IAPA 1002: “Foundations of Policy and Governance” is the only mandatory course for students in the international and public affairs policy and governance track. This semester, the course, taught by Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs Dany Bahar, is having students grapple with a relatively new aspect of policy work: generative artificial intelligence.
“AI can help us go through a much wider amount of material,” Bahar said in an interview with The Herald. In the course, students are expected and encouraged to use AI tools to complete take-home assignments.
The course “treats artificial intelligence as a fact of professional life,” the syllabus reads. “I know that they’re going to be using it, so I might as well help them use it,” Bahar said.
For example, students preparing for in-class debates can use AI to work through policy reports and other preparation materials, Bahar said. But during the debate itself, Bahar is looking to evaluate whether students can demonstrate critical thinking and an understanding of the material.
“Based on what I heard, the vast majority of people in the class are looking comfortable with all of these tools,” Bahar said.
Adunola Ogedengbe ’29 said she was surprised by Bahar’s embrace of AI tools in the course, but that she doesn’t feel like she is learning any differently than she would without the presence of AI.
“When it comes to using AI in education, I think we have to ask ourselves how exactly we’re using it, and if it’s complementing our education and learning,” Ogedengbe said. “I think this course teeters that very fine line of either complementing it, or absolutely just overtaking it.”
Even though Alex Kleist ’29 has avoided relying on AI to complete coursework, he said that AI “definitely can be beneficial in different ways” in the classroom. So far, Kleist has found IAPA 1002 to be “engaging.”
But the course’s approach to AI has drawn concerns from some students.
After learning about the extent to which AI was integrated with IAPA 1002, Francesca Rae Marzilli ’29 decided to drop the class.
As a transfer student, Marzilli was drawn to “the unique educational opportunities” Brown has to offer. But when she walked into IAPA 1002, she said she felt she “was not being presented with an opportunity to learn,” but rather an “opportunity to practice how to use generative AI.”
“We do not need to pay $9,900 a semester for a professor to teach us how to use generative AI,” she added.
Eli Smith ’29 said that since the very first day of the course, he was struck by the prevalence of AI in class. He said that he felt its approach to AI utilization “was pretty terrible,” and that “it kind of took out a lot of student involvement in the course.”
He said that students are “expected to have the AI generate things instead of generating them themselves” and that “students were expected to be reading AI materials instead of properly researched scholarly works.”
According to Wilber Sean Anterola ’29, the course also asks students to use an AI chatbot to complete personal reflections, a task that contributes to their participation grade.
Because IAPA 1002 is required to complete the policy and governance track, Smith said he is “very seriously considering changing” his IAPA track or even switching to a different concentration altogether.
“I’d push back on the idea that AI inhibits learning or hurts the class,” Angus Miller ’29 wrote in a message to The Herald. “That view tends to treat AI as a shortcut rather than as a tool, one that, used well, helps you take in more information rather than replacing your thinking.”
“With broader access to advanced research tools and AI, it’s important that students learn how to use them well,” Miller added. “In a field like policy and governance, why wouldn’t you want a tool that can aggregate far more data than any one person could on their own, to help build a clearer picture?”
While Marzilli understands that students should be prepared to use AI professionally, she said that people “don’t yet have the knowledge and the base understanding to easily fact-check what these tools are producing.”
“We still need to learn how to write essays, even if generative AI exists — it’s still a valuable skill to be able to think and research,” Marzilli said. “Maybe in the professional sector people are just using AI, but wouldn’t you rather hire somebody who has the know-how to do it themselves and can actually ensure that what they’re producing is real?”
Smith also said he understands the importance of AI in the professional world, but found the course’s approach to “AI utilization” to be “pretty terrible.”
In response to students’ concerns, Bahar wrote in an email to The Herald, “I wish they’d have come to talk to me, and I would have done my best to work through the concerns, which I think are all valid.”
“My doors are open, and I take students’ feedback extremely seriously,” Bahar added.
John Friedman, dean of the Watson School of International and Public Affairs and professor of economics, said course policies and assignments at the Watson School remain up to individual faculty.
“I think it’s really important to try to innovate and try new things out because if we wait until we’re 100% sure on trying anything, we’re going to be way behind the curve,” Friedman said. He added that experimentation does not mean abandoning teaching the skills that students need to develop independently.
“If you know how to think critically, you can use AI better,” Friedman said. “But also, if you know how to use AI effectively, you can enhance your ability to think critically.”
Professors are “all trying new things, and that’s why I’m particularly looking for feedback on how to improve things,” Bahar said. “I want this to work for everyone.”
Miriam Davison is a Senior Staff Writer for University News covering Academics & Advising. She is a sophomore from Los Angeles, CA and plans to study tentatively the realm of International & Public Affairs and English, though her interests span from linguistics to history to music. In her free time, she plays on one of Brown's ultimate frisbee teams and likes writing silly poems.
