In June 2023, a university advisory committee published a report intended to guide the institution's use of AI in the future. Recommendations included creating a generative AI committee, creating an online information hub for the campus community, ensuring access to generative AI tools for everyone, and proactively integrating generative AI into education and research.
“U-M has the intellectual depth, resources, and international and national connections and networks to be the leader in the development and appropriate use of GenAI,” the report read.
One major AI integration came in the form of U-M GPT, a chatbot that provides free access to the latest versions of large language models like GPT 4.0 and DALL-E 3. It has all the capabilities of these chatbots with a few customizations to best serve UM users.
For example, all data from the chatbot’s interactions is housed in the school’s secure system, ensuring a higher degree of data privacy than platforms owned and operated by private companies. The university’s ownership also allows them to offer the best version for free for everyone, democratizing access to the best new tools. Designers also gave U-M GPT extra accessibility features, like screen reader compatibility, and built in modules that can be swapped out for different language models if need be. This can help ensure flexibility and timely updates, while also helping to prevent the university from being at the mercy of a particular company or model.
Pendse said the team also created a more focused AI tool, U-M Maizey, with which users can upload their own data sets to serve a customized GPT experience.
In an academic setting, Maizey can be integrated with Canvas, the learning management system from the education software company Instructure, and used for things like generating practice exam questions and offering personalized tutoring. Pendse said the Canvas integration was designed to be simple — instructors can integrate in six minutes even without any coding experience.
In an administrative setting, Pendse said, it’s been used to guide requests for proposals and take the place of some specialized administrative tasks.
“Previously for that work, it required three [full-time equivalents], and you're paying a few hundred thousand dollars a year to a manager,” Pendse said. “That tool is now being instead replaced by a specialized version of Maizey.”
Where the previous system completed about 30 percent of the work accurately, Maizey does nearly 100 percent of the work correctly and costs about $65 per year to do so, he said.
Pendse added that the university is looking to scale up Maizey’s use. Currently, there are 2,500 iterations of the tool in active production for procurement.
Next month, the school plans to launch “GoToCollege,” a public-facing chatbot that leverages the Maizey model where users can enter information about themselves and get a list of scholarships and funding opportunities open to them.
“I learned through some meetings that several billion dollars each year in Pell Grants actually go unused,” he said. “Several billion dollars in Pell Grants go unused because there are many students and families out there who simply don't have the type of privilege and infrastructure that, say, my child had, who knew how to navigate these things. Often, they feel this is not for them and end up potentially not going to college.”
Initiatives like these reflect UM’s overall attitude that higher education institutions, with their range of expertise and resources, can help drive technology integration to meet community needs, Pendse said. He suggested they collaborate to maximize impact.
“None of this, what we did at Michigan, would have happened without the entire Michigan team coming together, the emerging technologies team stepping up and delivering, working together, leadership supporting it. That's the story of Michigan,” he said. “And we are here to support and assist and help anybody who needs our assistance.”
