In an email to campus today, College President Sian Leah Beilock wrote that she is initiating a “rigorous, objective review” of College Provost Santiago Schnell’s use of artificial intelligence in his “academic publications and public writing.” Her announcement follows reporting by The Dartmouth earlier this week, which showed that several of Schnell’s recent publications, including op-eds and academic articles, were flagged as “AI-written” by AI detector Pangram.
In an opinion article in The Dartmouth on Friday titled “What I’ve Learned About AI and Academic Integrity,” Schnell wrote that, “in retrospect, I now realize I should always explicitly disclose use of AI in my public writing and be attentive to the expectations of AI use set by publications.”
“I am sorry that this was not my standard practice and, moving forward, it will be,” Schnell wrote.
In the email to campus, Beilock announced the creation of an “independent advisory committee” that will lead the review of Schnell’s AI use. The committee will be led by former provost and computer science professor David Kotz ’86. It will also include computer science professor Hany Farid, College Trustee Odette Harris ’91, creative writing professor Peter Orner and linguistics department chair Lindsay Whaley.
“[Schnell] is taking this matter seriously, as am I,” Beilock wrote.
She did not provide a timeline for the committee’s results, but added in the email that she is “committed to keeping Dartmouth at the forefront of AI.” Earlier this month, Beilock authored a piece in The Atlantic titled “Why I Want More AI at Dartmouth” arguing that universities that “hide from technology will merely secure their irrelevance.”
“Leading on something this new and fluid is messy,” Beilock wrote in today’s email. “There will be missteps, and that’s part of how an institution learns.”
Beilock added that “in the coming weeks,” the College will host “campus conversations on AI, authorship and transparency.” Senior vice president for community and campus life Jennifer Rosales will share more details “soon,” Beilock wrote, echoing Schnell’s message in his column today that he is “working with” Rosales to “think about how we engage our community very soon in a dialogue on when AI should or should not be used in class assignments, public writing and scholarship.”
The five members of the new independent advisory committee created to review Schnell’s publications did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A College spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Max Hubbard '29 is a reporter from Boston, Mass., and is majoring in government and minoring in French. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, running and watching movies.
Vidushi Sharma ’27 is an executive editor and senior news reporter. She is majoring in Government and minoring in International Studies and Sociology.
