The University of Cincinnati is launching a new center focused on the ethical use of artificial intelligence.
Opening within UC's Department of Philosophy this fall, the Center for Explainable, Ethical, and Trustworthy AI is described by Director Andre Curtis-Trudel, an assistant professor of philosophy at the university, as a forum for ethics and humanities-based research around how AI can and should be used in the classroom and in people's everyday lives.
Rather than focusing on the developing technology behind AI, Curtis-Trudel says the new center will rely on the university's English and philosophy faculty to conduct research and facilitate workshops to help people use AI responsibly.
"Contemporary AI systems can be used to generate misinformation. They make it, in some cases, easier to perpetrate certain kinds of cybercrimes. In some cases, they can exacerbate mental health crises, and of course, there are some questions about the environmental impacts of AI," Curtis-Trudel told WVXU. "These are all questions about, how do we want to use these systems? How ought they be used? And those are questions of ethics."
In addition to its academic research, the center will collaborate with the Cincinnati Ethics Center, the Cincinnati Summer League Institute, and the Gaskins Foundation to host events, develop K-12 lesson plans on AI ethics, and run an AI ethics summer camp program for local high school students beginning in 2026.
Curtis-Trudel says the general public also will play an important role in the center. UC plans to host public conversations about AI's use in society to gather input about how the technology can improve lives and when people should be cautious.
"We don't really have good venues or opportunities for everyone to talk about AI, and it certainly seems like some new AI developments are handed down without much input from the people who are most impacted by it," he said. "[We're] giving folks a shared space where we can think about what a future where AI really works for society looks like."
The Center for Explainable, Ethical, and Trustworthy AI is funded by a nearly half-million-dollar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, along with about $165,000 in support from UC's College of Arts and Sciences.
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