The workshop organized by YÖK with the title “Workshop on Productive Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Opportunities and Threats” was held at METU Culture and Convention Center on December 18, 2023.
In addition to YÖK President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar and the members of YÖK, the workshop was attended by METU President Prof. Dr. Mustafa Verşan Kök and 55 academics from a total of 28 universities specializing in electrical and electronics engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, artificial intelligence and data engineering, medicine, law, fine arts, communication, and education. The whole-day workshop addressed various topics related to the use of artificial intelligence, featuring fruitful discussions on technologies for generating artificial intelligence.
The opening speech of the workshop was delivered by Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar. YÖK President stated that artificial intelligence emerged much earlier than expected and that its impacts can already be observed worldwide, while emphasizing their commitment to keeping up with these developments and actively participating in this process. In this regard, Prof. Dr. Özvar talked about the relationship between universities and employment in the field of artificial intelligence, noting that they also started focusing on artificial intelligence studies as of the previous year. After underlining the need for a close integration of the fields of artificial intelligence and communication in the level of both undergraduate programs and associate programs, Özvar announced YÖK’s plan to launch approximately 10 new programs in the field of artificial intelligence studies this year, and he said that such programs will provide more employment opportunities after graduation.
The sessions held as part of the workshop were titled “The Use of Productive Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Opportunities and Threats,” and “The Use of Productive Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Institutions: Legal and Ethical Issues.” The legal framework regarding the use of artificial intelligence in higher education was discussed, and experts in information law along with academics working in the field of ethics exchanged ideas on potential legal and ethical issues that may arise from the use of productive artificial intelligence in higher education institutions.
