A team of Jacksonville University faculty presented in the finals of an international technology innovation competition Nov. 2 during the Rhodes Annual Forum on Technology and Society hosted at Rhodes House in Oxford, England.
The presentation detailed the goals and next steps for continued development of “lexperience,” an artificial intelligence-driven learning experience based on a video game platform designed to change how legal skills are taught and used.
A news release from JU said the Kevin Xu Innovation Challenge asked innovators worldwide to consider and share ideas on how AI can be a tool for empowerment that fosters meaningful human development. Members of the Rhodes and Equitech networks were invited to submit ideas intended to advance a future in which AI supports inclusivity and equity and that promotes an approach based on principles of lifelong learning.
“JU’s success in the Kevin Xu Innovation Challenge, vying with other outstanding rivals from all over the world, unquestionably is a proud pivotal moment for our law school, university, and the Jacksonville community and marks the world class cross disciplinary caliber of the our College of Law and University faculty,” JU College of Law Dean Nick Allard said in a news release. “It also underscores the significance of JU President Tim Cost’s visionary charge to our faculty to embrace the possibilities of improving how we teach, study and use AI and other new technology.”
The AI-powered learning product developed by the JU team incorporates video game modules that simulate trial scenarios and respond to the user’s experience. Using the technology, students and practitioners can prepare for the practice of law through adaptive and variable repetition, JU said.
The lexperience team is led by Allard, a Rhodes Scholar alumnus, and current Rhodes Scholar Aimee Clesi, studying criminology and criminal justice.
The team includes law school faculty members Courtney Barclay, Scott DeVito, Latisha Nixon-Jones and Matthew Reiber, joined by Daria Sinyagovskaya, a visiting faculty member at JU specializing in game design and development.
Finalists were chosen through a competitive process which included workshops focused on business development strategies for technology innovations. The final presentations were judged by experts in technology, venture capital investments and entrepreneurship. As a finalist, lexperience will benefit from continued mentoring from these experts, which will be a key element to expanding the work the team is already doing to revolutionize education and training in the legal industry, JU said.