ASU Chief Information Officer Lev Gonick joined Kidwell during the opening address, reinforcing the Summit’s mission to create an open and inclusive space to help tackle some of the challenges and opportunities afforded by emerging technology:
“Inclusivity is at the core of ASU's approach to AI. We emphasize co-design, welcoming diverse perspectives, and prioritizing community involvement,” said Gonick. “ASU's commitment to cross-disciplinary work and addressing biases extends to our dedication to indigenous knowledge, ensuring that all voices are heard and represented in the AI journey. In designing our AI future, we stand firm in our human-centered and student-centered framework, fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for innovation."
Building trust in the age of AI for the ASU community
With inclusion as a top priority for ASU, Summit keynote speaker Dr. Kelly Page discussed the importance of co-designing for digital trust by including everyone’s stories. “When charting for the future, we must start with community and its story, elevating context expertise and allowing storytellers to share how AI affects our lives,” said Page.
The keynote culminated with an interactive co-design session where attendees focused on a world where AI is rooted in transparency, confidence, and inclusivity, and how to apply those principles to the ASU community to create a manifesto of trust while using and interacting with AI.
Uncharted realms: keeping faculty and students safe in a new digital frontier
Rebecca Blatt, senior associate dean at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication spoke of the need for transparency in media and any organization reporting data.
“In the age of misinformation, trust is a delicate balance. From standards and transparency to explainability and calibration of trust, we must wield a toolbox of tools to ensure trust in our fields,” shared Blatt “Just as intelligence reports require naming all sources and checklist evaluations, we in AI and journalism need standards and procedures,” she continued.
From a data perspective, Mickey Mancenido, assistant professor at the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences posed the question if trust in AI is a necessity. “Should we create a new construct that accommodates when to distrust? Trust, in the digital era, requires a nuanced approach,” she said.
Creating what’s next, now: designing the future of AI in education
Danielle McNamara, professor and executive director of the Learning Engineering Institute said the future of education will undoubtedly incorporate AI, which will serve as both a disruptor and an enhancer.
“It will redefine how we learn, providing personalized, adaptive learning experiences that can flatten the learning curve and empower individuals to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” said McNamara.
Pavan Turaga, professor, School of Arts Media and Engineering spoke on AI’s application for creative education and expression and when asked what the future of museums and art galleries will look like he replied: “As AI evolves, galleries might not only showcase human-created art but also explore AI's self-expression. The future of education and AI promises to be transformative, offering new avenues for learning and artistic expression,” said Turaga.
Drones 101: ASU’s Drone studio captivates imaginations, excels innovation
Summit participants then headed over to ASU’s Drone Studio for a special innovation experience. Drone demonstrations were led by Yezhou Yang (YZ), an associate professor at the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence and Yan Chen, assistant professor of Engineering at The Polytechnic School. Both Yang and Chen are members of the studio’s faculty committee and spoke on how other ASU departments are utilizing the drone studio to study the innovative research on autonomous vehicles and drones.
Designing for humanity together
Overall, the Summit highlighted ASU's commitment to inclusivity, emphasizing community involvement and addressing biases in AI, fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for innovation.
Keynote speaker Page encouraged all participants to honor the skepticism and uncertainty many of us feel with AI while working to co-design solutions that benefit us and society.
“As we move forward, we must strive to strike a balance between people-centric and technology-centric approaches,” said Page. Humanity has always been at the core of technological advancements, and it remains our responsibility to design AI systems that serve the best interests of individuals and society as a whole.”