OCTOBER 26-28, 2023 - HTA Conference: The Humanities and Technology Association, an interdisciplinary scholarly society that explores the impact of technology on human life from a broad range of perspectives, will host a 3-day conference at Salve Regina University.  In addition to a keynote speaker (TBD),  a broad range of scholars will share papers and/or panel discussions that investigate the cultural interaction of the humanities, science, engineering, and technology.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Lauren Goodlad, M.E., Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University, will present a lecture titled: "The Lifecycle of Writing Subjects: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Large Language Models (LLMs)" at 4:30 pm on Friday, October 27th.  She serves as the chair of the CriticalAI@Rutgers initiative and is the editor-in-chief of a new interdisciplinary journal, Critical AI.  Her most recent related publication is "A Study in Distant Reading" in Modern Language Quarterly.

MEALS: In addition to conference lectures and presentations, all paid registrations include Thursday night dinner, Friday lunch, and Saturday breakfast. 

HOUSING: Out-of-town participants are encouraged to stay at any of Salve Regina University's Hotel Partners. Be sure to mention you are a guest of the University. 

DETAILED AGENDA: 

Thursday, October 26^th

Registration will begin at 2 PM on Thursday and run until Saturday in the lobby of the Young Building where all conference sessions will take place. Session A will be in the Young Boardroom and Session B will be in the Young Ballroom.

The Thursday night cocktail hour and dinner will be in Ochre Court.

2:30 – 3:30 PM

Session A: Young Boardroom           

AI and Gen Z: Thoughts on the World to Come

Salve Regina undergraduate students will open our discussion on the perils, promises, and possibilities of Artificial Intelligence by sharing their reflections on both the present and future.        

Moderator: Mia Wood, Pierce College/Salve Regina/URI

4 – 5:30 PM

Session A: Young Boardroom           

AI as Existential Risk

William Watkins, Boston College: “AI, Heidegger, and the Notion of Existential Risk”

Eric Epps, Salve Regina: “Alignment or Assertion: Looking Beyond the Hype of Generative AI and Existential AI Risk”

Russell Suereth, Salve Regina: “Caring as a Safeguard in Artificial Intelligence”

Moderator: Loretta Fois, Raritan Valley Community College/Salve Regina

Session B: Young Ballroom  

AI and Film

Gary Vaspol, Salve Regina: "Plan 9: The Spread of AI in Film Production"

Matthew Ramsey, Salve Regina: "AI, Film Restoration and Cinema History"

Craig Condella, Salve Regina: “Bostrom’s ‘Control Problem’ in the Popular Imagination”

Moderator: Jennifer Bates Ehlert, Salve Regina

 

5:45 PM

Cocktail hour followed by Dinner (6 PM) in Ochre Court

Announcements from Craig Condella (HTA President)

 

Friday, October 27^th

9:30 – 10:30 AM

Session A: Young Boardroom           

Book Session:

Caregiving, Carebots, and Contagion by Michael Brannigan, Salve Regina

Author presentation and discussion: “When Robots Wear Human Faces, Are We Entering the Uncanny Valley?”

Response: Mary Lou Lyons, MSN, Salve Regina University

Moderator: Craig Condella, Salve Regina University

 

11:00 AM – 12 Noon

Session A: Young Boardroom

AI and the Humanities

Salve Regina doctoral students will lead discussion of Lauren Goodlad and Samuel Baker’s article “Now the Humanities can Disrupt ‘AI’”

Moderator: Craig Condella, Salve Regina

 

Session B: Young Ballroom  

Generative AI in Praxis

Arlene Nicholas, Salve Regina: “Capitalizing the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Business Education”

Edward Iglesias, Salve Regina: “Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: Towards a Literature Review”

Moderator: Michael Brannigan, Salve Regina

 

12:15 – 1:15 PM        Lunch

 

1:30 – 2:30 PM

Session A: Young Boardroom           

The Future of High School Teaching: AI is Here

Rosemary Condella, Providence Country Day School/URI

Cristian Potter, American Mathematical Society

Moderator:

 

Session B: Young Ballroom  

Technology and the Social Fabric

Dan Flores, Salve Regina: “Marx, Technology, and the Life Eudaimonic”

Michael Xiarhos, Salve Regina: “AI, Truth, and Denialism”

Moderator: Eric Epps, Salve Regina

 

3 – 4 PM

Session A: Young Boardroom           

Learning Reimagined

Suzanne Delle, York College: “Assessing Lessons Learned from Virtual Teaching”

Loretta Fois, Raritan Valley Community College/Salve Regina: “A Performative Understanding of Body-as-Technology”

Moderator:

 

Session B: Young Ballroom  

More Tech, More Problems?

Darrell Arnold, Miami Dade College: “Smart cities and deliberative democracy”

Paul Medeiros, Salve Regina: “Artificial Intelligence: Two Objections and One Hopeful Proposal”

Moderator:

 

4:30 PM        

Keynote Address: Young Ballroom

Lauren Goodlad, M.E., Distinguished Professor of English, Rutgers University

"The Lifecycle of Writing Subjects: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Large Language Models (LLMs)" 

 

Saturday, October 28^th

8:30-9:30 AM            Breakfast

9 – 10 AM

Session A: Young Boardroom           

AI and Artistic Creation

Jessica Ramirez, Borough of Manhattan Community College: “Art in AI - Exploring Text-to-Image Applications”

Howard Meltzer, Borough of Manhattan Community College: “Artificial Music – Artificial Intelligence"

Moderator: Darrell Arnold, Miami Dade College

 

10:15 – 11:15 AM

Session A: Young Boardroom           

Lessons Old – and New

Jennifer Bates Ehlert, Salve Regina: Chosen Ones: “Mercury and the Concept of Gnosis in Baccio Baldini’s Children of Mercury”

Andrea Sheridan, SUNY Orange/Salve Regina: “The Re-mystification of Postprint Literature”

Moderator:

 

Session B: Young Ballroom  

AI in the Workplace

A.J. Kreider, Miami Dade College: “AI and Employee Obligations”

Nicole Halloran, Salve Regina: “What are the Benefits of a Synergistic Approach Between Humans and Machines in the Usage of Artificial Intelligence?”

Moderator: Arlene Nicholas, Salve Regina   

 

11:30 – 12:30 PM     

Session A: Young Boardroom           

Rethinking Relationality

Paul Firenze, Wentworth Institute of Technology: “Explicability and Trust in Social AI: The Case of Girl AF Klara” 

Kelly Alverson, Salve Regina: “OpenAI Chatbots: New Frontiers in Human-Computer Relations”

Moderator:

 

12:30 PM        Humanities and Technology Association (HTA) Board Meeting – all are invited

                        Young Boardroom.  email craig.condella@salve.edu for more details.