Faculty oversight is a necessity for AI at Duke
This academic year, Duke did not just experiment with artificial intelligence in the classroom. The University institutionalized OpenAI’s ChatGPT without consulting faculty. In June 2025, Duke signed a contract providing ChatGPT free to all students, staff, and faculty. This went beyond prior partnerships with Microsoft’s Copilot and Azure. After all, for tech companies, universities like Duke are a coveted revenue stream.
The University described the decision as a matter of equity, to make AI available to all. At the bottom of every ChatGPT session, a line of text reads that OpenAI does not use information provided by Duke users to train the model. In addition, Duke sponsors AI training and events, including debates on risks.