IBL News | New York
Dartmouth University announced this month a partnership with Anthropic and AWS to implement AI solutions tailored for the academic environment, intended for students, faculty, and staff.
Anthropic’s Claude for Education and AWS’s Amazon Bedrock models will be used to equip the institution for teaching and research across the sciences, humanities, social sciences, and creative disciplines, as well as for co-curricular activities such as career design and the use of AI technologies aligned with faculty’s fields of study.
“This is more than a collaboration. It’s the next chapter in a story that began at Dartmouth 70 years ago,” says President Sian Leah Beilock.
“This is the kind of partnership that makes me genuinely excited about AI’s role in education,” explained Daniela Amodei, President and Co-Founder of Anthropic.
The agreement is nonexclusive, and Claude will be a powerful addition to other AI models that Dartmouth provides access to, such as ChatGPT and CoPilot.
As a research university, Dartmouth and its faculty began using AI in 1956, with the Dartmouth Summer Research Project. The institution also has a rich history of coupling the latest technological innovations with teaching and learning—from the invention of the BASIC programming language and one of the earliest email systems to universal computing access and campuswide wireless networking.
Currently, a Faculty Leadership Group on Artificial Intelligence is working to define a principled, evidence-based strategy on AI.
Dartmouth’s staff is already utilizing AI to:
- Facilitating student access to AI-enhanced personalized career pathways, career coaching using Claude, including using AI services to evaluate job offers; articulating their strengths, interests, goals, and values; and refining resumes and cover letters;
- connecting students with applied learning events through AWS Skills to Jobs, designed in collaboration with employers to build industry-aligned skills;
- collaborating on student-led programs to create a culture of innovation and ethical use on campus and provide career readiness; and
- granting Dartmouth students access to learning and networking opportunities hosted by Anthropic.
“As the workplace evolves and technology accelerates change, employers are seeking individuals who pair technical fluency with strong communication and problem-solving skills,” said Joe Catrino, executive director of DCCD.
Across Dartmouth’s schools, findings already include key results in medical education, energy and the environment, computational social science, cybersecurity, and mental health and well-being.
• Geography professor Justin Mankin’s team uses climate models to connect greenhouse gas emissions to extreme weather
• The Polarization Research Lab, co-founded by government professor Sean Westwood, analyzes public opinion data to study political polarization and online misinformation.
• Engineering professor Peter Chin’s lab is developing a learning algorithm and training framework to predict and defend against future cyberattacks.
• Through the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Dartmouth is a leading partner in the National Science Foundation-funded AI Research Institute on Interaction for AI Assistants, spearheading research on AI-powered devices and wearables to support digital interventions for addiction, behavioral, and mental health disorders.
• Through its Center for Precision Health and Artificial Intelligence, Dartmouth is also building AI tools to improve diagnostic accuracy and personalize treatments, especially in cancer care.
Dartmouth will use Amazon Bedrock to build custom AI applications for campus operations and student services, with AWS’s Digital Innovation Team providing direct support using their “working backwards” methodology. Comprehensive training and support are also scheduled.
“AWS is looking forward to empowering Dartmouth, in partnership with Anthropic, as they continue to approach AI ethically, strategically, and securely to provide transformational student experiences and operational excellence,” added Kim Majerus, vice president of global education and U.S. state and local government at Amazon Web Services.