AILA wishes you a restful & joyous Thanksgiving!
Upcoming Events
We have exciting news:
COMING SOON…What AI Means — An (AILA) Podcast
COMING SOON…
…What AI Means, the podcast that asks scholars and creators about the significance of artificial intelligence for the world as they see it, through the lenses of their disciplines and their expertise.
Brought to you by Lee Spector, a professor of Computer Science at Amherst College and the Director of AI in the Liberal Arts.
Alumni Speaker Series: Daniel Flores Garcia ’24
December 4, 2025 | 5:00 PM | CHI Think Tank
The Alumni Speaker Series continues this semester with its third visiting alum, Daniel Flores Garcia ’24, who will join us on December 4th for a talk titled “Musicking with Generative Models.” As generative AI tools for music grow more capable and accessible, new creative possibilities come with new questions. Daniel’s talk will explore how artists can collaborate with AI instruments and co-creative systems while still maintaining artistic agency. Drawing from his work in music, improvisation, and sound experimentation, he will guide us through emerging ways of engaging with generative technologies in musical practice.
The conversation will be moderated by Ravi Krishnaswami, a visiting Professor at Amherst College for AI and Music, as well as current Amherst student Jessica Strauss (‘27),/ who worked for Krishnaswami testing cutting-edge AI music platforms.
We hope you’ll join us for this exciting event as we welcome Daniel back to campus! And stay tuned to find out which alumni will be visiting in the spring! Food and refreshments will be provided!
Events Recap
2025 Sustainability Hackathon: Congratulations to This Year’s Winners!
Grand Prize & Track 1 (Food Waste) Winner: Mammoth ReServe
Mammoth ReServe impressed judges with a platform that transforms campus food surplus into community support. Dining halls and student groups can log leftover food, triggering instant alerts to students and local food banks. The system not only reduces waste but strengthens community connections, and its design is scalable to campuses nationwide.
Track 2 (Transportation Sustainability) Winner: Wheely Mammoth
Wheely Mammoth offers a student-friendly rideshare system that matches riders traveling in the same direction. By reducing solo trips, the platform cuts emissions, lowers transportation costs, and makes campus mobility more efficient.
Track 3 (Waste Management) Winner: DormDealz
DormDealz introduces a campus-centered digital thrifting marketplace, allowing students to buy and sell used clothing. The platform keeps items in circulation longer, reduces unnecessary waste, and gives students an easy way to earn extra cash while supporting sustainability.
The competition featured additional creative submissions, including Nile, a textbook recirculation tool, and Frutiger Eco, a neural network designed to analyze food waste for smarter sustainability decisions on campus.
Congratulations to all the teams for their hard work and visionary ideas. Their contributions mark another meaningful step toward a more sustainable Amherst College. Stay tuned for implementation updates and next year’s hackathon!
Featured AI News
It’s hard to keep up with all the AI-related News these days, but here are a couple stories that have us thinking and discussing. Let us know what AI News stories have you riveted!
Trump Launches “Genesis Mission” for AI
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday afternoon, launching the “Genesis Mission” aimed at increasing AI presence and development. The order details the expansion of computational resources and accelerate AI integration into state operations. This new move also opens many doors to public-private AI partnerships and is part of a series of efforts the government has pushed forth in advancing AI development for the state.
The order describes the Genesis Mission as “comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project.”
Read more about the details of this order below.
An…AI Thanksgiving?
A quick AI search for the cheapest stuffing nearby? “Hey Siri” or “hey Alexa,” give me some conversation starters? Oh Chat, why does my family have to get into a political debate that turns the mood sour every year?
Is this Thanksgiving, the first where AI has felt so prominent, different? Are we inaugurating an AI Thanksgiving? This quick 3-minute article from Scientific American thinks through an answer.
Recommended Watch
Google’s FIRST AI-produced Commercial
Google recent aired its first AI made commercial about their AI search mode. It features (aptly for this week) a turkey asking AI Mode where it could go on holiday to avoid Thanksgiving. A quick and fun watch before your Turkey dinner!
Have Something to Say About AI?
AILA is accepting submissions of opinion or scholarly pieces to be published on our website! The prompt? There is none. Whatever field you are in and however AI is on your mind right now, if you have the urge to say something, then contact us aila@amherst.edu.
Explore Some AI Tools!
Our AI Mentorship and Tools team is always exploring new applications of AI. Access some interesting tools from our website below and explore them freely from with your personal account. Be mindful of bias, accuracy, content ownership, and use of personally identifiable information with these tools. Institutions are evaluating the use and configuration of AI-based tools, so please check with your IT department before using these tools with college or institutional systems or data.
The Artificial Intelligence in the Liberal Arts initiative at Amherst College aims to engage a broad, interdisciplinary community of participants in discussions and activities related to artificial intelligence, exploring and facilitating multi-way interactions between work in artificial intelligence and work across the liberal arts. Our newsletter contains the latest AI-related events, tools, scholarship, and news in AI.