WSU Carson College hosts inaugural AI literacy and skill-building workshop

The inaugural AI@Carson Workshop, hosted by the Carson College of Business on Nov. 1-2, brought together around 60 business students for two days of immersive, hands-onlearning at WSU's Spark Academic Innovation Hub.

Students from majors across the college filled the active-learning space, ready to build their AI skills and understanding. The workshop emphasized not only using artificial intelligence more effectively but also recognizing its limitations and approaching emerging tools with a critical, ethical mindset.

"The goal is to prepare students not just to use AI, but to think about it and understand what it does well, where it falls short and how to use it responsibly," said Robert Crossler, professor and chair of WSU's Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship, who founded the event.

Learning to craft better AI prompts

The workshop kicked off with a session on prompt engineering, a skill that has quickly become essential for anyone using generative AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or other large language models (LLMs). Students practiced writing clear, purposeful prompts and explored meta-prompting - in other words, asking AI to help them develop better instructions to improve results.

Crossler encouraged students to treat AI more like a teammate than a tool, reminding them that good results come from experimenting, refining their prompts, and building on each response.

"These [AI] models can be wrong about 20% of the time," he said. "Think of it like training an intern. You review its work, give feedback, and learn from the process. That's how we should treat AI outputs."

For WSU student Eden Brooks, a junior double majoring in international business and management, the practical, hands-onapproach was what made the workshop experience stand out.

"AI is becoming part of daily life," Brooks said. "Seeing how it can be integrated from a business perspective was the most enticing part. It's exciting to learn how to use it efficiently and responsibly."

AI skill development across disciplines

Students later shifted their attention to AI and ethics in a session led by Richard Johnson, associate professor of management, information systems, and entrepreneurship. Working in small groups, they examined real-world scenarios involving misinformation, bias, and the unintended consequences of relying too heavily on generative AI tools.

"Generative AI is a people pleaser," Johnson said. "It gives you what it thinks you want to hear, not always what's accurate. That's why we have to stay critical in how we evaluate responses."

Generative AI is a people pleaser. It gives you what it thinks you want to hear, not always what's accurate. That's why we have to stay critical in how we evaluate responses.

With that foundation in place, the workshop moved into a series of discipline-focused breakout sessions led by faculty and graduate instructors from marketing, accounting, finance, hospitality, human resources, and information systems. These sessions showed students how AI is reshaping business practices across industries and challenged them to apply ethical reasoning to practical, field-specific problems. Other sessions explored how AI is transforming business operations.

Across every breakout, faculty emphasized a consistent theme - that AI tools are most effective when paired with human judgment and critical thinking.

"It's not about AI doing all the work," said Beau Barnes, associate professor of accounting during his session on AI in accounting and audits. "It's about learning to use technology to enhance your workflow and make better decisions."

Preparing for the future of work

For students like Nick Lametto, a senior studying management information systems and accounting, the workshop offered both practical tools and a few surprises.

"The audit process requires a lot of double-checking, which can be tedious," he said. "Seeing how AI agents can support those tasks was really eye-opening."

Students who completed the two-daytraining received certificates acknowledging their new competencies in AI literacy and responsible use.

"The AI@Carson Workshop reflects the Carson College's commitment to experiential learning and technological fluency, preparing graduates who can lead in an increasingly digital, data-driven world," said Debbie Compeau, college dean.