The WSU Humanities Center invites faculty, students, staff, and the community to our Spring Symposium entitled, Art-I-ficial Intelligence: Creation and Meaning in the Silicon Age

Abstract: Artificial intelligence is swiftly and fundamentally reshaping how we create, study, and work. From generative text to algorithmic decision-making in finance, healthcare, education, and the arts, AI is no longer a distant prospect, but a pervasive force transforming society and redefining how humans relate to one other and to the machines increasingly embedded in everyday life. At the same time, AI is changing how we understand ourselves. Indeed, Sebastrian Thrun, computer scientist and founder of Google X, has asserted that “artificial intelligence is almost a humanities discipline. It’s really an attempt to understand human intelligence and human cognition.”

This symposium explores the intersection of artificial intelligence and the humanities. By bringing technical innovation into dialogue with humanistic inquiry and sociocultural analysis, this event aims to foster critical engagement across disciplines with a round of lightning talks followed by discussion. Join us for a timely conversation about the promises, risks, and societal implications of AI, as our featured speakers from the humanities, arts, social sciences, and STEM explore the impact of AI on their individual fields.

Participants:

Yasemin Gencer, Assistant Professor, Art, Art History, and Design

Griffin Kiegiel, PhD candidate, Philosophy

Hengguang Li, Professor, Mathematics & Director, Institute for AI and Data Science

Jamie McQuaid, Extension Program Coordinator II, Labor @ Wayne and the Fraser Center for Workplace Issues

Jessica Rajko, Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance & Acting Associate Dean CFPCA

Dongxiao Zhu, Professor, Computer Science & Co-director, Institute for AI and Data Science