Focus Initiative Public Events

ARTificial Intelligence: A Student Response Exhibition

Artificial Intelligence is blurring lines in art, often begging questions such as: What is art? What is real? What is original? Is AI art? As the rising guard of the next generation of artists, students are responding to such prompts through interpretations based on personal perspectives, major/minor, year of study, culture, age, and experiences. Ultimately, they are exploring what AI means to them and its applicability in the art world.

Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum,
Douglass Gallery

Barry Lam, "Artistic Creation in the Age of Automation"

It is now possible to generate visual art, music, and writing in seconds that previously took weeks, days, or years, with no skills, training, or knowledge. The creative fields have now become automated in the way mass manufacturing automated skilled artisanship. Is this generated AI slop in any way "quality" stuff? In this talk we will examine together some of the visual, musical, and written content that deep learning and generative AI is producing and examine how those of us who work and teach in these fields are supposed to adapt to the automation of human creativity.

Barry Lam is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside, and creator of the successful podcast, Hi-Phi Nation.  Billed as a show where “philosophy and reality meet,” the podcast has received critical acclaim from The Guardian, Huffington Post, Indiewire, and others for its integration of journalism, storytelling, and academic research. Lam is also Associate Director of the Marc Sanders Foundation, a charity promoting public philosophy. His book, Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion, will be out in 2025.

Heritage Room, Shriver Center

Howe Student Writing Center Essay Contest: AI and I

The Howe Writing Center invites all Miami writers to create flash fiction pieces (up to 300 words) centered on the relationship between a human narrator and some form of AI. Stories should take place in the present and depict AI in realistic and credible ways. Narratives should also explore both the benefits and drawbacks of a specific human character’s interaction with current AI technology.

Lecture: Artificial Intelligence and Workforce Preparation

Duwain Pinder, McKinsey & Company

Co-sponsored by Miami Regionals Office of Career Services and Professional Development.

Duwain Pinder focuses on the transformative shifts brought about by the pandemic, which have sped up developments in the Generative AI era and underscored the need for workforce preparation. He will discuss the importance of equipping students with AI literacy, and how it can benefit their future careers by making education more accessible, personalized, and engaging.

RSVP at MiamiOH.edu/Regionals/RSVP.

Wilks Conference Center (Miami Hamilton Campus)

1601 University Boulevard, Hamilton, OH 45011

Lecture: “Why Can't Machine Vision See the Past? Analog Art History and the Future of the Humanities”

Sponsored by the Humanities Center

Sonja Drimmer is Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Art & Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A scholar of medieval European art with expertise in illuminated manuscripts and early print, Drimmer's longstanding interests in premodern notions of reproduction, replication, and media theory have led her to move beyond the medieval world and focus on the relationship between modern technology--from photography to artificial intelligence--and the history of art. Her writing on AI has appeared in both public and academic venues, including The International Journal for Digital Art History, The Conversation, Art in America, and Art News.

Her lecture is part of the Altman Symposium: Humanities Futures

More information

154 Marcum Conference Center

Department of Sport Leadership & Management will be hosting two workshops on AI in Sport

Led by Dr. Chris Hill

Contact the Department of Sport Leadership & Management for details.

TBD

Changing Climate, Changing Communities Art Exhibition

Although climate change is often thought to impact faraway places in the future, there are real consequences here and now. Fortunately, solutions to climate change can begin right now at a community level. We invite you to reflect on what climate change means to you or show how the issue impacts our local community: near and far, now and in the future.

The John W. Altman Program in the Humanities Symposium

Keynote Lecture: Jennifer James, Associate Professor of English, George Washington University: Black Eco-Feminism and Abolitionist Ecology

The John W. Altman Program in the Humanities Symposium

Keynote Lecture: Michelle Neely, Professor of English, Connecticut College: Everything is Going to Have to Be put Back: Responsibility and Repair in the Anthropocene

September 6 and September 13, 1:15-2:35, Zoom

With Mandy Olejnik, Ph.D. and Rena Perez (HCWE) and Dennis Cheatham (Art: Communication Design)

The rise of ChatGPT and similar large language models has brought renewed focus on teaching and learning in higher education, especially related to writing instruction. This two-part workshop series is dedicated to helping faculty play and learn more about these AI tools, both in terms of how it impacts student learning as well as how it impacts faculty writing and teaching practices.

Part 1: Explore and Play with AI
Friday, September 6 from 1:15-2:35 pm (Zoom)

Part 1 is for people who are unfamiliar with AI tools and would like hands-on exploration. It provides participants with an introductory opportunity to learn more about how AI works and then actually play around with a few AI tools.

Part 2: Redesign Writing Assignments around AI
Friday, September 13 from 1:15-2:35 pm (Zoom)

Part 2 is for those with some experience and knowledge about AI tools. Attendees will draft AI-related assignments and policies. This session will not include a basic overview of AI, so participants who need an introduction should attend Part 1.

Website

Both workshops  presented over Zoom

Lecture: “Friction’s Invitation”: Re-Evaluating Writing Tools, Environments and Tasks”

Sponsored by Howe Center for Writing Excellence

Writers often seek and celebrate flow states, or the long stretches of uninterrupted deep focus. But what happens when something prevents or disrupts flow? Why is it sometimes difficult to find momentum or simply get started? And how might our writing tools and environments shape the way we enter and exit those flow states? This workshop will discuss two concepts—friction and resistance—that can help us better understand the ebbs and flows in our writing process. We'll also evaluate the role of generative AI writing tools, many of which promise to erase friction and facilitate creativity and productivity. Participants will analyze and discuss their own writing processes, and they'll leave the workshop with an understanding of "friction's invitation," which offers a way of reevaluating writing tools, environments, and tasks.

King Library, Room 133