The BYU-Idaho executive office has begun a university-wide effort to educate students and professors on generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Sid Palmer, the AI Officer for BYUI, leads an AI Strategy and Leadership Team that works closely with President Meredith and his office.
"We want the entire campus community to be literate and fluent when it comes to AI," said Palmer on Monday.
Palmer outlined the university's current AI initiative, which includes each department taking actions to adopt AI into their existing programs and courses.
The university will provide a three-step process to enhance student AI literacy and fluency, supplemented by initiatives from individual colleges and departments. These separate programs will work together to achieve BYUI's AI academic priorities, as shown on the far right of the diagram.
According to Palmer, BYUI is using guidance given from Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to direct their actions. BYUI also has a website that outlines many of the ongoing policies and practices.
"I think if I were to describe the tone of the university, I would say it's very pro AI," Palmer said. "I think President Meredith does believe it's here to stay, and he's very, very pro in supporting that and moving it forward."
However, Palmer is also aware that not everyone shares the same opinion. He invites everyone to "join in the conversation."
"The folks who have cautions or who have concerns, who believe that AI can be limiting, they're not wrong," Palmer said. "Help us find, identify and navigate these tension points. I'm not going to force anyone to use it, but... a burying your head in the sand approach is not going to be effective."
Palmer said that BYUI is attempting to integrate AI into as many processes as possible.
"Any place on campus where we can gain efficiencies or improve employee or student experience using AI, we will," Palmer said.
BYUI's first step is a one-hour module that Palmer and his team are working on making available for each student on Canvas.
In the Winter 2026 semester, two special topics classes, Essentials of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Topics in AI, will be available in the Computer Science and Engineering department.
Nathan Jack, department chair for Computer Science and Engineering, said that these classes are for students who wish to use AI at a “higher level.”
Essentials of Artificial Intelligence will be offered as a first block class and there are no pre-requisites to enroll.
Advanced Topics in AI will be offered as a second block class. Students must take Essentials of Artificial Intelligence before taking Advanced Topics in AI.
BYUI will also offer an AI Engineering minor in the Spring 2026 semester. Both classes and the minor are available for each student regardless of their major.
Jack said that other universities have begun offering AI majors. However, according to Jack, “employers don’t know what [an AI degree] means.”
While BYUI may offer an AI degree “down the road,” the current goal with AI education is to help students prepare to meet the needs of future employers.
“We think there's a lot of confusion and scrambling in that field right now,” said Jack. “What we've decided to do is create what we're calling an AI engineering minor. You could tack it on to any [degree]. It’s [something] an employer would understand.”
Jack spoke on the necessity for students to learn to use AI for future employment.
"AI won't take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI will,” Jack said. “Jobs are still there. The machine can’t do it all, we need a human involved. But if you don't know how to use these tools, you're not going to be employable."
Palmer also said that it is important for all students to develop proficiency with AI tools.
"A number of entry level jobs are now being taken over by by AI," Palmer said. "If you really want to make yourself fireproof, you want to start to develop some capacity and experience with AI."
According to Jack and Palmer, part of BYUI’s AI initiative is to educate professors as well.
“We're also training teachers from across campus to teach [about AI],” Jack said. “We’re trying to grab people from business and English and… literally anywhere, so that the class is useful to the whole campus. This is the university approach to AI for the masses.”
Jack said that BYUI’s increase in AI education comes partially because of a desire to make sure “people of faith… have a seat at the table.”
"AI is here to stay and it impacts every major,” said Jack. “It can be used to your detriment, so we want to make sure it is being used in an uplifting, helpful, positive way."
This is so disappointing to read. I now have a stronger belief that the thinking at this university is being done by machines and not revelation through inspired individuals. I have no desire to recommend this school to my children, peers, friends, or anyone else due to these policies and decisions. I thought the revelatory experience was something that would be prioritized on this campus. This school was not my first choice, but I was happy to come here and was humble and grateful for the chance to get a formal education; I no longer feel that this idea is accurate. After three years here, and finishing soon, I will leave with less hope in this campus’s uniqueness and quality. Whatever my intentions for joining this college were, they are being removed due to these types of practices. I would love it if the university would entertain the idea of having students participate in the discussion of whether we want this much, if any, AI used in our college experience whatsoever.
If you are a parent, a student, or anyone who read Samuel’s comment and feels the same way, I am a faculty member in the Computer Science and Engineering department here at BYU-Idaho and wanted to share my perspective:
The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have approved guiding principles for the Church’s use of artificial intelligence, and the Church has stated it will use AI in ways that assist in accomplishing its work. Elder Bednar addressed this directly from this campus in his November 2024 Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, “Things as They Really Are 2.0,” and Elder Gong has spoken about it on an international stage. That direction sets the context in which Church institutions operate.
We are living through a pivotal moment. AI has reshaped the workforce with unusual speed, and the students in our classrooms will graduate directly into that environment. Preparing them for it is not about trend-chasing. It is about fulfilling our mission responsibly. Faculty and administrators here will tell you plainly that students who leave without understanding these tools will be at a significant disadvantage compared to peers who do.
Being watchmen on the tower means paying attention to what is coming and acting before it is too late. Ignoring a shift of this magnitude would not preserve something sacred. It would leave students without the preparation they came here for.
Learning new tools has never replaced revelation. Calculators, computers, and the internet each changed what preparedness looked like, and each one unsettled people at the time. Elder Holland warned in his April 2014 General Conference address, “The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship,” that people are tempted to want “comfortable gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat but don’t even row it.” Discipleship has never been about comfort. It has always involved growth. Doctrine and Covenants 88 teaches us to seek learning by study and by faith. Those principles have always worked together.
Think of it like a workshop. When new machinery enters the shop, the environment changes. Without training it can be dangerous. With the right training it becomes a place of real craftsmanship. AI is no different. It increases the need for judgment and character, not less. Teaching students to wield powerful tools wisely is part of forming capable, grounded disciples.
We are at the beginning of this, not the end, and growing pains are real. That discomfort does not mean something is wrong. It means something is changing. The mission of this campus has not changed, but the tools we are preparing students to carry into the world have, and the people here care deeply about getting that right.