AI Opportunities? Responses on implications for research and teaching

This roundtable invites an open and critical exploration of the concerns, questions and opportunities regarding the use of AI within teaching and learning. 

“In this next phase of AI development, we want Britain to step up; to shape the AI revolution rather than wait to see how it shapes us.” 

These lines are from the opening page of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, presented by the Secretary of State of Science Innovation and Technology in January 2025.

But what do we need to consider in shaping the AI revolution? What are the ethical considerations for shaping this revolution? Is it even a revolution or another fad waiting for its bubble to burst, as some experts caution?

What does this mean for research and teaching within Higher Education? While some institutions have already adopted the use of generative AI and other tools in their teaching, others are still scrambling for a viable way forward. In this roundtable, we bring together OU scholars from across disciplines to consider some of the ethical and practical implications of using AI in research and teaching to explore ways forward.

This is the second roundtable of the 2024-2025 GCSJ Roundtable series.

Speakers

• Mustafa Ali (Lecturer in Computing, STEM)
• Tracie Farrell (Senior Research Fellow in KMI, STEM)
• Kathryn Medien (Lecturer in Sociology, FASS)
• Suzanne Newcombe (Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies, FASS)
• Matthew Cook (Professor of Innovation, STEM )
• Soraya Kouadri- Mostefaoui (Senior Lecturer in Web Technologies, STEM)
• John Domingue (Professor, KMI, STEM)
• Emmanuel Nartey (lecturer in Law, FBL)
• Dan Taylor (Senior Lecturer in Social and Political Thought, FASS)
• Sonja Rewhorn (Staff Tutor and Senior Lecturer in Geography, FASS)

Register for this event via Eventbrite