Guest Speakers

Jon Burmeister, University of Mount Saint Vincent

 "A.I. as Midwife: Personalized Education and Rousseau's Hidden Tutor"

Lecture Abstract

Two millennia ago, Socrates showed us that the deepest learning happens not through lecturing but through question-and-answer dialogue: the "midwifery" of ideas. Refining this Socratic method, J.J. Rousseau argued that the ideal education, one that best promotes human curiosity and freedom, requires a tutor capable of two feats: 1) total personalization to the student's evolving abilities and interests, and 2) the adoption of a neutral demeanor, free from the coercion of excessive rewards and penalties. However, Rousseau's ideal has always faced a fatal obstacle: it is practically impossible for a human educator to perform these feats for even one student, much less a whole classroom. I argue that artificial intelligence can be one part of the solution to this centuries-old dilemma. A.I. can act like the tutor that Rousseau imagined, first of all, through its superhuman ability to track and categorize words, allowing for dialogue that does not stretch beyond the student's specific abilities. Secondly, A.I. can adopt a neutral demeanor that subtly guides each student based on what piques their interest. In this way, A.I. can become the ultimate Socratic midwife: invisible, neutral, and endlessly patient in helping students cultivate their curiosity and give birth to their own understanding.

Bio

Jon K. Burmeister is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. His research focuses on computational technologies, the nature of the mind, and how those two topics can shed light on each other. Due to his studies in the history of philosophy (Aristotle, Rousseau, Hegel, etc.), he brings an historical perspective to the modern-day issues of technology and mind that he investigates, by excavating insights from previous centuries to supplement the perspectives and the prejudices which the present age inevitably carries. Jon learns as much from his teaching as he does from his research, teaching courses on ethics, human nature, artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, philosophy of technology, work & leisure, and Stoicism & Buddhism.

James W. Cortada, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota

 "Artificial Intelligence and the Historian: Tool, Crutch, or Frenemy?"

Lecture Abstract

AI is challenging the fundamental nature of how historians work, raising questions about their careers, and what skills they will need in the future. This presentation argues how AI can be viewed as work crutches or tools, while describing AI's evolution. Dr. Cortada discusses implications for historians and offers recommendations for how historians can engage with AI.

Bio

Dr. James W. Cortada is a senior research fellow at the Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota. He spent four decades in the IT industry and has published widely on business and technology issues. He is also an historian and conducts research on the role of information in modern societies using the historian's tools.

Larry S. McGrath, Senior Researcher, Amazon

 "Creation and Critique: How the Humanities Shape AI Application Design"

Lecture Abstract

How should the humanities engage with AI-powered technologies - as critical voices examining their social implications, or as creative partners shaping AI product development? Larry McGrath argues that both are important. But technology companies vitally need humanists to help build AI technologies more responsive to human needs. Although scholars from anthropology, history, literature, and philosophy have rightly exposed large language models' limitations in replicating the meaning-making activities central to humanistic inquiry, a broader view of the AI development stack reveals the layers where these disciplines' methods are indispensable. Beyond model engineering, the application layer - where AI systems interact with users and embed values - stands to benefit from interpretation, contextualization, and close reading. McGrath shares examples of medical diagnostic tools, chatbots, pattern recognition platforms, prediction systems, and language learning apps. Their designs reflect the creative contributions of the humanities and demonstrate the possibilities for expanding humanists' collaborative work in AI product development.

Bio

Larry McGrath is a Senior Researcher for AI products at Amazon. Trained in the history and anthropology of science, he writes about the cultural contexts of technology. His first book is Making Spirit Matter: Neurology, Psychology, and Selfhood in Modern France (Chicago, 2020). Larry's recent writing appears alongside academic and business researchers in Anthropology and AI (Routledge, 2026).

