As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes higher education and the workplace, New Mexico State University’s College of Business, in partnership with the Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, will host a series of workshops, a panel discussion and an evening keynote designed to help faculty and students use AI effectively, ethically and with purpose.
The events, led by Todd McLees, co-founder of humanskills.ai, will take place Tuesday, Feb. 10, and focus on developing human judgment, agency and critical thinking alongside emerging AI tools.
The day’s events include a morning workshop, “Scaffolding into AI,” from 9 to 10:30 a.m., followed by a panel discussion, “Using AI Responsibly in Teaching and Learning,” from noon to 1 p.m. Both sessions will take place in Milton Hall, Room 50. McLees will conclude the day with a College of Business Executive Speaker Series presentation titled “Agency > Intelligence: Human Agency is One Thing Abundant Intelligence Cannot Replicate” at 5 p.m. in Domenici Hall, Room 109. All events are open to the NMSU community.
“We’re thrilled to have Todd come and share his vision,” said Bryan Ashenbaum, dean of the College of Business. “One way or another, we’ll be living in an AI-enabled future.”
The sessions will examine how higher education can adapt as artificial intelligence becomes more widely available, with a focus on preserving human agency, ethical judgment and purposeful decision-making in teaching, learning and leadership.
“Intelligence is becoming abundant,” McLees said. “But the ability to decide what matters, to exercise judgment, to take responsibility for outcomes – that’s human agency. And it’s the most valuable skillset in the economy we’reentering. That’s what we’ll focus on during the talk at NMSU.”
Carol Flinchbaugh, professor and department head of management in the College of Business, said the events address a growing challenge in management education.
“A Harvard Business Review article recently reported that 74% of young people use AI in some capacity, with 16% reporting that they use AI for tasks even when they are told not to,” she said. “As such, it’s vital that faculty develop our ability to help students create high-quality AI prompts, refine their AI queries and think critically about the solutions. We need to help students keep human judgment and discernment within their AI solutions.”
Flinchbaugh said McLees’ visit is supported by funding from an NMSU AI Institute mini-grant focused on ethical and critical AI use in the classroom.
“We want to enhance our understanding of generative AI tools and learn more about developing AI skills that keep humans in the process,” she said. “This is where Todd’s expertise comes in. I look forward to learning from his presentations.”
McLees said his sessions will address a shared concern among both faculty and students as AI tools become more integrated into academic and professional work.
“Faculty and students are navigating the same fundamental question: how do I work with AI without losing what makes my contribution distinctly human?” he said. “I’m looking forward to exploring that with the NMSU community. The institutions that figure this out will help shape what thoughtful human-and-AI collaboration looks like going forward.”
Enrico Pontelli, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, emphasized the importance of grounding AI use in human responsibility and creativity.
“While AI can simulate some forms of intelligent behavior, it cannot replicate the agency of the scholar,” Pontelli said. “In the College of Arts & Sciences, we anchor our work in human agency – the uniquely human ability to assign meaning, exercise ethical judgment and take responsibility for the stories we tell and the discoveries we make.”
Pontelli said universities must integrate AI literacy early and across disciplines.
“AI offers a unique opportunity to serve as a bridge and a sandbox to foster collaborations that transcend disciplinary boundaries,” he said. “This allows us to combine the qualitative insights of the Arts & Sciences, such as ethical inquiry and cultural context, with the strategic and operational frameworks of business. Universities can transform AI from a siloed technical tool to a collaborative bridge that empowers students to lead with both purpose and efficiency across all sectors of society.”