Daemen University’s IT department held its annual Taste of Technology event on May 21, featuring a series of in-person technology demos, discussions, and workshops for faculty and staff. 
Lead AI Strategist and Assistant Professor of Computing Sciences for Finger Lakes Community College, Dave Ghidiu, was the keynote speaker. He engaged the audience in a robust discussion around AI and its prevalence and influence across industries.
Ghidiu talked about what AI can do as a potentiator in the hands of experts. “AI can take what you do on a daily basis, what you think and what you know, and it can help you do it faster and better,” he said.
He also reminded the audience that, while AI is predictive, there is not always a guaranteed result. “When I think of AI, I think of it as attitudinal knowledge. You start playing with it and you learn something that gives you the confidence to explore a little bit more.”
Ghidiu shared four helpful tips for AI users to keep in mind: “Co-create, don’t abdicate—don’t let AI make your decision; no PII in the AI—never share personal information; bias inside, keep eyes wide—all of the data sets are biased so make sure you’re suspicious of any result you get; and if you don’t review, the error is on you.”
While he is bullish on AI, Ghidiu is not a 100% optimist. “I’m here as an 85% optimist, but I 100% believe AI has so much potential and I love it,” he said.
Daemen has been at the forefront of the AI movement, establishing an AI Tiger Team of faculty and staff to focus on AI use by faculty and students and establishing platform policies to ensure clear guidelines and ethical practices across the institution.
Additional workshops were held throughout the day, including Learning to Prompt with AI, led by Ghidiu; Excel with Excel; and Consensus – AI for Research; among others.