Catalyzing Equity in STEM Teams: Harnessing Generative AI for Inclusion and Diversity

TL;DR

This paper explores how generative AI can promote diversity and inclusion in STEM teams by assessing collaboration and supporting underrepresented individuals through personalized AI systems, aiming to create a more equitable scientific environment.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for using AI to formalize collaboration assessment and develop adaptive systems that foster diversity and inclusion in STEM.

Findings

AI can formalize collaboration assessment with inclusive analytics.

Personalized AI systems support diversity and inclusion.

Policy recommendations for AI-driven equity in STEM.

Abstract

Collaboration is key to STEM, where multidisciplinary team research can solve complex problems. However, inequality in STEM fields hinders their full potential, due to persistent psychological barriers in underrepresented students' experience. This paper documents teamwork in STEM and explores the transformative potential of computational modeling and generative AI in promoting STEM-team diversity and inclusion. Leveraging generative AI, this paper outlines two primary areas for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. First, formalizing collaboration assessment with inclusive analytics can capture fine-grained learner behavior. Second, adaptive, personalized AI systems can support diversity and inclusion in STEM teams. Four policy recommendations highlight AI's capacity: formalized collaborative skill assessment, inclusive analytics, funding for socio-cognitive research, human-AI teaming for inclusion training. Researchers, educators, policymakers can build an equitable STEM ecosystem. This roadmap advances AI-enhanced collaboration, offering a vision for the future of STEM where diverse voices are actively encouraged and heard within collaborative scientific endeavors.