Faculty Spotlight: Professor Pease Discusses International Relations and AI
Written by Maribeth Wagganer
Kelly-Kate Pease is an International Relations professor for the College of Humanities and Social Science. Pease has been with Webster University for 30 years. She chose the field of international relations because she became curious about the relationship between government security and human rights.
Pease witnessed the Cold War, the resulting arms race and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union by the time she entered college. These historical events created uncertainty and disorder in the world but sparked her curiosity on “how world order is created and how and why a particular set of governing relationships gains or loses legitimacy.” As a result, she chose to research how and why society works and how to improve it.
After years of research and study, Pease tells her students, “The world and society is what you make it.” She encourages students by reminding them that in the most difficult times, creativity, integrity and knowledge have helped humans overcome challenges.
“Change comes through resistance and individuals with the creativity and the will to make it happen,” Pease said.
Being able to share her knowledge with the next generation while inspiring them to think outside of the box and understand moral integrity make her role as a professor so fulfilling.
Pease and other professionals spoke on the topic of artificial intelligence for The Big Questions Series titled “Artificial Intelligence and Your Education.” The presentation centered on how AI has affected students’ education while focusing on intellectual and academic integrity. The speakers emphasized how AI has affected the student-professor relationship and student learning.
Pease’s fascination with artificial intelligence started in the 1980s when personal computers became easily accessible. Pease stated, “When I was learning how to use a PC, my instructor spoke of expert systems that would one day be available to all. At the time, they were building expert systems for specific fields like aerospace, finance and medicine and the goal was to have computers that could mimic experts in the field. Since then, I became an expert in international relations and have seen how technological advances have improved my understanding of and my ability to research international relations.”
Pease and other faculty members at Webster “knew that this could enhance as well disrupt [their] work, so [they] formed a working group to set up guardrails and then began to explore.” AI has shown no signs of stopping and will only continue to impact the education system. The working group created a space for students to study and understand the proper ways to apply AI.
“It is still too early to tell as its use at a university by students and faculty is a subject about which reasonable people can disagree,” Pease said.
AI can be utilized to write papers, books and many other tasks. However, AI cannot replace a person’s experience, knowledge and creativity. Thus, Pease and other faculty created a space to allow freedom to explore and academic integrity to uphold the proper use of AI. Pease has impacted her students by challenging them on how to think creatively, reinforcing academic integrity and emphasizing the need for lifelong learning and personal development.