With Pitt welcoming its largest incoming class, the new Pitt Digital IT department spent the summer working to manage the influx of students and redefine Pitt’s digital operations.
This transition includes broader access to AI tools, causing some security and ethical concerns from students.
Pitt Digital, the rebranded version of Pitt Information Technology, is Pitt’s new IT department with a fresh idea of what it means to be in charge of the University tech.
A piece of this transition was the University firing 13 Technology Help Desk workers over the summer to outsource the Pitt Technology Help Desk, the main way students, faculty and staff receive IT help. The Help Desk is now fully run by the company Logicalis.
The change is primarily a shift in focus — the department plans to concentrate on more than just software and tech support. Brady Lutsko, Pitt’s Director of Digital Communications, said Pitt Digital newly focuses on AI, data, emerging new technologies and advanced cybersecurity — priorities meant to help keep Pitt Digital aligned with the Plan for Pitt.
Pitt Digital began the newest school year prepared for the flood of new students arriving for this fall semester, working to improve Wi-Fi connectivity across campus, introduce generative AI tools and update the Virtual Student Computing lab for enhanced performance.
One of their largest new initiatives while diving into AI is the creation of their own generative AI, PittGPT, for faculty and staff usage. Lutsko says having this AI available for employees of the University offers a way to use AI securely, keeping Pitt’s sensitive data in isolation from the internet.
“[The internal usage] ensures that data remains within a secure environment, protecting information from external access,” Lutsko said. “PittGPT isn’t currently available to students, as they typically don’t have access to the sensitive data that faculty and staff may need to handle in their specific roles at Pitt.”
For students, Pitt Digital gives access to three University-approved AIs — Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, Google Gemini and Google NotebookLM. Lutsko said the variety of AIs available to students will help ensure “students can learn to utilize AI effectively, meeting employer expectations and enhancing their career readiness.”
Some students are concerned about the ethics of Pitt endorsing artificial intelligence models to its student body. Makenzie Wolf, a junior DNID major and computer science minor, said she dislikes the use of AI in general, unless it is for sectors such as the medical field, and will likely not use the artificial intelligence endorsed by Pitt.
“I know that they’re using it to help figure out signs of breast cancer sometimes five years before it happens,” Wolf said. “I think that’s a good use of AI, to learn from just one specific [industry], [but] I don’t think it should touch everything.”
Pitt Digital provides standards on what is acceptable usage of AI for its faculty, staff and students. Lutsko said the University will always encourage responsible and thoughtful usage of AI tools.
“Where appropriate, it’s important for students to have opportunities to develop their AI literacy — becoming thoughtful and effective users of this technology,” Lutsko said. “Students are expected to adhere to their instructors’ guidelines regarding AI use in coursework. This ensures that AI is used appropriately and ethically across different academic contexts.”
Jake Fulton, a computer science major with a minor in information science, said he has concerns about the security of Pitt endorsing artificial intelligence models. Fulton said he appreciates the effort by Pitt Digital to mitigate the possibility of Pitt employees’ data being used by artificial intelligence companies.
“I’m glad that they’re taking an initiative to try and prevent that for the staff,” Fulton said. “It’s good that they are proud of it too.”
Fulton said that while he appreciates Pitt being on the cutting-edge of technology, ethics are an important part of that work.
“I hope and believe that there are people within the school who are taking all of the ethical considerations that need to be taken,” Fulton said. “I do appreciate that they’re talking about how they’re not incorporating their staff’s data when they’re making their model.”