Generative AI : Support for the Open Letter to Swissuniversities
The ubiquity of generative artificial intelligence models has been driving a number of disruptions that already have a deep impact on research and teaching in academia. Proprietary tools are emerging and evolving every day. Shown as inevitable and essential by their designers, they progressively enter every aspect of the teaching system, preceding by far the development of relevant or gainful use cases in teaching.
The increasing use of these tools in academia raises multiple crucial problems. They deeply question our link to knowledge, intellectual property, digital sovereignty and environmental responsibility, among many others.
It is also now impossible to evade the fact that this process is progressively concentrating even more numerical power into the hands of a minority essentially driven by profit. Likewise, we cannot ignore its anti-democratic effects.
Numerous Swiss academic institutions have been thinking about this issue and leading attempts to set up countermeasures. However, these initiatives have small scales and are lack resources. Once again, budget restrictions on the whole scholar system go against essential needs.
In comparison with the challenges and risks posed by generative artificial intelligence models, the national political response on the matter seem too slow and timid. Out of basic precautionary principle, it should rather use all the tools material, technical and scientific tools at its disposition to implement the appropriate pedagogic, ethical and legal responses.
For all these reasons, out of concern about the preservation of critical thinking and knowledge and for the defense of science and technology at the service of society and life, CLADS supports the initative of the group of teaching staff from UNIL, UNIGE, EPFL, HES-SOs and secondary education in Romandie and calls to sign their open letter :