becomes essential.
Participants will explore how AI can integrate community dialogue in and beyond the classroom. We will consider strategies for integrating AI across disciplines, ensuring that its use promotes rather than undermines student’s pathways to academic excellence.
Featured Speakers
Erin Reddick | Founder and CEO of ChatBlackGPT, AI Cultural Technologist
The innovative creator of culturally-inclusive AI software ChatBlackGPT, Erin Reddick provides expert insights into the ever-changing landscape of AI and the importance of inclusive technology development.
Erin Reddick has forged a vital path in the technology industry. With a career encompassing significant roles at major tech companies including Meta, Microsoft, and AWS, her most impactful contribution to the field is the creation of ChatBlackGPT, an AI software providing perspectives from the Black and African American communities. This innovation reflects her commitment to inclusivity and cultural sensitivity in technology.
Erin's journey in tech, marked by her identity as a Black woman, led her to become a certified ChatGPT Expert and Prompt Engineer with the goal of addressing the racial biases she found present in AI. Her dedication culminated in the development of ChatBlackGPT, a platform aiming to offer a safe, inclusive space for exploring AI, specifically tailored to the Black American experience. ChatBlackGPT, under Reddick's guidance, ensures a response style that is culturally aware and respectful.
Erin’s work is pivotal in diversifying AI, promoting technology that is equitable and representative of diverse experiences. Her efforts are a testament to the importance of inclusive technology development, inspiring further advancements in the field.
Dr. Nettrice Gaskins | Digital Artist & Author
Dr. Nettrice Gaskins’ work explores how to generate art using algorithms in different ways, especially through neural style transfer and text-2-image. In her work she explores "technovernacular creativity" and Afrofuturism.
She earned a BFA in Computer Graphics with Honors from Pratt Institute in 1992 and an MFA in Art and Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994. She received a doctorate in Digital Media from Georgia Tech in 2014. She received a doctorate in Digital Media from Georgia Tech and currently works at Lesley University.
Her first full-length book, Techno-Vernacular Creativity and Innovation is available through The MIT Press.
BHCC Institute Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
- Inquire: Critically examine and analyze the ethical considerations, risks, and gaps in AI use and its impact on learning outcomes.
- Gain insight into the dual nature of AI as both a tool for advancing workforce readiness and community engagement.
- Enhance faculty and staff knowledge on AI, both its limitations and potential to impact students.
- Communicate: Enhance our critical consciousness on the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI as an assistive tool in higher education and evaluate the impact of AI on specific outcomes.
- Act and Grow: Develop AI-driven strategies to foster discipline-specific, community-centered experiences that enhance our collective knowledge and assets across higher education.