AILA hopes you had a beautiful fall break 🙂
upcoming events
Alumni Speaker Series – Will Fishell!
Will Fishell ‘22 Graduate Research Fellow at Oakridge National Labs
📅 October 20th (Monday) | Chi Think Tank, Amherst College Lyceum
Sustainability Hackathon!!
By AI in the Liberal Arts, Sustainability at Amherst, and Ideas 2 Innovation
📅 November 15-16th (Saturday – Sunday)
Applications open on October 20th!!
📲 Follow us on Instagram @aila_amherst to stay updated on more events this semester.
Events Recap
Creativity On Trial: How AI Is Raising New Challenges For Copyright Law
The intersection of artificial intelligence and creative production is forcing society to revisit some of the most fundamental questions in copyright law: Who, or what, can be an author? What is the distinction between the “expression of an idea” and what is just an idea?
Last Wednesday, practicing art lawyer and researcher Kate Lucas visited AILA gave us an overview of her experience in this age of AI. She was later joined by AILA director Professor Lee Spector, Professor Mark Firmani (LJST) and Professor Niko Vicario (Art and History of Art) in a larger, interdisciplinary panel. The discussion underscored that AI is both a challenge and an opportunity for our world’s creators. It invites us to rethink not only how we define art and authorship but also how our legal and economic systems can adapt to a world where human and machine creativity increasingly intertwine. Technology will continue to evolve and our understanding of creativity, authorship, and ownership must evolve with it.
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!
Next Time You Consult an A.I. Chatbot, Remember One Thing
AI chatbots like ChatGPT may appear neutral and insightful, but often act to reflect your opinions back with validation and flattery, not objectivity. This can lead to misjudgment, overconfidence, and even emotional dependence. The article points out that while these bots feel like helpful friends, they’re actually just trained to agree with you. They reflect your opinions back to you, whether they’re right or wrong, and make you feel seen and validated. Experts are starting to worry that using chatbots for emotional support or decision-making could mess with our real-life relationships and social skills. If a bot always tells you you’re right, you might get used to avoiding tough conversations with real people, the kind that involve disagreement or uncomfortable feedback. It’s like getting stuck in your own echo chamber. And because chatbots are designed to keep you engaged and feeling good, they don’t really push back or challenge your thinking the way a friend, partner, or therapist might.
AI & Finance: Goldman Sachs to implement layoffs due to AI
Goldman Sachs recently announced a new wave of layoffs as part of their restructuring process aimed at incorporating AI into their operation system. This is part of a larger process where, earlier this year, the company implemented their own internal AI assistant that facilitates employees’ data analysis and research.
Goldman Sachs is not alone. This restructuring and automation decision is part of a larger trend that has been at the forefront of many Wall Street firms’ attention as AI revolutionizes productivity. Many are worried that entry-level positions will soon begin to disappear as AI tools become increasingly more powerful. What does this mean for Wall Street? For the firms’ current employees? For students who aspire towards a career in finance?
Recommended Watch
AI Ads are gaining popularity
This short advertisement for Lindy, a software company that develops “AI employees,” was created entirely with AI. As AI video generation becomes increasingly advanced, many brands are looking to AI generated ads for marketing, and the demands are only growing. Watch the ad below. Can you tell it was created by AI? Would a human-acted version be better? Worse?
Got 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. Check out our tools page to explore!
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.