Buffalo, NY - From kindergarten to cutting-edge, Canisius University will examine the future of artificial intelligence (AI) during its Conversations on AI summer series. The series is set to explore AI’s impact across education, business, healthcare and government, and showcase diverse perspectives and real-world applications from innovators as young as six-years old. The series is made possible by the AI and Society Initiative at Canisius University and is free and open to the public. Unless otherwise noted, all events are being held in-person and online.
July 23, 2024 / 6:00 p.m. / Science Hall Commons: Canisius kicks off its Conversations on AI summer series on July 23 with “Magic Making: Unleashing AI Adventures for All,” an enchanting presentation by six-year-old Katrina Herrington. At this event, designed for all ages, Katrina shares the story of how she brought her imaginary friend, Ukulele, to life through artificial intelligence. Katrina will speak about the roles, goals and values that guide her AI adventure and how she aims to inspire others to “ask your parents to play with AI with you … so you can make your own AI worlds too.”
August 7, 2024 / 6:00 p.m. / Science Hall Commons: The second event in Canisius’ Conversations on AI summer series is titled “Artificial Intelligence for and with Teachers and Students.” Tailored specifically for educators, this workshop introduces common AI tools and how they might be incorporated into pedagogy for various disciplines. Participants will also learn about AI capabilities currently integrated into popular technology tools that may be useful for teachers and students. This workshop will be led by Ron Kotlik, PhD, director of instructional technologies and curriculum design at Canisius University and is appropriate for educators at all grade levels and in all content areas.
August 12, 2024 / 6:00 p.m. / Science Hall Cybersecurity Lab (Rm. 1028): The final event in Canisius’ Conversations in AI summer series is titled “More, More and More: AI’s Continued Integration into our Daily Workflows.” As society approaches the two-year mark of the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the proliferation and integration of AI tools into existing workflows is staggering and it’s only expected to grow. This workshop examines the current state of AI and demonstrates some of OpenAI’s latest features. Participants will also learn how to run a chat bot on a laptop and PC and how to interact with a chat bot via a programming language.
September 3, 2024 / 6:00 PM / Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library, SJ Library. Two Simultaneous Conversations on AI: AI in Healthcare and Research and Between AI and Academics in Fall 2024 Semester. AI in Healthcare and Research will feature a panel discussion on the impact of artificial intelligence in the healthcare and medical research fields, while the second session will serve as a follow up to the Fall 2023 Conversations on AI Symposia which discusse LLM Generative AI and its possible implications for education.
The AI and Society Initiative at Canisius University is comprised of a multi-disciplinary community of practitioners and professionals who collaborate to better understand generative artificial intelligence technology, its context, implications and relationship with local and global communities.
Canisius was founded in 1870 in Buffalo, NY, and is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the Northeast, Canisius offers undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs distinguished by close student-faculty collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on ethical, purpose-driven leadership.
