What is the name of your organization?
George Washington University Digital Humanities Institute
What is the name of your solution?
Open-Access AI for Education
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Open-access, participatory AI that solves the inequality in education. Instructors and students co-design it to gain critical AI literacy.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Washington, DC, USA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Other, including part of a larger organization (please explain below)
If you selected Other, please explain here.
The Digital Humanities Institute is part of the George Washington University. We are a non-profit educational entity.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
In higher education, there are (1) distrust among stakeholders and between users and AI tools and (2) lack of education technologies designed by and for educators and learners and deployed in transparent and inclusive manners. The distrust and disempowerment result from lack of access to open access AI as public interest technology for higher education. Participatory justice enhances ethical human-AI collaboration. Some American communities as well as developing countries lack equitable access to AI resources because they face connectivity challenges.
What is your solution?
In partnership with Africa House and ITHAKA and with educators in the lead, we develop participatory AI for higher education. We propose a scalable, solution-driven, open-access, open-source, narrow AI that allow instructors and students to customize the platform for personalized learning and gain a deeper understanding of AI. We enhance trust by allowing meaningful participation from all stakeholders. We solve the inequality between a small circle of private actors and the public by offering open-access AI designed by and for end beneficiaries through a mobile-first platform with robust performance in low bandwidth environments.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Higher education faculty and students in the US through ITHAKA and in Africa through our collaboration with Africa House. We address all disciplines. Our platform benefits particularly disciplines that have traditionally been excluded from AI studies, such as the humanities. Students can receive feedback on their videos and writing.
