When conversations about artificial intelligence surface in higher education, they often swing between excitement and concern. Can AI deepen learning or does it risk replacing it? At Palo Alto University’s Fall 2025 Provost Colloquium, faculty, students, and staff gathered to explore that question not as an abstract debate, but as a practical challenge shaping classrooms right now.
Hosted by Assistant Provost for Faculty Success Dr. Kelly Coker, the colloquium continues a PAU tradition of creating space for shared inquiry and dialogue around emerging issues in behavioral science. This year’s series centers on institutional value: Innovation, inviting the community to consider how evolving tools and ideas can be integrated thoughtfully and ethically into teaching and scholarship.
That conversation came into sharp focus with a presentation by Dr. Charlotte Beard, assistant professor in the Psychology Department, Director of the Master of Science in Psychology Program, and a licensed clinical psychologist whose work sits at the intersection of psychology, technology, and digital mental health.
Rather than framing AI as a shortcut or a threat, Beard invited participants to see it as a collaborator, one that requires discernment, context, and strong foundational knowledge to be used well.
“AI can give us a lot of information very quickly,” Beard noted, “but that doesn’t mean it’s always accurate or meaningful on its own.”
Drawing from her experience teaching research methods and statistics, she described a familiar moment for many graduate students: drafting a first research proposal. These projects ask students to move from broad interests to precise questions, grounded in theory, literature, and ethical practice. AI tools can support that process but only if students understand how to guide them.
Beard emphasized that the real challenge isn’t whether students use AI, but how they use it. Uncritical acceptance, fear-driven avoidance, or overreliance on polished AI-generated text can all undermine learning. What matters instead is teaching students to engage AI as a thinking partner not a replacement for judgment.
One metaphor resonated strongly throughout the session. Students with strong research foundations, Beard explained, already have a map. They understand theory, constructs, and disciplinary boundaries. For them, AI can function like a compass, helping navigate efficiently without losing direction.
Students without that foundation, however, may have only a compass and no map. Without guidance, they risk heading toward overly broad projects, poorly defined constructs, or research questions disconnected from theory.
“The solution isn’t to ban the compass,” Beard said, “but to help students build the map.”
That map is constructed through mentorship, theory-driven instruction, and explicit conversations about ethics, transparency, and research integrity which are core values embedded in PAU’s approach to graduate education.
Throughout the presentation, Beard demonstrated how AI can be used to scaffold thinking rather than shortcut it: refining research questions, mapping literature funnels, identifying disciplinary silos, and generating structured tools for literature review—always with the expectation that students verify sources, read deeply, and make independent decisions.
She also addressed the importance of transparency. As journals and institutions establish clearer standards around AI use, students must learn not only how to use these tools, but how to acknowledge them responsibly and evaluate their limitations.
“AI is not a replacement for mentorship,” Beard reminded participants. “Students still need people: faculty, advisors, and peers to help them think critically about what they’re doing and why.”
The lively discussion that followed reflected the diversity of perspectives in the room, with educators, students, librarians, and staff contributing questions and insights. Rather than seeking definitive answers, the session modeled something more enduring: curiosity grounded in care.
By framing AI as a tool for co-inquiry, the colloquium underscored a defining feature of PAU’s academic culture: innovation guided by ethics, rigor, and human connection.
As the landscape of behavioral science continues to evolve, conversations like these ensure that PAU remains not only responsive to change, but intentional about how learning, research, and technology intersect.