WSU Global Summit: Assessing Students With AI and Destigmatizing AI

The VanCougar recently covered a duo of panels held during WSU’s Global Summit on March 12 and 13, the main subject of the entire Global Summit was AI. These panels were broadcasted over Zoom to other WSU campuses, while there were also 45 minute in-person forums at WSUV where attendees could discuss their opinions on the ideas brought forward.

Of the 6 panels conducted, the VanCougar was able to attend 4 of them. In its previous article the VanCougar covered panels addressing AI deregulation and implementation. This article covers 2 more panels, these 2 centering on AI applications in the educational field as well as student use of AI.

In the panel entitled “Leading From the Front: WSU Faculty on the Future of Teaching with a Dynamic Look at the Intersection of Technology and Student Success,” discussions centered on applications of AI in the education sector as well as environmental concerns.

The panel was moderated by WSU Provost Chris Riley-Tillman, and featured 3 professors; Andrew Perkins–Department Chair of Marketing and International Business–as well as Steve James–an Associate Professor in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine–and also Nairanjana ‘Jan’ Dasgupta, a chair in the Mathematics and Statistics department.

Andrew Perkins, who has described himself as “AI-forward,” (an in-depth interview with Dr. Know-it-all Knows It All explores Perkins’ position on AI in education), elaborated on the possibility of assessing students with AI instead of teachers, and how it can be useful in simulation for medical students. He said that it lacks bias, isn’t tempted to punish students immediately for being rude to patient, and won’t experience fatigue like an actor would.

Perkins also explored how one can use ‘local AI agents’ to create websites, manage social media and organize research for cheap, though added that the responsibility for using AI properly falls onto students.

Nairanjana ‘Jan’ Dasgupta, who has studied bias in AI (she published an academic article which examined the fairness of AI in its uses in February 2026), emphasized that AI models can and will be biased as they are trained off of humans.

“Human beings are imperfect, but the machine is learning from the human being,” Dasgupta said. “. . . These machines are not getting information from the void, it’s getting information from what is already out there.”

She also expressed concern over the environmental impact of ‘local AI agents’ and their increased cost, questioning whether their potential is worth the energy cost associated with using AI.

Concerns brought during the in-person forum included AI’s environmental impact, potential abuses of AI, biases folded into the algorithm that will disproportionately affect minorities, and potential increases of cheating in the classroom. 

During the panel entitled “The Student Blueprint: Students from Across the WSU System Share Firsthand Perspectives on the Tools, Technologies, and Practices that Made a Difference in their Academic Journeys–and What Institutions Can Do to Better Support Student Success,” discussions addressed cybersecurity, privacy, and de-stigmatizing AI.

The panel was moderated by Samantha Swindell, an Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and a Scholarly Profesor of Psychology. It featured four students, with majors ranging from psychology to business and biology.

Comments from the students included AI’s utility to assist with time-consuming tasks, removing barriers in regard to learning and creativity, as well as helping with critical thinking and communication skills. Amongst the concerns the students highlighted includes a lack of regulations against stealling someone’s likeness, the risks it brings to users’ digital rights, as well as the security risks of implementing AI tools.

Also among the comments from the students were recommendations to instruct students on the potential dangers associated with AI use, as well as to avoid regulating AI too quickly in order to avoid slowing innovation. Also argued was a need to de-stigmatize AI use, as some students are scared to admit to using it.

Concerns raised during the in-person forum included a lack of clear guidelines/WSU policy around AI, as well as how an AI-forward approach at WSU will look to future employees.