A symposium centered around artificial intelligence (AI) in the humanities and social sciences took place at Michigan State University on February 20-21, 2025. This two-day event, titled “Fear, Faith, and Praxis: Artificial Intelligence, Humanities, and Social Sciences”, explored the future of AI integration in academic settings. Discussions centered on reassessing traditional views of AI and encouraging new frameworks for AI literacy and engagement within the humanities and social sciences.
The symposium was sponsored by MSU’s College of Social Science, The Department of History, the College of Arts and Letters, The Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition Lab, H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online, Michigan State University Libraries, and The Office of Research and Innovation.
The symposium began at the Kellogg Center with an opening statement from MSU’s Walter Hawthorne, Professor of African/Digital History and Director of Enslaved.org. Hawthorne led a panel discussion on teaching, learning, research, and the ethical considerations of AI across a wide range of disciplines. Other panelists included:
- Jim Ambuske, Co-Head of R2 Studios at George Mason University’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
- Jeremy Van Hof, Director of the Teaching Center at MSU’s Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation
- Sarah Freye, Instructional Designer at MSU IT – Educational Technology
- Michele (MJ) Jackson, Fellow at CTLI and Professor at MSU’s Lyman Briggs College
- Danielle DeVoss, Interim Chair and William J. Beal Distinguished Professor at MSU’s Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures
Dean Rehberger, Director of MATRIX and Associate Professor in The Department of History led an ethics roundtable. Panelists included:
- Andrew Kettler, President of H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online
- Jeffrey Ward, Director of the Duke Center for Law & Technology
- Anjana Susarla, Omura-Saxena Professor in Responsible AI at MSU’s School of Business
- Tara Behrend, John Richard Butler II Endowed Professor at the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, lead researcher on the College of Social Science’s Future of Work thematic research area
- Ann Marie Ryan, Professor Emeritus at MSU’s Department of Psychology
Day 2 of the symposium offered participants the opportunity to dive into the practical applications of AI through two hands-on workshops.
Workshop 1 (Teaching with Artificial Intelligence) was held at the Department of History and Anthropology’s LEADR (The Lab for Education and Advancement in Digital Research), and led by Jeremy Van Hof, Danielle DeVoss, Kate Fedewa O'Connor, and Sarah Freye. Participants explored how AI can be integrated into the classroom. The session included a collaborative segment where attendees developed AI-focused activities for their own courses.
Workshop 2 (Researching with Artificial Intelligence) was held in MSU’s Digital Scholarship Lab, and was led by Zoe LeBlanc, Jonathan Barber, Yuri Cantrell, and Justin Wadland. This session offered an introduction to how AI tools can be applied in research, hands-on experience working with these tools, and a plan for continued learning and practice with AI tools.
The symposium concluded with closing remarks from the President of Michigan State University, Kevin Guskiewicz.