Miami University’s second AI Symposium March 10-11
Lilly Leadership Institute and the College of Education, Health, and Society will host additional AI-themed conferences in April
Miami University’s second AI Symposium March 10-11
This year’s FOCUS initiative on Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Miami University will culminate with the 2025 AI Symposium: AI Everywhere March 10-11.
The symposium will feature keynotes by Miami alumnus Adam Troy ’03, a partner technical advisor at Microsoft, and author Hod Lipson, professor and chair of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University.
The multi-year FOCUS initiative, launched in 2021, invites the Miami University community to explore a “big idea” each year. There are many ways to join the discussion with this year’s AI theme.
The symposium — as well two April conferences that will be put on by the Lilly Leadership Institute and College of Education, Health, and Society — are free and open to the public, including anyone at Miami interested in learning more about AI.
Registration for the AI Symposium is available. David Seidl, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Miami, encourages everyone to attend, even if it’s for a session or two.
“I hope everyone who attends will walk away with new ideas about how to effectively use AI, as well as with a broader view of AI and its impact on what we do,” he said.
“AI is having an immediate impact on our lives, our work, and on how we teach and learn. This event brings together our faculty, staff, and students to share knowledge while also letting us hear from noted industry experts as our keynote speakers, helping us stay at the forefront of AI as an institution.”
The symposium, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. Monday, March 10, includes an opening, educational sessions, and lunch at the Armstrong Student Center. Later that day, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in 102 Benton, Lipson will give the day’s keynote, “The Next AI: Steer, don’t fear.”
Lipson is co-author of the award-winning books, “Fabricated: The New World of 3D printing” and “Driverless: Intelligent cars and the road ahead.” His work on self-aware and self-replicating robots, recently featured by the New York Times, challenges conventional views of robotics.
Poster sessions, XR Stage demonstrations tours, and a reception will be held in McVey Data Science from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday night.
The conference will conclude Tuesday, March 11, with educational sessions and Troy’s closing keynote at Armstrong Student Center. A detailed schedule can be found on the AI Symposium website.
Seidl said this year's symposium is bigger and better than the first one in 2023.
“It's now a day and a half long, we have two amazing keynote speakers, and our evening reception and poster session in McVey provides folks from across Miami with a chance to share their knowledge,” he said. “As part of the FOCUS theme, it also links directly to our undergraduate experience.”
Seidl noted that at several of the sessions, attendees will hear about ethical questions and challenges artificial intelligence brings.
“As with any new technology that has this broad of an impact, we need to consider how, when, why, what it is used for carefully, while also acknowledging that AI is a fact of life from here forward."
Lilly Leadership Institute’s conference and showcase
The Lilly Leadership Institute will hold its AI + Customer Engagement Conference and Showcase from 1-5 p.m. Friday, April 11. The conference will be at the Farmer School of Business and the showcase/reception will be in the McVey Data Science atrium.
Gurpreet Singh, partner, board member, and global health leader at PwC, and Scott Likens, partner and global chief AI engineer at PwC, will present together at 1:20 p.m. on Business in the age of AI.
Priyanka Raj, former principal project marketing manager at Adobe who is now in the Berkeley Haas MBA program, will give a virtual talk, Revolutionizing Customer Engagement: AI Trends and Real-World Insights, at 2:15 p.m.
Hosted by the Lilly Leadership Institute in partnership with Miami University’s FOCUS theme, this event brings together business leaders, industry experts, faculty, and students to discuss the evolving role of AI in customer engagement. From predictive analytics to hyper-personalization, attendees will gain insights into how AI is redefining the customer experience.
Louise Morman, executive director and instructor of the Lilly Leadership Institute, said, “We hope the students and attendees understand the importance as well as the impact artificial intelligence will have on the future of customer engagement, how they can be best prepared to recognize when and where AI can help with customer engagement and customer satisfaction, and also help them to understand how they can be a part of the solution as AI moves forward.”
Jodi Boyle, assistant director of the institute, added, “This year, in addition to incredible speakers and networking opportunities, we’re featuring a Student Innovation Showcase — a chance to see the next generation of thinkers present their ideas on using AI and tech to transform customer engagement.”
The reception and Student Innovation Showcase will start at 3 p.m.
EHS’s CREATE Mini-Conference April 25
The Critical Reasoning and Equity through AI, Tools, and Engagement (CREATE) Mini-Conference is from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Friday, April 25.
The conference will be held in McGuffey Hall — with welcome keynote and concluding sessions in 322 McGuffey, themed sessions in various rooms on the third floor, and a “playground” in the Engaging Technology Lab (214 McGuffey).
“The playground allows faculty, staff, and students to experiment with AI tools. We'll have coaches available to answer questions and guide participants,” said Sherill Sellers, professor and associate dean of the College of Education, Health, and Society.
More than two months out, the conference is starting to come together.
The Family Science and Social Work department plans to feature a student and faculty panel on AI in Social Work Practice, and Sellers said two faculty members (Heidi McKee, professor of English, and Dennis Cheatham, associate professor of Communication Design) have agreed to present.
A flyer promoting the event says:
“Have you ever used AI in class? Tried a cool AI tool? Worked on an interesting project? We’d love for you to share your experience at the CREATE Mini-Conference.
“You don’t have to be an AI expert — just bring your curiosity! Present with a friend, a professor, or even a community member. It’s a great chance to teach others, learn together, and have fun!”
The proposal deadline is March 15, and they welcome proposals from the campus community. Submit your proposals online.
