The rise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has prompted many questions about its application in an academic setting. How are students using it? How can it be used to support research? And ultimately, how should it be used? In response, the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and UNM Libraries will host a series of events over the coming year to help us all develop better answers to these questions, called “AI@UNM.”
The College of Arts & Sciences will kick off AI@UNM this April with “AI-April.” Beginning April 10, AI-April will feature a series of events dedicated to exploring how artificial intelligence is changing our educational landscape and how universities should respond.
With a broad range of topics on the agenda, all members of the UNM community are encouraged to attend. AI-April is free and completely open to the public.
The series will open on April 10 with special guest speaker José Bowen. An educational innovator, Bowen will present Teaching and Working with AI, which will provide valuable tools for using AI in the classroom.
Bowen is a leading expert in artificial intelligence. He spent “40 years teaching at Stanford, Georgetown, and the University of Southampton (UK). Bowen now leads Bowen Innovation Group LLC, a company offering consulting services specializing in innovation and inclusion for higher education institutions and Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, Chevron, Pfizer, Toyota, and Walmart.”
Following his keynote presentation, Bowen will host two workshops. The first will be AI Grading and Policies, and the second will be AI Assessment and Assignments. People across campus are encouraged to join as they are using AI to support their research.
The final event on April 24 is “AI, Public Discourse, and Elections,” featuring a panel of five UNM faculty members exploring how AI may help influence public discourse around elections.
“AI is changing education and research in as many ways as it is the broader economy and society. Bringing the breadth and depth of UNM’s expertise in the technological, social, and ethical aspects of AI is critical to equipping our students to contribute to New Mexico’s future economy and well-being,” said Chris Lippitt, associate dean for research at the College of Arts & Sciences.
For more information, including registration links, visit artsci.unm.edu.
Below is a full schedule of the events.
Wednesday, April 10
UNM SUB Ballrooms B&C
Register here for one or all of the following by April 10.
- 12 – 12:30 p.m. - Welcome
- 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. - Introduction to Teaching and Working with AI
- 1:40 – 2:40 p.m. - Workshop #1: AI Grading & Policies
- 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. – Workshop #2: AI Assessment & Assignments
AI & Research @ A&S
Wednesday, April 17
UNM SUB Ballroom C
12 – 1 p.m.
Register here by April 15.
Presenters
Kent Kiehl
Professor
Department of Psychology
Presentation Title: “Machine learning of brain science in legal contexts”
Sarah Dreier
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Presentation Title: “AI and text quality: Identifying sources of training biases and imperfect classification outcomes"
Jessica Feezell
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Presentation Title: “Algorithm-driven News and Political Polarization in the U.S.”
Cristyn Elder
Associate Professor
Department of English Language & Literature
Chris Lippitt
Professor
Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences
Presentation Title: “AI and Wildlife Monitoring”
Iain Thompson
Professor
Department of Philosophy
Presentation Title: “What Is Called Thinking in the Age of AI?”
Brandon Schmandt
Professor
Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences
Presentation Title: “Classification of seismic signals with machine learning: applications to environmental change, earthquakes in New Mexico, and national security”
Joseph Galewsky
Professor
Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences
Presentation Title: "Cloudy with a Chance of Bits: Using AI to improve our understanding of water vapor's role in the climate system"
AI, Public Discourse, & Elections
Wednesday, April 24
PAÍS 1100
3 – 4:30 p.m.
Register here by April 22.
Panelists
Sonia Gipson-Rankin
Professor
School of Law
Melanie Moses
Professor
Departments of Computer Science and Biology
Gabriel Sanchez
Director
Center for Social Policy
Sarah Dreier
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Kathy Powers
Associate Chair
Department of Africana Studies