{"id":233256,"date":"2026-04-28T15:47:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T01:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=233256"},"modified":"2026-04-28T15:51:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T01:51:23","slug":"microsoft-expert-ai-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/28\/microsoft-expert-ai-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft expert encourages ‘teach me, don’t tell me’ approach to AI<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"graphic<\/p>\n

The University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> community gathered for a virtual keynote exploring the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI<\/abbr>) on April 27. The event drew interest across the system, hosting nearly 500 attendees online.<\/p>\n

Microsoft’s AI<\/abbr> Innovation Officer Michael J. Jabbour led the session, focusing on human-centered organizational transformation and the intersection of human and AI<\/abbr> in education and healthcare.<\/p>\n

ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ President Wendy Hensel opened the webinar stating: “At the University of Hawaiʻi,<\/span> we recognize the question is not whether we will embrace AI<\/abbr>, but how we will do so. As you know, we’ve been setting up a systemwide AI<\/abbr> initiative and conversation that we launched last year that we will scale significantly in the year ahead to educate our community on AI<\/abbr>. As an example of this you may know we recently launched artificial intelligence for Hawaiʻi<\/span> course which is a free 12-chapter interactive course accessible through the ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ<\/abbr> OneAI Hub<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

A central theme of Jabbour’s presentation was the importance of maintaining human direction as AI<\/abbr> capabilities rapidly expand. He warned that while AI<\/abbr> can generate an infinite amount of output, humans must stay driven by actual outcomes. To foster critical thinking, especially among students, Jabbour shared how he encourages his own children to interact with AI<\/abbr> models by instructing them to “teach me, don’t tell me,” ensuring that users maintain active agency.<\/p>\n

“The only thing I ask you to consider, whether it’s with an AI<\/abbr> or it’s with a human, is to think before you ask,” Jabbour said. “Because if you’re throwing ideas out there and asking the AI<\/abbr> before you’ve thought, the AI<\/abbr>‘s thinking now becomes your thinking and you don’t get a choice.”<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Jabbour noted that up to 70% of every hour worked could soon be automated, and that models are quickly matching human intelligence in specific tasks. With more than 60% of employers indicating they will not hire individuals lacking AI<\/abbr> skills, he stated that educational institutions must adapt to avoid a big skills gap in training the up and coming workforce.<\/p>\n

When asked how students can prepare for a workforce heavily impacted by AI<\/abbr>, Jabbour highlighted adaptability, curiosity and human connection. He advised that the future of work will rely less on manual tasks and more on the human ability to clearly express goals and direct outcomes alongside AI<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

The recording will be linked here when it’s available online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A central theme of Michael J. Jabbour’s presentation was the importance of maintaining human direction as AI<\/abbr> capabilities rapidly expand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":232558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1602,61,62,63,64,65,71,14,9,60,947,59,66],"class_list":["post-233256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-ai","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/system-ai-virtual-session.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233256"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233275,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233256\/revisions\/233275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}