Aleksander Poniewierski

 "Lost Leaders: How Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol Can Help Us Navigate the Digital Transformation"

Lecture Abstract

In an era where innovation cycles have accelerated from fifty years to just five, modern managers often find themselves as "Lost Leaders" navigating a landscape they do not fully understand. While many seek answers in modern "lifehacks," true management wisdom begins with the Socratic recognition that experience starts with a pursuit of knowledge rather than immediate competence. By examining historical cycles and literature, we discover that while technology like AI is revolutionary, fundamental human nature—and its inherent weaknesses—remains the only true constant in business. This presentation reinterprets the digital landscape through the timeless framework of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I will explore the journey from the romantic "Garage Inventor" (the Ghost of Christmas Past) to a corporate reality driven by digital addiction and the manipulation of human instincts for profit (the Ghost of Christmas Present). As we face the "Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come" in the form of Artificial Intelligence, leaders must decide if they are creating a "Frankenstein" of uncontrolled development or a partner for human progress.

Bio

Aleksander Poniewierski is a distinguished technology strategist with over 25 years of experience at the intersection of business and innovation. A doctor of economics and an IT specialist by training, he spent two decades as an equity partner at EY, where he served as the Global Leader of Digitalization and New Technologies. In this role, he successfully built a global practice from the ground up, scaling it to over $1 billion in revenue and leading a team of 12,000 consultants worldwide. His extensive career includes pioneering work in IT security for the telecommunications sector and providing strategic counsel to national governments and global organizations such as the UN and the World Bank. Currently, Aleksander leads his own advisory firm and sits on the supervisory boards of the Warsaw University of Technology and the National Cloud Operator. Recognized as the 2020 World IoT Leader of the Year, he is a respected thought leader and author of books such as SPEED: No Limits in the Digital World (2019) and Don't Be Naive (2025). A graduate of executive programs at Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, and Institute for Management Development, he has shared his expertise as a guest lecturer at Stanford University, UT Dallas, and Hult Business School, focusing on his core specialties of technology strategy, critical infrastructure security, and business model innovation.

Sıla Şehrazat Yücel (Multidisciplinary artist, Istanbul, Turkey)

 "Off the Map: The Artist as Path Maker in Latent Space"

Lecture Abstract

In debates about AI-generated imagery, one of the questions that comes up most often is: “Who really made this, the machine or the human?” This paper argues that AI is neither a merely mechanical image generator nor an autonomous creative subject. Instead, it is framed as an instrument that intensively tests human curiosity, critical thought, and aesthetic judgment, and the paper approaches AI-based image making as a process of creating new relations between existing visual and cultural building blocks.

The latent space in which generative models operate is described not simply as a mathematical vector space, but as a topology that carries the statistical traces of humanity's visual memory, with dense regions, sparse areas, and terra incognita zones. The paper examines the “statistical gravity” of this space, that is, the model's tendency to reproduce common and clichéd images, and positions the artist as a traveler who opens new routes and constructs and discovers geographies that would not exist without their prior act of imagination. At the same time, the artist is cast as a careful curator who, from the many “samples” collected along these journeys, selects and organizes only those visual fragments that they find meaningful. The resulting artwork is read not merely as a technical output, but as the outcome of a deliberate search for a vision the artist has in mind, followed by processes of selection, editing, and conceptual framing. It attains artistic value to the extent that it opens a space of feeling and reflection for the viewer.

Finally, the text links this framework to the humanities. It suggests that latent space can be read as a visual field that bears the statistical marks of regimes of representation, cultural patterns, and power relations, and that it offers a new site of inquiry for history, cultural studies, aesthetics, and ethical debates. In doing so, the paper aims to position AI-assisted visual production as a fertile field of thought for both artistic practice and humanistic interpretation.

Bio

Sıla Şehrazat Yücel is a multidisciplinary artist based in Istambul. She holds degrees in Landscape and Interior Architecture and has experience as an art director in cinema. Drawing from Ottoman miniature painting, photography, and jewelry-making, she merges her diverse creative practices with text-to-image AI to craft surreal photographic syntheses. Her works have been presented in international solo and group exhibitions in Turkey, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.