BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Ann and Fry are two college students who will be beginning their freshman year at Ferris State University (FSU) during the Spring 2024 semester. But Ann and Fry won't be like any of the other students at the university.
Ann and Fry are not human, they're virtual students powered by artificial intelligence.
Just a few weeks after the university hosted its inaugural "AI Day" which showed off the school's AI program to high schoolers, FSU announced the virtual students' enrollment.
The two virtual students will participate in hybrid classes by completing assignments, interacting with students and professors, and even eventually picking a major.
FSU faculty members even crafted "backstories" for Ann and Fry, which were based on real student experiences. These backstories will help the virtual students complete tasks and declare a major.
Faculty and staff at FSU will monitor the two AI students and their interactions with other students and their professors. The data gathered from the monitoring will be used to "apply to potential applications in education and other areas."
Molly Cooper, a FSU professor and scholar of information security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, believes what they learn from the program will help make education more accessible.
“Ferris State is a leader in artificial intelligence education and can leverage its expertise to use the technology we teach to strengthen our ability to lead,” Cooper said. “The more we use artificial intelligence, we can see what it is capable of and how we can use it to do things more efficiently and effectively.”
FSU is only one of three schools in the country to offer an undergraduate artificial intelligence program. The university said the program has ties to the Department of Defense, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Amazon Web Services and many Michigan companies.
“These virtual students, and the work we are doing around them, are another example of Ferris State showing leadership in technological fields,” said Provost Bobby Fleischman. “Our students have opportunities to learn from faculty members who are experts in their fields, gaining skills with real-world applications that will lead to rewarding careers.”
Ann and Fry will begin classes at the beginning of the spring semester, starting on Jan. 8, 2024.
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