Virginia Tech has adopted a universitywide vision statement for artificial intelligence that centers on human benefit, ethical responsibility, and the institution's land-grant mission. The framework, developed by a cross-disciplinary AI Futures Working Group convened by President Tim Sands, will guide how the university teaches, researches, and deploys AI in the years ahead.
"AI has the potential to enhance the impact of human creativity and the value of human-centered skills such as adaptability, communication, critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration," said Sands. "These skills are best advanced in a residential campus environment with guardrails, guidance, and interdisciplinary flexibility, and our engaging presences in the communities we serve. Hokies are ideally positioned to lead us into an AI-enabled future."
The vision statement commits Virginia Tech to "setting a new standard for a technology that serves the public interest," with a focus on AI fluency, ethical responsibility, and equipping the campus community to question and steward these tools. The university plans to announce supporting tools, strategies, and opportunities for faculty, staff, and students in the coming months.
A cross-disciplinary approach
The working group is co-chaired by Warren Dixon, dean of the College of Engineering, and Rishi Jaitly, professor of practice and Distinguished Humanities Fellow in the Center for Humanities. Members span the Pamplin College of Business, the School of Performing Arts, the Department of Computer Science, and the university's technology and strategic affairs offices.
"The future of AI will ultimately be measured by the difference it makes in people's lives," said Dixon. "Our work at Virginia Tech is to provide a cultural framework around AI so that faculty, staff, and students embrace AI as an enabler to enhance human capability while preserving the values, creativity, and judgment that make our communities strong."
The university's strategic planning process gathered community perspectives on AI's role in higher education, and the Office for Strategic Affairs aligned the vision with those findings.
Human judgment at the center
The vision statement emphasizes building AI fluency and ethical responsibility across campus, with the goal of producing graduates who can apply judgment to emerging technologies rather than simply use them.
"We're living through 'future of' times, during which weighty questions about the future of learning, leadership, and so much more are in the air," Jaitly said. "I'm proud that, at Virginia Tech, our heritage and history offer us the opportunity to center humanity as we contemplate the role of AI in our service mission. The AI Futures Working Group looks forward to supporting the ability of all members of the university community to cultivate elevated judgment about these technologies by drawing on the timely - and timeless."
Why this matters for education and research professionals
For professionals in higher education, the working group's approach offers a model for institutional AI strategy that starts with mission and values rather than tooling. The emphasis on cross-disciplinary governance - engineering deans alongside humanities faculty - reflects a growing expectation that AI decisions can't live in IT departments alone. For researchers, the university's commitment to "interrogate, steward, and harness" AI signals that critical evaluation of these systems will be a core competency, not a niche concern.
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