College of Arts and Sciences

Humanities Center

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College of Arts and Sciences

The Changing Face of Humanity: AI and Identities of the Future

Artists, scientists, humanities scholars, engineers, social scientists and other faculty across USD's curriculum discuss the different ways that disciplines embrace, reject and question artificial intelligence and its impact on humanness and identity into the future in the context of the nature of knowledge and learning.

Humanities Center Seminar (HUMC 294)

What does it mean to be human when artificial intelligence is shaping our world? What can AI teach us about intelligence and the nature of knowledge and learning? The Changing Face of Humanity is a one-unit tuition free course that brings together artists, scientists, humanities scholars, engineers, social scientists and other distinguished faculty across USD's curriculum to discuss the different ways that disciplines embrace, reject, and question artificial intelligence and its impact on humanness and identity into the future in the context of the nature of knowledge and learning

In this summer class, faculty members introduce incoming first-year students to the different ways that academic disciplines help us develop critical intellectual skills so that we can make a sustained positive impact in the world. Taught remotely, this course will be highly participatory and introduce students to the interdisciplinary nature of a USD liberal arts education.

Week 1

Human and Non Human Consciousness, Creation and Thought

  • Sara Hasselbach, PhD | English
    Frankenstein and Self-Discovery
  • Michael Lovette-Coyler, PhD | Mission Integration
    The Catholic Christian Tradition in the A.I. Era
  • Amanda Makula, M.A. | Copley Library
    AI, Authorship and Originality in the Digital Age
  • Darby Vickers, PhD | Philosophy
    Plato, A.I. and Intellectual Pleasure

Week 2

A.I., Computers and Technological Innovations

  • Satyan Devadoss, PhD | Mathematics
    A.I., Computers and Mathematics
  • Jae Kim, PhD | Industrial & Systems Engineering
    A.I.’s Impact in Industrial Engineering
  • Kacie Miura, PhD | Political Science & International Relations
    A.I. and the International Security Environment
  • Jen Wenzel, PhD | Psychological Sciences
    This is A.I. on Your Brain: What Neuroscience Can Tell Us About Current Capabilities in Human-Computer Interaction

Week 3

Creations in our Likeness, Imitations and Simulations

  • Brittany Asaro, PhD | Languages, Cultures & Literatures
    Becoming Human: Pinocchio from His “Birth” to Today
  • Matt Ford, MFA | History
    Afrofuturist Theory, Politics and Aesthetics Through the Lens of A.I.
  • Sophia Baik, PhD | Communication
    The Issue of Deepfakes
  • Casey Dominguez, PhD | Political Science & International Relations
    A.I. and Citizenship of the Future

Week 4

A.I. in Education, Language and Writing

  • Julie Morgan, MBA | Business
    Design Thinking and A.I.: Our Tools, Our Humanity
  • Amanda Petersen, PhD | Languages, Cultures & Literatures
    Creative Memorials: How are our Stories Original?
  • Jennifer Olsen, PhD | Computer Science
    A.I. and Educational Technology in the Classroom
  • Laura Getz, PhD | Psychological Sciences
    Differences in Language Use: Human vs A.I.

Week 5

Consciousness and Human Challenges

  • Sara Esfahani, PhD | Economics
    A.I. and the Division of Domestic Labor
  • Nik Usher, PhD | Communication
    A.I., Politics and Misinformation
  • Susie Babka, PhD | Theology & Religious Studies
    Can Qualia be Quantified?
  • Rachel Blaser, PhD | Psychological Sciences
    Artificial & Biological Mechanisms and Cognition