Ohio State University makes AI education mandatory

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Artificial intelligence is no longer optional at Ohio State University. It’s now part of the curriculum for every undergraduate student.

The university has launched a first-of-its-kind program called the AI Fluency Initiative, which embeds artificial intelligence education into the core academic experience across all majors. Beginning with the Class of 2029, every Ohio State student will graduate with fluency in how AI can be applied and responsibly used in their chosen field.

“We’ve made a very bold commitment as a university, and I don’t think any other university in the world has made such a commitment,” said Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda, Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost. “They don’t have to be computer scientists. They can be interested in sociology, literature, history, political science — no matter their major, they’ll be AI fluent in the application to their domain.”

The program began with this fall’s incoming class of more than 8,300 students. All freshmen are now enrolled in a required General Education Launch Seminar that introduces the foundations of generative AI, including how large language models work, what their limitations are and where ethical considerations come into play.

“I did an assignment where we had to learn more about AI, what it is and how it’s just for learning,” said Cadence Forney, a freshman engineering major. “It’s not actually smart, and it will never become sentient, but it’s kind of more of a tool that learns off of what we give it.”

The university will also offer a new elective course titled “Unlocking Generative AI,” open to all majors. Over the next four years, each academic college will develop domain-specific courses that integrate AI into their field.

“This is a remarkable transformation or revolution, if you believe the hype going on in AI, and it’s impacting all our lives already,” Bellamkonda said. “It determines what news we read, how we shop, how manufacturing is done, how politics is done, how sales are being done. And so the question really is, as a university, how do we prepare our students to thrive in this world that they’re going into?”

To protect students and faculty, Ohio State has agreements with Google and OpenAI to provide secure spaces for AI use within the university network.

“If you log in through your OSU ID, then your data remains in OSU space,” Bellamkonda said. “There isn’t the danger of some information that’s proprietary in our courses or other materials going into the web.”

Faculty are also undergoing AI training and the university is reviewing key academic policies to ensure they align with a future that includes AI in daily coursework and assessment.

“What does an exam mean if I’m allowed to use AI, right? We’re going to ask ourselves fundamental questions like that,” Bellamkonda said. “When is it cheating to use it and when is it not? We have to update our sort of disciplinary honor court policy.”

Some students remain cautious, especially in majors where AI integration isn’t as obvious.

“I’m an English major, so I don’t think there’s a ton of AI within my field of study,” said freshman Mac Miller. “But definitely, I think there’s a lot of conversations surrounding it, but there’s not a lot of legislation surrounding what we can do with AI.”

Still, Miller said he recognizes AI’s usefulness in moderation.

“I don’t think it should necessarily be considered a bad thing,” he said. “AI is the future, but we should be cautious looking forward as we go about using AI in our daily lives, just because of those environmental impacts, a lot of issues with it, and taking work without people’s consent.”

Bellamkonda emphasized that the university is committed to thoughtful implementation, not just hype.

“We may not get every step correctly, but we truly believe that we learn and grow as we interact with such tools,” he said. “And I’m very proud that Ohio State is the place doing this work.”

Ohio State says it is already fielding inquiries from other universities about how the program was built. Bellamkonda added that as AI continues to evolve, the need for responsible education grows.

“We need to figure out how to coexist,” he said. “And use AI — and the best way to do that is to dance with it and play with it and get comfortable with it and to do that under the supervision of adults and our faculty and others, and not to just let it happen.”