Fontys ICT catalyst Fontys GenAI Community
Most questions are about the impact of AI and how to deal with it. Whereas the need for knowledge and answers initially arose from concern, increasingly they are driven by necessity. Because AI will not blow over, we need to integrate it into our daily lives, studies and work. And that is no easy task, Anke Bardie knows. ‘Developments are happening so fast that today's answers may already be outdated tomorrow. The impact of AI is very complex, which is not only about technology, but also about legal, ethical and social aspects.’
Photo: Anke Bardie
Bardie is research manager at the Applied AI for Society Knowledge Centre and one of the initiators of the Fontys GenAI Community. GenAI stands for generative artificial intelligence and is a form of AI that allows you to automatically generate texts, images, audio and other content. There are an increasing number of programmes and online tools, such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Gemini and Sora, that use this form of artificial intelligence.
The Fontys GenAI Community is a group, consisting of employees who have each studied AI from their own fields of expertise, and was formed after coming together to explore the impact of AI on education. But AI touches every sector, every field of expertise, every profession. ‘By organising ourselves inside and outside Fontys, we can formulate answers to complex social issues raised by the advent of AI.’
From all over the Netherlands
The questions come from all over the Netherlands. They come from SMEs, the government and education, among others. Through knowledge sessions, workshops and meet-ups, the GenAI Community aims to make people aware of what AI is, what impact AI has and how to use it responsibly. ‘You first have to know what AI is in order to decide how to deal with it,’ says Bardie. ‘That awareness, that's what we want to contribute to as a research-based higher education institution. ’
The impact of AI can be very big, Bardie realises. ‘AI affects everyone. It is therefore important to quickly professionalise yourself and explore what role AI plays in your daily life or work practice. That realisation is starting to permeate everywhere, judging by the growing demand for answers. To my knowledge, there has never been a development that has had so much impact on so many people and sectors so quickly.’
Large network
The Fontys GenAI Community is still quite small and consists only of Fontys experts and their network. According to Bardie, the intention is for the community to expand to include experts outside Fontys, creating a large network. ‘We not only want to start sharing knowledge, but also develop knowledge and do research. Working together is important to be able to respond quickly to the rushing developments within GenAI.’
According to Bardie, Fontys feels responsible as an educational institution to educate people in a future-oriented way, and AI is part of that. The GenAI Community also wants to help other educational institutions with this, to ensure a smooth advancement from secondary education and MBO. It also wants to contribute to future-proofing SMEs to maintain an enterprising region.
Bardie: ‘Right now, there are mainly many questions and uncertainties surrounding AI. What we mainly want with our community is to interpret GenAI so that people can form an opinion on how they want to integrate AI within their sector and fields of expertise.’
On Tuesday 27 February, the Fontys GenAI Community was officially launched during a meet-up at Mindlabs on the impact of AI on our education.