Lincoln Scholars explore AI, humanities at Chautauqua lecture series

In response to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and its ensuing proliferation in our everyday lives, the ASU Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics and the Chautauqua Institution recently hosted a program focused on the technology.

The Lincoln Center’s longstanding partnership with the institution, a nonprofit education center and resort, plays an important role in its legacy. In October of 2023, a group of students selected by the Lincoln Center to participate in the Chautauqua Student Advisory Board attended a workshop held in Washington, D.C., to redesign the future of the partnership, with students taking a leading role.

This month, the student advisory board traveled to the Chautauqua Institution in the countryside of southwestern New York to attend the lecture series. The lectures were a part of the second week of the overall program, which focused on how AI may be able to coexist with humanity. The experience was insightful for the students, who participated in hands-on learning experiences while surrounded by other creative minds from a range of ages and experiences.

Sarah Florini, interim director of the Lincoln Center, and Sean Kenney, education program manager, led students on the trip and oversaw their projects.

“It was a great experience visiting and engaging with the Chautauqua Institution,” Kenney said. “The generosity of the Lincoln Family has allowed the Lincoln Center to bring students to the institute in an impactful way through their co-design and facilitation of a course on responsible AI.”

The student advisory board also developed a curriculum for and taught a class focused on intergenerational AI to more than 70 attendees. The discussion-based classes focused on demystifying AI, and the students led a series of exercises that presented on the mechanics of AI, examined AI in historical contexts and explored how our future will look with AI.

The Lincoln Center will be selecting a new cohort of students to participate in the activities of the student advisory board for the 2024–25 academic year. Students can learn more about this program and sign up for future opportunities on the Lincoln Center’s website.

ASU News reached out to three of the students who participated in the program to learn more about their experience.

Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and/or clarity.

Question: What was your favorite part of the program?

Shravya Aragam (junior, business management): My favorite part of the program was being able to discuss and connect with the individuals who attended our weekly class on AI. The Chautauqua Institute really brings together a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds, and, as such, I was really intrigued by the different perspectives that each individual brought to the discussion.

Blake Su (senior, biology and political science): Perhaps the best part was that no matter the demographic, most of us are working to understand AI and its influence in our lives for the first time, which generated very thoughtful and welcoming discussions.

Clara Kammerlander (senior, political science): My favorite part of the Chautauqua program was the diversity of perspectives and backgrounds of the lecturers and speakers throughout the week. Many were high-profile individuals within their fields, offering varied insights into AI. I found the discussions on AI’s impact on foreign affairs, diplomacy, and warfare particularly compelling and interesting.

Q: What was it like to develop and teach a class about AI?

Aragam: This class was focused on trying to break that ice and helping people understand what is meant when we say “AI.” Having conversations about AI’s strengths and weaknesses are important to me. Focusing on an ethical foundation to build it, for the people who have yet to use it, those who currently use it and those who will use it in the future.

Su: One challenge I felt in preparing a course like ours was determining how to structure it so that no matter where someone’s understanding of AI was at, they could meaningfully engage in discussion and walk away feeling they had gained either new insight or a starting point for further learning. Fortunately, the discussion-led groups and the questions designed by my peers and I lended themselves to this type of environment. The class flowed through three sessions throughout the week, the first providing an overview of AI, the second delving into its role in our future and next steps, and the third reflecting on how novel technologies have impacted our lives. At the start of every session, questions were focused on personal experience, questions or misconceptions around AI, leading into higher-level conversations later on.

Kammerlander: Each student in the group had different backgrounds and focus areas, which required us to compromise and learn from one another when deciding what to include in the lecture and discussion topics. I think that creating the class was just as educational for us students as it was for those attending the class at Chautauqua, making it a mutually beneficial experience for us all.

Q: How will this experience impact you in the future?

Aragam: What I have learned from my experience with the Lincoln Center and the Chautauqua Institute is to never let go of understanding the “why” and “for who.” Of the many of topics debated around AI, all involve understanding who is impacted by the topic and why are they impacted. No matter what topic or tool I come across in the future, I will always make my best effort to truly understand the ethics of the matter, because, ultimately, that is what guides our decisions.

Su: Traveling to Chautauqua reinforced my appreciation for the great things that come out of authentic connection and open dialogue in the goal of learning something new. In the case of AI, members of my discussion groups were bringing up concerns and ideas that had never even crossed my mind before.

Kammerlander: Interacting with an audience of a different age group taught us valuable lessons about communicating across generations. On the first day, an older woman asked if it was boring for us young students to be in an environment surrounded by older individuals and if we even had anything in common. I explained that our different perspectives on AI, shaped by the times in our lives when it was introduced to us, allowed us to learn from each other, and that being at the institute was a growing and learning experience for both the attendees and us. Furthermore, I told her that learning about AI is something we are all still doing, so just as they were at Chautauqua to learn, so were we. This conversation made me realize the importance of being open-minded to learning from those with different backgrounds and viewpoints than me.