Renewal History and Memory // The Future of AI

Session Description

Artificial intelligence has already changed our lives in innumerable ways. From detecting wildfires to providing language translation to making classroom learning more effective, AI has become integral to many processes and systems. But AI has also brought many new anxieties. What effect will AI have on the job market, on law enforcement, on our children and our future? For our first Renewal session of the 2024-25 academic year, Dr. Ted Vial will talk about the possible future of AI and how we can be part of the efforts to make sure AI is used ethically and responsibly.

Series Description

This year, our Renewal sessions will focus on History and Memory. How can we remember well in a time when it seems history is repeating itself, when we are fighting the same fights for justice over and over again? How can we learn from history and avoid making the same mistakes? How do we remember as a community, and how do we prepare a legacy that is worth remembering? During this year’s Renewal series, we will delve into topics ranging from national memory and how we hold onto history in good and bad ways, to how we remember one another and how we want to be remembered.

Register HERE. 

Speaker Bio

Dr. Ted Vial

Potthoff Professor of Theology & Modern Western Religious Thought, Iliff School of Theology
Vice President of Innovation, Learning, and Institutional Research

Ted Vial is the Potthoff Professor of Theology and Modern Western Religious Thought at the Iliff School of Theology, and Vice President of Innovation, Learning, and Institutional Research. His current research is in two areas: The interaction of Artificial Intelligence and humans, and the construction of Judaism and gender in the modern world. His B.A. is from Brown University and both M.A. and Ph. D. from The University of Chicago. Vial has served as the Chair of the Publications Committee, American Academy of Religion, Chair of the AAR task force on the future of publishing, and Chair of the task force on evaluation digital scholarship. He is currently on the steering committee of the Artificial Intelligence and Religion Seminar.

The Renewal Conference is Iliff’s annual community gathering to share our work, hear timely messages from a variety of experts, and spend time in fellowship.

This year, our Renewal sessions focus on Looking to the Future.
We are always considering the future. As individuals, as members of groups, as citizens, we are often asking, What will tomorrow bring? How will our world, our country, our institutions look in the coming years? And how can we shape that future to make it better?

In the midst of so many uncertainties, this Renewal season will focus on the question of what is coming next and how we can work for a better future. We will discuss topics ranging from artificial intelligence to religious institutions to politics and government. What can we expect as we watch these spaces change over the weeks, months and years, and what can we do? Join us for the 2024-2025 Renewal season as we learn about what tomorrow may hold and what we can do to enact justice today.