Universities of Wisconsin Launches Free Series of Videos Regarding AI

Wednesday, March 25th, 2026 -- 10:01 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) AI technology is developing so fast, experts say advances are becoming hard to measure.

According to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio, recognizing this, the Universities of Wisconsin has launched a free series of videos for people who need a starting point.

The AI Skills Access Passport, or ASAP, was developed in partnership with UW Credit Union. The series is designed for the general public. The videos are basic.

For example: AI doesn’t always answer questions correctly, so check your sources. Or: Here are some good uses for AI. What the videos don’t cover is worries about what to do if AI takes your job, or how data centers might affect your community.

UW system President Jay Rothman said the reality is that AI is here and people have to adapt to the new technology. Rothman said the videos are meant to educate people about how the technology works and also create some guardrails for people to consider when using artificial intelligence.

“The question is, how do we best educate people so that they can harness it and use it well if they choose to do that?” Rothman said. “But I think it’s also important to understand that even if you’re not using AI directly, it is impacting you.”

In February, Rothman penned an op-ed on AI and the future of higher education. At the time, he told WPR the Universities of Wisconsin’s focus on AI was multi-faceted.

“We want (students) to have AI literacy. But at the same time, we want to ensure that they have those durable skills that they will have throughout their career, such as the ability to think critically, the ability to problem solve and the ability to deal with other human beings,” Rothman said.

Steph Harrill Kyle, who heads financial inclusion and community engagement at UW Credit Union, said she doesn’t look at AI as something that will take jobs, but rather as something that will allow people to work more efficiently.

“It just allows people to have more time to spend with our members,” Harrill Kyle said. “So I think that is another really powerful reason to be curious about AI and understand different ways it could or might show up.”

Harrill Kyle said UW Credit Union was interested in partnering on the videos because people are being financially scammed by AI technology. UW-Madison is working to launch the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, the school’s first new college in 43 years.

Several other UW campuses and private colleges in the state have begun offering AI majors or certificates. Last spring, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas spoke at Harvard Business School.

Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine that launched an AI health company last week. Srinivas said it’s difficult to make a long-term plan for the technology’s use because AI is moving so fast.

“It is kind of pointless to plan for three years from now,” he said. “We still do quarterly planning.”

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