{"id":30081,"date":"2026-04-28T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/?p=30081"},"modified":"2026-04-30T09:56:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:56:26","slug":"ai-summit-explores-challenges-and-opportunities-for-leaders-and-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/28\/ai-summit-explores-challenges-and-opportunities-for-leaders-and-best\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Summit Explores Challenges and Opportunities for \u201cLeaders and Best\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was written by the Privacy, Education, Engagement, and Policy Services Team with help from U\u2011M GPT (powered by OpenAI GPT\u20115.2).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the April 16 Summit \u201cEverything That Is Wrong About AI: A Critical Look at Challenges & Opportunities<\/a>,\u201d co-hosted by ITS and the Provost\u2019s Office, the U\u2011M community examined AI\u2019s risks and benefits, and how the university could help lead and shape AI adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Ravi Pendse<\/a>, VPIT-CIO, began with small-group discussions in which each table was given a topic and tasked with examining AI’s impact on jobs, the environment, creativity, and education. They were also asked how the U-M community could address these challenges, as well as what opportunities AI presented. Attendees highlighted risks of cognitive offloading, the environmental and local impacts of data-center growth, and power imbalances between for-profit platforms and the public interest. Table groups urged U\u2011M to lead through research, advocacy on AI policy, and teaching of AI literacy, with clear expectations for responsible use.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Table
Table groups urged U\u2011M to lead through research, advocacy on AI policy, and teaching of AI literacy, with clear expectations for responsible use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Professor Neel Sukhtame<\/a>, dean of the U\u2011M Law School, moderated a faculty panel spanning law, medicine, and LSA. In the education discussion, Derek Peterson<\/a>, Associate Chair of African History, Chair of SACUA<\/a>, argued for caution about normalizing AI in ways that weaken learning and trust. Professor Amy Cohn<\/a> urged faculty to make AI something students analyze \u2014 such as critiquing and improving AI-generated drafts \u2014 so learning centers on reasoning and communication, not just output. She also encouraged instructors to ask why students turn to AI and to design courses accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Faculty
The faculty panel, moderated by Neel Sukhatme (Moderator), David A. Breach dean of Law, discusses and debates the role and impact of generative AI in higher education, healthcare, and research.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Student leaders emphasized skill-building and meaningful learning. Eric Veal Jr., student body president, called for U\u2011M to teach essential AI skills and include students in shaping campus tools. Angelica Previero, a doctoral student in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and outgoing president of the Rackham Student Government, urged proactive conversations that give students agency as technology changes quickly, and advocated for a learning process focused on conceptual analysis over routine tasks. Jack Chen, a senior studying Computer Science Engineering at U\u2011M and vice president of the Michigan AI Safety Initiative, noted that busy-work assignments can incentivize AI use; he urged fewer, more meaningful assignments tied to course goals.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Eric
Angelica Previero, U-M doctoral student in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, urges proactive conversations about AI, that give students agency as technology changes quickly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In health care, Margaret Dobson<\/a>, MD, clinical associate professor of Family Medicine and associate chair of Family Medicine, cautioned against replacing clinicians with AI in ways that erode trust and outcomes, and she warned of a two-tier future in which some patients receive AI-only care while others see human doctors supported by AI. She supported AI for productivity tasks like documentation and anticipated future training that shifts toward \u201chuman skills over memory work.\u201d Dr. Todd Hollon<\/a>, MD, a research professor of neurosurgery and leader of the Machine Learning in Neurosurgery Lab<\/a>, emphasized the broader upside, citing AlphaFold\u2019s protein-structure predictions as an example of AI accelerating discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"
Faculty panel members spanning law, medicine, and LSA pose with Ravi Pendse, VPIT and CIO, following their discussion.
(L to R: Derek Peterson, associate chair of African History and chair of SACUA; Ravi Pendse, VPIT-CIO; Todd Hollon, MD, research professor of Neurosurgery; Amy Cohn, professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering; Neel Sukhatme (Moderator), David A. Breach dean of Law; Barbara McQuade, professor from practice \/ Michigan Law; Kayte Spector-Bagdady, research professor of Bioethics and associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Margaret Dobson, MD, clinical associate professor of Family Medicine, associate chair of Family Medicine)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Regulation and responsibility remained open questions. Barbara McQuade<\/a>, professor from practice at Michigan Law, said the U.S. lacks comprehensive AI rules, and suggested an FAA-like approach that pursues benefits while reducing harms. Kayte Spector-Bagdady<\/a>, a research professor of Bioethics and associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of Michigan Bioethics, emphasized that accountability for outcomes is not new and that government can build on existing oversight structures. Chen added that AI companies often push accountability onto users for bad advice; he suggested systems might behave more ethically if they could learn from their own ethical reasoning.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"AI
AI Summit attendees engaged in table-group discussions about various AI topics of interest, examining AI’s impact on jobs, the environment, creativity, and education.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In closing, Spector-Bagdady described Michigan\u2019s \u201cLeaders and Best\u201d as a real commitment. Panelists debated what leadership should look like: Peterson advocated preserving \u201canalog\u201d paths to learning, while Cohn pointed to equity-focused uses (such as helping an international student polish grammar so instructors can better assess their ideas). Veal Jr. summed up the guiding question: Ask not what AI can do, but what it should do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the April 16 Summit \u201cEverything That Is Wrong About AI: A Critical Look at Challenges & Opportunities,\u201d co-hosted by ITS and the Provost\u2019s Office, the U\u2011M community examined AI\u2019s risks and benefits, and how the university could help lead and shape AI adoption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_umich_oidc_access":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,27,4],"tags":[61,942],"class_list":["post-30081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-news","category-safe-computing","category-features","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"medium":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile-300x189.png",300,189,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"excerpt-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile-200x140.png",200,140,true],"themonic-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile-60x42.png",60,42,true],"ioslider-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false],"400x250-crop":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AI-Summit_041626-MTechTile.png",313,197,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"News Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/author\/mitnewsadm\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"At the April 16 Summit \u201cEverything That Is Wrong About AI: A Critical Look at Challenges & Opportunities,\u201d co-hosted by ITS and the Provost\u2019s Office, the U\u2011M community examined AI\u2019s risks and benefits, and how the university could help lead and shape AI adoption.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30081"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30093,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30081\/revisions\/30093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}