Register to join us online by noon on Tuesday, May 28. In-person registration closed on May 17, 2024. Links to the recordings can be shared with faculty, staff, students, and researchers who missed the registration deadlines.

First in a new series of Emerging Tech Dialogues

First in a series of Emerging Tech Dialogues, the May 29, 2024 event will focus on opportunities for using artificial intelligence in higher education.

Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

Faculty, staff, researchers, and students from all Cornell campuses recognize that generative AI tools may revolutionize every corner of academia. Instructional designers are using generative AI tools to create new teaching modules and writers are seeing improvements in their initial research when they turn to chatbots for assistance.

Although generative AI tools have captured the public's imagination, machine learning and artificial intelligence tools are already embedded in manufacturing and supply chain processes and they drive new features in consumer appliances. Likewise, academic campuses can expect artificial intelligence tools to be tapped for a wide range of activities -- from optimizing campus facilities to enhancing executive decision-making.

Much like the early adopters of the internet, we are poised on a thresh hold of an innovation that could reshape the way we work, learn, and innovate. To meet this opportunity head-on, Chief Information Officer Ben Maddox suggested an all-day symposium where faculty, staff, researchers, and students from the New York campuses could meet in person to share ideas for capitalizing on these opportunities.

Online participants will see all the guest speakers in Zoom and the planning committee is working hard to share posters and break-out sessions in a hybrid format as well. Volunteer to help us make this event a success in both environments when you register!

Agenda

May 29, 2024, 9:30am-4:00pm Eastern Daylight Time

In-person at Statler Hall and online via Zoom

See the full agenda for poster and breakout session details. Zoom links will be provided via email by May 28.

• 9:30am – Mingle, sign-in, coffee - Statler Hall's Park Atrium
• 10am – Opening remarks and introduction by Ben Maddox
• 10:15am – Keynote Speaker Kavita Bala, Dean of Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and Professor of Computer Science. In January 2024, Bala delivered the keynote address opening a Harvard/MIT Symposium on the impact on education of generative AI (GAI). A question-and-answer session follows Bala’s keynote presentation.
• 11:30am – Lunch and Poster Sessions in the Park Atrium; each in-person poster presenter will also cycle through the online audience Zoom room so everyone has a chance to hear and discuss their content. See the full agenda for poster details.
  • Center for Advanced Computing Services: Empowering Researchers to Tackle Complex AI/ML and Data-Intensive Computing Challenges - Richard Knepper, Cornell Center for Advanced Computing
  • Graduate Writers, Generative AI, and the English Language Support Office - Michelle Crow and Melissa Myers, Cornell College of Arts & Sciences, English Language Support Office, Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines 
  • Advancements in Computing Resources for Cornell Social Science Researchers - Cassian D'Cunha and Jacob Grippin, Research Center for Social Sciences
  • One-touch login with Secure Connect - Dan Villanti, Cornell IT Security Office
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education - Doug Cohen, Weill Cornell Medicine, Educational Computing
  • BALM - Building Automation Language Model - Joel Bender and Laurie Collinsworth, Cornell IT Infrastructure, and Samuel Fairchild, Cornell Facilities and Campus Services' Network Engineering
  • Augmented Reality and 3D-printed Models of Clinical Linear Accelerators for Training and Education - Sungho Synn (graduate researcher and Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design candidate) and Farzin Lotfi-Zam, Cornell College of Architecture and Art Planning
• 1:00pm – Keynote Speaker Clay Shirky, NYU’s Vice Provost for AI and Technology in Education as well as an American writer, consultant, and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies. A question-and-answer session follows Shirky’s keynote presentation. 
•  2:10pm - Remarks and Afternoon Updates by Ben Maddox
• 2:30 – Breakout Sessions #1; all sessions will be accessible to both in-person and online participants. See the full agenda for breakout session details.
  • Introducing Messy, Divisive, and Transformational Technology at Cornell: Tales from the Classroom - Rob Vanderlan, Amy Cheatle and Becky Lane, Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation
  • Generative AI for Internal Documentation Search with Provenance - Jason Woodward, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
  • Bring Your Computer and Be the Copilot - Laurie Hemmings, Shelley Stuart, and Carlyn Chatfield, Cornell IT Communications & Documentation
  • Connect 360 - Laura Landphair, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Derek Messie, Cornell IT Enterprise Services
  • Navigating the AI Code Jungle: Pros and Cons of AI-Assisted Software Development - Phil Robinson, Sarah Chintomby, Shinwoo Kim and Matt Connolly (Cornell University Library IT); Scott Ross (Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine); Fermin Romero and Phil Williammee (Cornell Student & Campus Life)
• 3:20pm – Breakout Sessions #2; all sessions will be accessible to both in-person and online participants. See the full agenda for breakout session details.
  • So You've Got a New Hammer - Dan Villanti and Meryl Bursic, Cornell IT Security Office
  • Chatbots/LLMs for Promoting Learning - Toby Ault and Marty Sullivan, Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
  • AI Experiments for Administrative Staff: handling confidential Data - Zach Jacques and Ayham Boucher, Cornell Research Administration Information Services
  • Teaching Critical Thinking at a Time when GAI can Produce Easy Answers: Instructional Strategies to Foster Core Skills - Amie Patchen and Kim Scholl, Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Public and Ecosystem Health
• 4pm – Informal Gathering in the Atrium

News

• Help Shape the Next Emerging Tech Dialogue
• Successful Artificial Intelligence Event Inspires Large Audience on May 29
• AI in the Classroom Featured in Posters and Breakout Sessions May 29
• Jungles, Chatbots, and Bears, Oh My! An AI Perspective for Everyone May 29
• NYU Vice Provost for AI and Technology in Education Clay Shirky Shares Insights in Afternoon Keynote on May 29
• Explore Artificial Intelligence Opportunities May 29
• Hot Topics for May 29 Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Symposium
• Kavita Bala Keynote Drives Morning Activities
• Announcing Emerging Tech Dialogues: Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education May 29