- Admission
- Programs
- Learning
- Community
- About
- Research
- Strategic Research Plan
- Implementation Plan
- Supporting Research Graduate Students
- Supporting Postdoctoral Fellows
- Valuing and Measuring Scholarly Impact
- Decolonzing Indigenous Research Ethics - Responding to the ARC Call #34
- Building World-Class Research Space and Infrastructure
- Involving Undergraduate Students in Research
- Supporting Early-Career Researchers (Faculty)
- Supporting Health and Wellness of Individuals, Populations and Communities
- Strengthening Democracy, Justice, Equity and Education
- Funding Research Chairs
- Implementation Plan
- Performance & Excellence
- Innovation
- Knowledge Mobilization
- Researcher Resources
- Institutes, Centres & Facilities
- Leadership & Departments
- Strategic Research Plan
- Dashboard
- Campuses
- Contact Us
- Emergency
Transform the SFU Experience
Artificial Intelligence and the way we work
More than 350 faculty and staff tuned in on November 26 to hear from the AI in Operations Task Force about the development of a strategy that will define artificial intelligence (AI) and the way we work at SFU.
Hosted by Brian Stewart, Chief Information Officer and task force chair, the session focused on opportunities and challenges for utilizing AI in university operational areas such as cybersecurity, privacy and data management.
“AI tools are rapidly evolving and our approach to them needs to be agile. Today is about initiating a conversation on how to utilize these tools to the best advantage for the SFU community,” said Stewart.
Moderated by SFU Public Square Executive Director Janet Webber, the event included presentations from members of the task force representing a broad range of expertise from across the university:
Jastel Aujla, Chief Information Security Officer
Michael Brydon, Associate Professor, Beedie School of Business
Paul Hebbard, University Archivist & Coordinator of Information & Privacy
Ernest Soares, Privacy Legal Counsel
Brian Stewart, Chief Information Officer
Following the presentations, panelists answered questions from attendees about the predominant concerns and areas of interest regarding incorporating AI into the workplace at SFU. Below are some of the key themes of inquiry:
Sustainability and environmental impact
Several questions focused on how the university plans to balance the environmental impact of AI technology with the goals outlined in the Strategic Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. Task force member and SFU Sustainability Executive Director Candace Ratelle noted via the event’s Zoom chat that the university currently monitors and collects data on computing usage of power and the resulting GHG emissions (computing, networks, internet usage, and the carbon footprints of computing hardware such as phones).
“We know that AI is another load on energy usage and SFU’s emissions. The SFU Sustainability team will be working with the AI Strategy Committee to connect the adoption of AI in a way that ensures we are still tracking toward our 2025 and 2030 targets. This is a new data set and a new variable but we are aware of it.”
Ratelle also encouraged faculty and staff to reach out to sustainability@sfu.ca with any questions or suggestions that could be incorporated into the strategy.
AI accountability and jobs at SFU
Questions were raised about how jobs would be prioritized during the introduction of AI, as well as how the university would assign responsibility for any potential mistakes that might occur when using AI for operational work. Panelists noted that while the university is still in the early stages of building an AI Strategy, faculty and staff would continue to be involved and consulted on the way AI is used. They also emphasized that AI is a tool, and as with any tool it is the responsibility of those that use it to ensure its efficacy.
Collaboration with other postsecondary institutions
Attendees also had questions about whether SFU was working with other universities to support the development of an AI Strategy. Panelists Hebbard and Soares noted they were in regular contact with counterparts at other B.C. post-secondary institutions to pool resources and rely on each other’s expertise, including future development of AI training resources for faculty and staff.
Next steps:
To wrap up the event, Stewart thanked attendees and reiterated the importance of faculty and staff being part of this early conversation to shape the direction of AI at SFU.
“You’re not joining after everything’s been determined. You’re at the very cusp of the conversation and you get to influence what happens next.”
Moving forward, the Operations & Administration Task Force will combine feedback gathered from the session, input from across the university, government regulations, learnings from other institutions and technological developments. This information will help establish an effective structure for the task force to develop an operations strategy, as well as to collaborate with the other three pillars of the AI Strategy Committee to create an overarching AI Strategy for the university.
Those interested in keeping up-to-date with future events from the AI in Operations Task Force or the other AI committees can do so via the AI Strategy webpage, the Faculty and Staff Dashboard and the What’s On newsletter.
Related Links:
Video: Deepfake AI poses cybersecurity threat (included in town hall presentation)