Texas A&M Faculty Embrace Innovative, Ethical AI in Teaching

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the landscape of higher education, and while it brings new opportunities, it also raises concerns around ethics, responsible use, and academic integrity. At Texas A&M University, a faculty group faces these questions head-on.

The Generative AI Learning Community in Texas A&M’s Center for Teaching Excellence was formed to create a collaborative and supportive space for faculty interested in exploring the potential of generative AI in education and its integration into the classroom. Now, in its second cohort, the group includes 16 faculty members who share a curiosity about how AI can thoughtfully enhance teaching and learning.

“Leading the community over the past two years has been an incredible journey. I’ve watched faculty from across disciplines come together with curiosity, creativity, and care to explore how AI can support and transform teaching and learning,” said Dr. Jamie Thompson, assistant director in the Center for Teaching Excellence. “I’m inspired by their willingness to engage deeply–not just with the tools, but with the ethical questions and possibilities that come with them.”

While these AI tools and techniques offer opportunities to transform the classroom, they also demand careful consideration to ensure they align with the university’s mission and values.

“We are not approaching AI with blind optimism,” said Michael Johnson, interim vice provost of academic affairs. “This work is about helping faculty understand the risks and ask the hard questions. If we’re going to use these tools in higher education, we have to do it in a way that reflects our values and benefits our students.”

Introducing AI Awareness Across Disciplines

Texas A&M faculty members Dr. Hoda Abdellatif and Vanessa Reiser both joined the AI community with limited knowledge and said they hoped to learn about how AI might benefit their respective fields of dance and dentistry.

Resier, a lecturer of dance in the College of Performance, Visualization, and Fine Arts, said she saw the program as an opportunity to explore new possibilities in a traditionally tech-free discipline.

“I thought the program would be a great way to stay on top of innovations in AI and meet faculty with a similar interest,” Reiser said. “Everybody at this point has heard of ChatGPT, but no tools exist that I know of with specific uses in dance science or the arts. Are there even AI tools out there for the arts?”

Adbellatif, a clinical associate professor in the College of Dentistry, said she has seen the use of AI emerge quickly in the dental industry over the last few years and didn’t want her instruction to fall behind.

“AI is already beginning to transform the dental profession, especially in clinical practice and I believe dental education will follow,” Abdellatif said. “In practice, AI now supports dentists by analyzing X-rays, patient data, treatment planning and diagnosis. As an educator, I need to ensure that my instruction is meeting the needs of the next generation of professionals.”

Applying AI in Creative and Clinical Spaces

Reiser said it was a struggle to find meaningful applications for AI in the dance field. Initially, she wanted to explore motion analysis and biomechanics of dancers, but lacked accessible applications for it. Eventually, she discovered a tool to help her students rethink choreography.

“I used an archive of Wayne McGregor’s work, which pieced together different poses in 3D motion capture to present an endless way to piece all the moves together,” she said. “It ended up being a tool for them to think about different ways to generate choreography and think about in terms of where they are getting their ideas from when they choreograph.”

Despite the creative approach, Reiser acknowledged that these tools aren’t a perfect fit within her community just yet. Her students were also uncertain about its implementation.

“It’s not a perfect tool and that should be an indicator for us to not use it blindly,” she said. “Even my students were mixed about it because it brought up an uneasy conversation surrounding ownership and creative copyright when using these tools.”

Adbellatif is ahead of the curve, having incorporated AI tools in her course to create simulated role play and realistic patient scenarios.

“It’s good to practice in a protective environment rather than going to the real world and interacting with patients,” she said. “When interacting with AI, it will give them feedback. It’s great to practice in different scenarios with different patients and they learn what works and doesn’t work.”

At Texas A&M Galveston, Dr. Cassia Bomer Galvao, as associate professor in the Department of Maritime Business Administration, encourages students to engage with AI responsibly–treating it as a tool, not a substitute.

“AI is going to be here, so let’s be honest with ourselves and incorporate it into our teaching and show students how to use it appropriately,” Galvao said. “We should be looking to make our students AI literate because if we don’t, it invites misuse, irresponsibility and disorganized learning.”

Galvao said she is encouraged by the university’s efforts to embrace AI and implement it in their teaching.

“I appreciate the fact that Texas A&M is giving faculty academic freedom to choose what we want to do with AI,” she said. “They have given us the range to do what we think is best for our classes. Whether that is to use it or not, so having that freedom to choose how or if we embrace AI in our teaching is nice.”

Balancing Innovation with Ethics

In the Mays Business School, Clinical Associate Professor Michael Scialdone studies how technology impacts society and higher education. He said he joined the AI community driven by a thoughtful restraint about where these tools are heading.

“I’ve been in wait-and-see mode because it is evolving and changing every other month or so,” he said. “When new technology is introduced to the masses, it is always seen as the next big thing, but then nothing comes of it. Not saying AI is that, but my caution is informed by these mispredictions.”

Though mindful, Scialdone sees the value of ethical technology use within the landscape of higher education.

“There’s still value in integrating and emerging technology into classrooms,” he said. “In my information systems design classes, it was used to feed and analyze data to help students identify themes in their research as well as different ways students can digest their information.”

That sense of caution is reflected throughout the community, which recognizes that while AI tools hold promise, they can’t replace core academic skills.

“It’s up to us as educators to ensure transparency with our students,” Abdellatif said. “While it provides positive learning experiences and practice, we still need to understand that these tools shouldn’t replace critical thinking and the search for understanding.”