Prof. Toumazet of Universite Gustave Eiffel Revisits Shanghai Business School: Exploring the Application Boundaries of AI-Assisted Learning and Research

Prof. Toumazet of Universite Gustave Eiffel Revisits Shanghai Business School: Exploring the Application Boundaries of AI-Assisted Learning and Research

At the invitation of Shanghai Business School, Prof. Frederic Toumazet, a professor of computer science at Universite Gustave Eiffel in France, visited Shanghai Business School for the second time. Vice President Zhang Shaohua and Chen Wei, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of International Education, met with Professor Toumazet at the Caobao Road Campus and extended a warm welcome to him.

A group photo

After the meeting, Prof. Toumazet gave a special lecture titled "From Schur Processes to Introductory Exercises: A Step-by-Step Teaching Design and Analysis of AI-Assisted Workflows" to more than 80 graduate students. The lecture was incorporated into the compulsory graduate course "Frontiers and Industrial Trends of Artificial Intelligence" taught by Tao Liang, seamlessly linking the international scholar's thematic sharing with classroom teaching and helping graduate students broaden their international perspective and deepen their understanding of AI applications and their boundaries.

Centering on the theme of "AI-generated, human-verified," the lecture combined concrete cases to explore in depth the application of large language models in learning and research and its boundaries. The professor focused on analyzing a particularly deceptive type of "dangerous error"—fake bibliographic citations fabricated by AI. These citations look rigorous and well-formatted, including volume and page numbers of books, theorem entries in journal papers, and even the groundless "Brown–Kalamata lemma." Because of their precise wording and complete formatting, such errors are often hard for non-specialist readers to detect.

Using a co-authored paper that he himself wrote and formally published as a reference, the professor demonstrated the importance of verifying bibliographic sources and pointed out that identifying fake citations requires checking the original materials and, at times, relying on the judgment of experts in the relevant field and even of the authors themselves. These cases show that AI's self-checking cannot be regarded as a reliable guarantee; the professional judgment and verification ability of the user are crucial. He emphasized that while AI can efficiently assist in generating statements, instructions, and estimates, its output must still be verified, filtered, and accurately conveyed by professionals. No matter how the tools develop, teachers should uphold their educational responsibilities, guide learning with professional judgment, and promote students' growth by inspiring their thinking.

Prof. Toumazet lecturing graduate students

The whole lecture was vivid and easy to understand, and the atmosphere on site was lively. The professor frequently raised questions to guide the students in discerning the reliability of the "answers" provided by AI. During the interactive session, the students enthusiastically asked questions and discussed topics such as prompt design, result verification, and error identification, and the professor responded to each of them patiently. Through Q&A exchanges and hands-on practice, the students further realized the importance of "using AI well, and verifying AI even better," deepening their understanding of AI-assisted learning methods.

Prof. Toumazet has long been committed to Sino-French higher education exchanges. He previously served as the French Dean of the Paris Elite Institute of Technology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and has received the title of Officer of the French Order of Academic Palms and the Shanghai Magnolia Memorial Award. This was his second visit to Shanghai Business School, and both parties will take this course integration as an opportunity to further deepen graduate teaching cooperation and continue advancing the development of internationalized courses.

Writer: He Yawen

Photographer: He Yawen

Reviewer: Yang Bing