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Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities

AI and the Human Seminar Information

RPW Seminar: AI and the Human: Graduate & Faculty Seminar Series

Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities | Vanderbilt University

🌍 About the Seminar

The AI and the Human seminar series explores the evolving relationship between humans and artificial intelligence through an interdisciplinary lens. As generative AI systems rapidly transform society, this speaker series creates a collaborative space where graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and technical fields engage with pressing questions of ethics, equity, law, environment, and the future of human–AI coexistence.

Each session features distinguished invited speakers who present cutting-edge research and facilitate focused discussions. Sessions are designed to foster collaborative inquiry, critical reflection, and meaningful cross-disciplinary exchange between participants from diverse academic backgrounds.

Format: Each session runs from 12:00–1:30 PM and includes a speaker presentation, moderated Q&A, and open discussion. Heavy snacks provided.

🔎 Focus and Aims

By participating, you will:

  • Engage with leading scholarship on AI and society from diverse academic fields.
  • Develop conceptual frameworks for analyzing AI’s social, cultural, and ethical dimensions.
  • Examine challenges and opportunities created by AI across different sectors and communities.
  • Build collaborative relationships with peers and invited scholars.
  • Explore how humanities perspectives can enrich AI research and governance.

🎙️Seminar Schedule

  • September 9, 2025: Introduction to the Year – Framing the Stakes of AI Development – No guest speaker — Introduction to the year and to risks posed by the near future of AI development
  • September 30, 2025: Gabrielle Johnson – Bias and Proxy Problems – Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College
  • October 21, 2025: Laura Stark – Ethics of AI and the Environment – Associate Professor at the Center of Medicine, Health, and Society/Associate Professor of History, Vanderbilt University
  • November 4, 2025: Naomi Smith – AI and Aesthetic Alienation: The Image and Creativity in Contemporary Culture – Lecturer in Sociology, University of the Sunshine Coast
  • November 18, 2025: Jeff Sebo – Moral Status and AI Welfare — Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, New York University
  • January 27, 2026: Risto Miikkulainen – Cognizant — University of Texas at Austin
  • February 24, 2026: Peter Railton – Real Ethics for Artificial Agents — Gregory S. Kavka Distinguished University Professor; John Stephenson Perrin Professor; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; Philosophy, University of Michigan
  • March 24, 2026: Ting-An Lin – Structural Injustice and Algorithmic Bias — Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Connecticut
  • April 21, 2026: Jenny Davis and Alyssa Wise – Wrap-up Session — Davis (Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair and Professor of Sociology, Vanderbilt University) and Wise (Professor of Technology and Education in Peabody College’s Department of Teaching and Learning and Director of LIVE, Vanderbilt University)

Past contributors have included:

  • John Tasioulas (Oxford University) – AI Ethics and Human Rights
  • Sina Fazelpour (Northeastern University) – Accuracy and Interpretability
  • David Chalmers (NYU) – Consciousness and AI
  • AnaĂŻs Nony (Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study) – Algorithms and Human Experience
  • John Basl (Northeastern University) – Ethics of AI Decision-Making
  • Kate Vredenburg (LSE) – Justice and Explainability in AI
  • David Thorstad & Jesse Spencer-Smith (Vanderbilt University) – Future of AI

đź“š Thematic Areas

The seminar series explores key intersections between AI and human experience across:

  • Ethics & Philosophy – Moral frameworks for AI development, questions of consciousness and moral standing
  • Law & Governance – Regulatory approaches to AI and legal frameworks for accountability
  • Social Justice & Equity – AI’s impact on marginalized communities and bias in algorithmic systems
  • Culture & Society – AI’s transformation of human practices, meanings, and social relationships
  • Environment & Sustainability – The environmental costs of AI systems and sustainable approaches
  • Future Directions – Emerging trends and the long-term trajectory of human–AI coexistence

🔧 Resources & Support

Participants will have access to:

  • Curated Materials – key readings, podcasts, and multimedia resources
  • Technical Tools – access to Vanderbilt’s AI platforms for hands-on practice
  • Research Opportunities – collaboration with visiting speakers and peers

✨ Organizers