By Demian Hommel, CTL AI in Teaching and Learning Fellow in partnership with the AI Literacy Center
As part of the Intentional AI at OSU series, I sat down with Doug Reese, a senior instructor II in ecology. Doug’s work focuses on the distribution, structure, and function of ecological communities: specifically, how they respond to a changing environment. In a field where data collection can often involve thousands of hours of audio, for example, Doug is exploring how generative AI can transition from a perceived threat to a powerful research assistant.
The challenge: Sifting through the soundscape
For an ecologist, understanding biodiversity often means listening. Traditionally, this required point counts or transects, where researchers manually record species observations in the field. However, modern passive acoustic listening devices can record continuously, generating a vast amount of data that no human can process manually within a reasonable time frame.
“I remember the first time someone told me about [AI], I thought, ‘Well, there goes education,’” Doug reflects. The challenge was twofold: how to process massive datasets efficiently while ensuring that students don’t lose the critical thinking skills needed to identify errors, such as an AI “hallucinating” a tropical bird species in the middle of the Willamette Valley.
The innovation: AI-augmented field research
Doug’s strategy involves integrating AI not as a replacement for biological knowledge, but as a scaffold for expert verification. By using AI to identify bird species from acoustic recordings, students can analyze weeks of data in a comparatively short amount of time—a task that would otherwise take months of manual labor.
- The critique assignment: Students conduct traditional research using library sources and then compare their findings with AI-generated outputs from tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot. They are tasked with identifying where the AI “makes it up”—such as citing non-existent scientific papers or identifying species outside their known geographic range.
- Acoustic species identification: Students deploy passive listening devices in diverse urban and rural environments to record bird songs. They then use AI to parse these recordings, developing the skill to “debug” the AI’s identifications against real-world biological constraints.
- Bridging the accessibility gap: For Ecampus students who cannot physically visit specific field sites, these AI-processed datasets provide an opportunity to gain field-like experience with real biological data from across the globe.
Reflection: The pioneering spirit of knowledge
Doug’s transition from skepticism to intentional use was sparked by his students, who were already using AI to generate study quizzes from his lecture materials. He now views AI as a tool that handles the boilerplate labor of data processing, much as calculators changed mathematics or the internet changed information access.
Key advice for faculty
- Prioritize the expert-in-the-loop: Foundational skills are more important than ever. Students must know enough to judge the output; otherwise, they risk accepting work that is “complete garbage.”
- Adopt a “break it” mentality: Encourage students to push the boundaries of the AI to see where it fails. Identifying hallucinations is a high-level learning opportunity that helps students understand the black box of the technology.
- Humanize through connection: AI can transfer information, but it cannot provide the “compassion and the things we bring to our students as caring people on this planet.. Use the efficiency of AI to double down on human-centered pedagogy.
- Prepare students for the workforce: Students will be exposed to AI the moment they enter the workforce. Teaching them the critical thinking to navigate it now—rather than avoiding it—is a vital service to their future careers.
About the Author: Demian Hommel is a professor of geography and environmental science in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and is an AI in Teaching and Learning Fellow with the OSU Center for Teaching and Learning. When he isn’t exploring the societal and environmental impacts of AI, you can find him DJing under the alias Dr. Gonzo or trying to graft citrus trees in his greenhouse.
Top image generated with Microsoft Copilot.
Leave a Reply