Aristotle and AI: What UTulsa’s Honors College Promised STEM Students Like Me

But, perhaps, it was too good to be true

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When I visited the University of Tulsa as a high school senior in the fall of 2024, I was blown away. As a National Merit semi-finalist (now, finalist) interested in studying both the technical intricacies and ethical implications of artificial intelligence, I had visited schools all over the country. Through my podcast, Aiming for the Moon, and time as a research assistant at Harvard’s metaLAB, I had connected with many Ivy League professors in a variety of fields from genetics to history to artificial intelligence. However, what I found in Tulsa amazed me because the university seemed to have accomplished the impossible: combine a computer science college filled with research opportunities with an Honors College whose mission was to analyze and debate the great works of the Western tradition in a vibrant community of professors and peers.

Unlike other schools, which silo their STEM majors off from their liberal arts majors, Tulsa had purposely designed its Honors College to fit with the busy schedules of STEM majors. Amidst my computer science studies, the Honors College offered me the opportunity in their seminar-style classes to engage in lively discussions of the human experience as revealed by centuries of great thinkers, from Homer to Martin Luther King Jr. Unlike traditional, lecture-based English or ethics classes, these seminars transformed students from passive consumers to active participants in their education. Timeless debates on justice, freedom, and virtue were made personal as students conversed about their application to their own lives.

Under the direction of its dean, philosopher Dr. Jennifer Frey, the College—whose moniker is wisdom, virtue, and friendship—proposed that education was preparation for life as well as career. They reinforced this message with their commitment to serve the Tulsa community, requiring each Honors student to have eighty volunteer hours. The College’s live-and-learn dorm sought to make robust conversation and civil debate a way of life, not just a classroom pursuit. As someone fascinated by AI, I looked forward to the Honors discussions because developing cutting-edge technology is as much a question of wisdom as of skill. To build technology that is ethical and just, we must first—like Socrates—ask, “What is justice?” I had finally found a school which valued both technical prowess and the true, the good, and the beautiful.

But, perhaps, it was too good to be true. Tulsa has decided seven weeks before school is set to begin to majorly “restructure” the Honors College by cutting the dean, assistant dean, and support staff positions (cutting the service learning coordinator, program officer, and director of admissions). This has me concerned. Despite the college’s 500% growth and valiant student support, the administration has determined to “move in a different direction.” Though the university claims that their program will “remain the same,” many staff and students are skeptical. As evidence, just check out the student petition going around to save the program.

In a world obsessed with virality and speed, these slow, intentional dialogues feel like a counter-culture action, especially in STEM fields focused on pragmatic efficiency. But, what if that’s exactly what we aspiring scientists, engineers, roboticists, etc. need most? The future of artificial intelligence is just as much a question of philosophy and ethics as it is of technology. We must pay careful attention to the “problems” we are attempting to solve, especially with our tools’ ability to automate human communication. Technology will be created in service of a philosophy. The only question is whose.

I hope the University of Tulsa is correct and their program will remain the same despite the drastic changes. At the very least, schools should take note of the interdisciplinary model Tulsa constructed and listen to the students who are distraught at its restructuring. Aspiring engineers must be more than “machine men with machine minds.” Our responsibility is too great for us to be trained only in technical skills. After all, no one ever criticized Dr. Frankenstein for his lack of expertise.