This week’s update is a bit different, as I’ve asked our University Librarian, Nicole Nolan, to speak to artificial intelligence (AI) and our plans in the space at Brock. 

To provide some context, last year I asked Nicole to chair a small working group that would focus on identifying concrete next steps for implementing an AI strategy here at Brock. 

The working group has recently completed its work, and I am pleased to be able to share the workplan they have developed here: Brock Artificial Intelligence (AI) Workplan. 

To speak to it, here is Nicole. 

As of January 2026, ChatGPT has over 900 million weekly users. For a resource that was introduced in November 2022, this is an astounding uptake.  As a New York Times reporter discovered when he tried to avoid AI for 48 hours, it’s nearly impossible to function in our society without being affected by artificial intelligence. AI is integrated into our societal infrastructure, and even if you are deliberately avoiding platforms like ChatGPT, you are still affected by AI. On our own campus, I’ve read countless Brock News articles about AI. As a Senator, I’ve heard AI come up in several Senate and committee discussions. 

My observation is that there is an uncomfortable buzz on campus about AI. Some like it, some don’t. Some want to use it in work or research, some don’t. Some want to use it in teaching, some don’t. Some have noted that their disciplines are affected by AI in different ways. Some want better guidelines and policies on AI, some don’t. Some don’t know what they think of AI, because they don’t know enough about how it could be used responsibly and effectively to make a judgement about it. AI is divisive, disruptive, and has the potential to be transformational.

Love it or hate it, we need to talk about it.  

Planning the plan 

Recognizing that AI needs attention on campus, in late 2025 the Provost asked that I chair a small group tasked with developing a plan for AI enablement at Brock. Our planning group quickly began meeting and working to develop an approach that Brock could employ to engage campus in the AI conversation. We are now in the process of implementing the workplan we arrived at. 

Some universities have implemented their AI plans already, so we had the benefit of learning from other approaches to understanding AI on campuses, which helped inform our own. We also benefited from Dean Peter Berg’s report Developing a Framework for the Enablement of AI Integration at Brock University. This report was shared in the Provost’s Report to Senate in December 2025.  

We liked the term enablement to describe our approach towards AI. We wanted to build a process that is empowering and supportive, and works to provide tools, knowledge, and technology to facilitate action. We want to set the stage to enable AI usage on campus, for those who want to engage. We want Brock to have a clear perspective and coordinated approach on AI.  

What is the plan? 

The plan has three recommendations. First, we are striking an AI Enablement Task Force, reporting to the Provost. The task force objectives include the following: 

• Clearly define the Brock AI approach by identifying Brock-specific principles to help inform AI decisions, define what it means to be an AI ready institution, and describe what an AI enablement approach means for Brock. 
• Develop an AI readiness strategy. 
• Develop and coordinate an AI communication strategy. 
• Engage in Brock-wide consultations to better understand AI concerns, approaches, and possibilities. 
• Develop a Brock-wide professional development/education strategy for faculty, librarians, and staff. 
• Coordinate the work of the Task Force working groups.  
• Develop recommendations to ensure that Brock has an ongoing, sustainable approach to fostering AI-readiness. 

Second, we are striking seven AI working groups, reporting to the Task Force: 

1. Teaching & Learning Practices Working Group 
2. AI in Research & Creativity Working Group 
3. Student Services Working Group 
4. People Strategy & Administration Working Group 
5. Systems, Security, and Data Governance AI Working Group 
6. Graduate Student Research AI Working Group 
7. Library Services AI Working Group 

These working groups have not been populated yet, and we are keen to invite involvement from individuals who have been engaged in AI in their respective areas – including faculty, staff, and students.  

If you are interested, please reach out to me directly at [email protected]. 

These working groups shall: 

• Identify urgent concerns for their working group. 
• Develop a shared understanding of the state of AI enablement in the working group specific context. 
• Identify opportunities and challenges for AI Enablement at Brock, in the specific area of your own working group. 
• Develop a list of priorities that need addressing, with timelines in the specific area of your own working group. 
• Provide updates to the Task Force, as appropriate.  
• Develop recommendations, with the goal of completing a report by August 2027.  
• Identify university policies and procedures in your area that are affected by AI. 
• Identify what opportunities and challenges might exist if AI be leveraged by the university to influence recruitment and retention. 

The third recommendation was a request for funds to support this work. These funds would support things such as purchasing relevant memberships, supporting focus group work or consultations, and paying for potential speakers to support professional development on campus.  

We are now in the process of building the working groups and initiating the work.  

Implementing the plan 

We know that this plan will require a lot of people, time, and energy. We think this is time and energy well spent. Our questions about AI have the potential to affect our very identity as an educational institution: 

• If information (knowledge?) is easily accessible through AI tools, what is it that we teach?  
• What is AI, and what does it mean to be AI-ready? 
• How do we use it, teach it, research it, leverage it?  
• Should we use it, teach it, research it, leverage it?  
• How do we provide access to AI?  
• Should we provide access to AI?  
• What are our values, policies, procedures, and laws regarding AI?  
• How do we support our students, staff, faculty, and librarians through this time of AI uncertainty and change?  

AI is transformational. These are significant questions that get at our very identity as an institution, and so now is a good time to engage in campus-wide conversations to address our future.  Love it or hate it, AI is here and we need to talk about it. 

I would like to thank all the members of the planning group for their efforts in developing the workplan. I am looking forward hearing, and seeing, more as the enablement task force and its various working groups begin their work. 

I would also like to extend a special thank you to Nicole Nolan for providing a guest update this week. If you have questions, comments, or thoughts generally about AI at Brock—I would encourage you to reach out to Nicole directly, she would be happy to discuss!