San Francisco · California · OpenAI · ChatGPT · NPR Technology
Leaders of the California State University system, the CSU, want it to become the nation's first artificial intelligence-powered
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It entered into a $17 million no-bid contract with OpenAI last year to provide students, faculty and staff with a new resource: ChatGPT Edu, a version of the popular generative AI chatbot intended for use by educational institutions.
Key facts
- Large majorities of students and faculty also worry about AI's impact on creativity (83% of students, 82% of faculty), job security (82% of students, 78% of faculty) and the environment (80%
- Daterao, 30, says she enrolled in the information systems master's program at California State University, Long Beach, to learn how to use AI more efficiently
- In December 2024, university leaders flagged a potential partnership with OpenAI as "a huge branding opp[ortunity]," according to an internal CSU planning document obtained by NPR
- A separate document obtained by NPR, dated 2025, shows that the CSU expected questions around its partnership with OpenAI
Summary
Leaders of the California State University system, the CSU, want it to become the nation's first artificial intelligence-powered institution of its kind. "No other university system in the U.S. or internationally is doing anything like this, not at this scale," said Mildred García, the CSU's chancellor, during a February 2025 press conference announcing the partnership. But in a recent survey, majorities of its students and faculty said they were skeptical of the benefits of AI for education, and they worry about AI's impacts on job security, creativity and the environment.