New Academic AI Task Force pursues collective vision for Emory’s future

Since launching the AI.Humanity initiative in 2022, Emory University has placed human intellect, integrity and creativity at the core of its approach to artificial intelligence. Building on achievements in recruitment, education, community collaboration and thought leadership, Emory’s Office of the Provost is expanding this work with the newly formed Academic AI Task Force (AAIT).

The AAIT brings together expertise across the university to define a university-wide academic direction for AI, aligned with Emory’s values and strengths. Its focus includes pedagogy and assessment, curriculum and literacy, academic integrity, research methods and ethics and interdisciplinary scholarship.

“We are at an inflection point, and how universities respond will shape a generation of scholars. Emory’s answer is to put human inquiry first and to ensure that AI strengthens the curiosity, creativity and ethical reasoning at the heart of a great education,” says Badia Ahad, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “The task force builds on four remarkable years of progress, including nearly 50 new interdisciplinary AI faculty, the Center for AI Learning, the Empathetic AI for Health Institute, and new academic offerings and gives us a structure to move quickly and thoughtfully into what comes next.” 

Pearl Dowe, senior vice provost for academic affairs, notes that questions about AI and its usage come from all corners of the community — students, parents, faculty and university leadership. 

“We want to have a collective conversation about AI and specifically address its impact on Emory’s academic mission,” she says. “We aren’t chasing technology but seeking to answer questions about how we maintain academic integrity and rigor throughout our spaces of learning, what are the resources and support our faculty will need and affirm that AI will not be used in lieu of, but rather in support of, effective teaching, impactful research and community engagement.”

The AAIT will define Emory’s university-wide direction for AI moving forward, centered on the following four pillars: 

Pillar 1: Teaching, Learning, Curriculum & Integrity

Pillar 1 will establish Emory’s academic framework for the use of generative AI in teaching, learning and assessment. It will develop discipline-sensitive guidance on how and when AI may be integrated into coursework, define AI literacy outcomes across undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and clarify expectations for academic integrity. Its work will span course design, pedagogy, assessment, accessibility and the honor system.

Pillar 2: Intellectual Community & Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Pillar 2 will advance Emory’s intellectual identity at the intersection of AI and the human condition. It will define a shared scholarly vision, design interdisciplinary programs and incentives and cultivate a values-driven community for AI exploration and development across the humanities, social sciences, arts and professional fields. The AI.Humanity initiative will serve as a unifying identity for public scholarship, collaboration and external partnerships.

Pillar 3: Research & Scholarship

Pillar 3 will provide university-wide guidance for the responsible use of AI in research and scholarship. It will address methods, ethical considerations, disclosure norms and training needs, while aligning with disciplinary standards and IRB processes. Guidance will also define risk levels for AI use and promote rigor, reproducibility and transparency across fields.

Pillar 4: Academic Infrastructure & Scholarly Communications

Pillar 4 will recommend academic policies and practices for the platforms and services that support teaching, learning and scholarship, including LMS tools, library systems, repositories and academic computing resources. It will focus on transparency, accessibility, academic freedom, equity of access and the integrity of the scholarly record.

AAIT steering committee members were chosen from across the university, representing a variety of disciplines and areas of focus including pedagogy, research and technology. To ensure that the needs and concerns of students are heard, the task force will collect student input through facilitated focus groups, listening sessions and targeted consultations. 

AAIT deliverables in the form of white papers, faculty- and student-facing guidance, institutional frameworks and playbooks will be shared with the Emory community beginning in early 2027. 

Members of the Academic AI Task Force Steering Committee are listed below. To see members of the pillar subcommittees, visit the AI.Humanity website. 

AAIT Steering Committee

Pearl Dowe, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Office of the Provost (Chair)

Joe Sutherland, Director, Center for AI Learning (Co-Chair)

Lauren Klein, Winship Distinguished Research Professor of English and Quantitative Methods, Emory College of Arts and Sciences (Pillar 1 Chair)

Rajiv Garg, Associate Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management, Goizueta Business School (Pillar 2 Chair)

Judy Gichoya, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory School of Medicine (Pillar 3 Chair)

Valeda Dent, Vice Provost, Libraries, Michael C. Carlos Museum, and Center for Digital Scholarship (Pillar 4 Chair)

Cliff Carrubba, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor and Department Chair, Data and Decision Sciences, Emory College of Arts and Sciences

Melissa Daly, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Operations and Strategy, Office of the Provost

Kimberly Eck, Vice President for Research Strategy, Emory Research

Dana Haggas, Chief Information Officer, Emory Office of Information Technology

David Jordan, Vice Provost for Academic Planning, Office of the Provost

Melanie Lawrence, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Finance and Operations, Office of the Provost

Anant Madabushi, Robert Woodruff Professor of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine

Valerie Molyneaux, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Oxford College

Nabile Safdar, Interim Chief AI Officer and Professor, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine

Mindy Simon, Deputy General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel

Vaidy Sunderam, Computer Science Department Chair and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Computer Science, Emory College of Arts and Sciences