College of Engineering to Teach Responsible Use of AI

Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence is here to stay, and discussions about it should not revolve around whether or not to use it, but how to use it responsibly, ethically, and to the greatest effect.

To that end, the College of Engineering plans to integrate AI across the undergraduate curriculum. This fall, the college introduced a course, “AI Applications for Engineers,” designed to equip sophomore engineering students with foundational AI knowledge and the skills to apply it to real-world engineering challenges. A training course planned for spring 2027, together with the sophomore-level course, represents a key step in the college's efforts to prepare for the implementation of an AI proficiency requirement for graduating students.

Last spring, 44 first- and second-year students completed a short course, “AI for Engineering Applications,” to begin to explore AI's role in engineering. Adrianna Morse, a freshman mechanical engineering major, signed up for the course because she's interested in AI and her father, an engineer, talks about how important it is.

“Now that I've completed this course, I feel like I'll be more cautious about using AI. I learned how it 'thinks.' All the responses are probabilities, so even though it's often right, there's no guarantee. AI is a good tool, but it's important to understand the limitations and liabilities of using it,” Morse says.

Vistasp Karbhari, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and civil engineering, taught the first course with an eye on helping students understand ground rules, restraints, and opportunities that can make AI a force-multiplier in the profession.

“We want UTA students to be empowered to be responsible engineers who can do things a different way. We started with freshmen and sophomores so they can use AI through the rest of their careers and expand the vision and scope of what engineering can be,” Dr. Karbhari says. ₪