ASU faculty raises questions over plans for Atomic
Several faculty members, including some in leadership positions, are worried about how the platform is using faculty lectures and work.
In an email obtained by The Republic, an assistant dean urged faculty to reach out with their concerns to the ASU provost’s office, saying, “if we do not flood them with our concerns now — they will think it is all fine.”
“Currently, this is being aimed at professionals and not for credit or credentialing — but if you read the site, it is clear that is the ultimate goal,” Kristin Mickelson, assistant dean within ASU’s Graduate College, wrote.
On Atomic’s website, ASU officials said that while not all feedback will receive a response, they are taken into consideration.
A leader with ASU’s faculty senate said the group was not involved in the planning or launch of Atomic, and was still learning what it entailed.
“We look forward to working with our administration to understand the project goals, implications, and the role of shared governance in such,” Senate President Elisa Kawam said in an email.
Michael Kintscher, a member of United Campus Workers Arizona, said he was concerned ASU was falling short in its duty to responsibly serve the community in how ASU Atomic was rolled out. He noted potential inaccuracies in the content and lack of professor compensation from the earnings.
“If our university creates a tool that pulls information out of context and, even if unintentionally, helps with the spreading of misinformation on a large scale,” Kintscher said. “That’s not OK.”
Kintscher said AI technology has the potential for good in education, but was concerned that he hadn’t come across any professors or students who knew about the creation of the platform before it was unveiled to the public.