12/15/2025

“Wait… are we allowed to talk about AI?” Opening up conversations through the AI Hub

by Victoria Chen

Image credit: University of Guelph-Humber

In late fall 2024, we launched the AI Hub with a simple mission, to open up the conversation around AI use at our university and promote ethical use of AI. As students approached our booth with the huge banner “Curious about AI?”, students asked in almost a hushed tone, “Wait… are we allowed to talk about AI?”.

The AI Hub was created to address the mixed reactions around AI and to create a space where the campus community could explore AI openly and ethically in everyday use. It started off as a simple table, two 4^th year undergraduate research assistants, one staff, and a laptop, and grew into a conversation around curiosity, exploration, and learning.

Face to face interaction

Early on, the team brainstormed different ways to engage the campus community, drawing on all our unique experiences, and reflecting on how much the COVID pandemic had reduced physical presence and connections made in face-to-face opportunities. The peer-led model was intentional, as research suggests students feel more open to discussing sensitive topics or uncertain topics with peers (Sun et al., 2022). Our research assistants were already active leaders on campus, with extensive experience engaging fellow students, instructors, and staff, and they brought their own disciplinary perspectives and personal journeys with AI into their interactions. Rather than positioning themselves as AI experts, they approached conversations as facilitators, guiding students in thinking critically about AI, unpacking vague policies, acknowledging confusion, and encouraging them to seek clarification from instructors. This peer-driven approach helped create a casual environment where participants felt invited to actively think about and talk through the role of AI in their academic lives.

AI can stand for Academic Integrity

Across the 11 sessions, many participants expressed equating AI, specifically ChatGPT, with cheating. Most did not know other tools like Gemini or Notebook LM were considered AI tools as they only associated ChatGPT with AI tools due to media coverage. Nearly all participants were surprised to learn that Microsoft Co-pilot was available through our institutional license and that the institution was even promoting it as a tool to use.

“But isn’t AI banned?” became a recurring question, revealing just how vague and inconsistent our institutional guidelines felt to students. To address this, we intentionally showcased a broad range of AI tools and resources recommended by our library and by other higher education institutions (University of Guelph-Humber Library, n.d.), helping students recognize that conversations about AI use extended far beyond our campus and that they were not navigating this alone.

Our library services already developed AI Modules for instructors and students to take, so there was no need to re-invent the wheel. We decided to pull out key concepts such as responsible use, fact-checking outputs, and understanding limitations, and turn them into short approachable demonstrations. This shifted the conversation from “Can we use AI?” to “How can we use AI ethically?” We emphasized that integrity involves using AI as a partner in learning rather than a shortcut, and our hands-on activities brought this message to life.

Becoming curious about AI

Before beginning the AI Hub, the team shared potential concerns around skepticism and confrontations around AI use. The term AI had become controversial, and we did not know how people who came to the booth would react. Instead, we were surprised by how eager everyone was to learn how to use AI responsibly. Instructors promoted the booth and encouraged students to come by. We created short demonstrations showing students and instructors how to use tools like Microsoft Copilot, Notebook LM, and Goblin Tools to break down tasks, find resources, and discussed how to fact check the responses. These hands-on experiences made integrity tangible. Students learned to question outputs, consider the implications of their choices, and think critically about how they use AI. Students and instructors also asked for takeaway resources, prompting us to create a printed AI pamphlet summarizing policies, AI tools, and common questions. We share the full list of activities in our publication (Chen, Narumathan, and O’Donoghue, 2025).

Final thoughts for your AI Hub

Reactions around the AI Hub have been overwhelming positive, as many people have said they wanted to create their own but did not know where to begin. This initiative started off very simple, and anyone can create their own version of the AI Hub in their department or institution.

If your institution is exploring ways to support ethical AI use, consider starting small:

• Make conversations visible
• Allow students to take the lead
• Focus on learning and exploring
• Promote and utilize the AI resources already available at your institution.

The AI Hub showed us that students, instructors, and staff are eager for open, guided discussions about AI and integrity. Sometimes all they need is someone to start the conversation.

References

Chen, V., Narumathan, A., & O’Donoghue, S. (2025). Curiosity to Confidence with the AI Hub. Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education, 7(1), 134–141. https://doi.org/10.69520/jipe.v7i1.276

University of Guelph-Humber Library. (n.d.). Artificial intelligence. https://guelphhumber.libguides.com/artificialintelligence

Sun, J., Yin, X., Li, C., Liu, W., & Sun, H. (2022). Stigma and peer-led interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, Article e915617. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.915617

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to Ashnaa Narumathan and Siobhan O'Donoghue, the incredible research assistants who made the AI Hub possible, and Dr. George Bragues and Dr. Melanie Spence-Ariemma for their generous support and funding for the AI Hub.

Dr. Victoria Chen is an Academic Technology Specialist at the University of Guelph-Humber, where she leads initiatives that explore ethical, accessible, and practical approaches to AI in education.