Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity

The Initiative

Welcome to the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity at Bowdoin College. In a world being rapidly reshaped by artificial intelligence, we aim to empower students, staff, and faculty to critically examine, thoughtfully utilize, and ethically guide AI’s trajectory to promote the common good. 

With a transformative gift from Reed Hastings ‘83, Bowdoin aims to establish itself as a leading voice in understanding and shaping the beneficial uses of AI. We’re investing in this future by hiring ten new faculty members across various disciplines, providing robust support for current faculty integrating AI in their teaching and research, and fostering dynamic conversations through workshops, symposia, and student research opportunities. Our goal is to prepare the next generation of leaders to engage responsibly with the opportunities and challenges presented by AI.

Get Involved

Events

Research and Education Grants

Have questions about AI? Come to our postdoc office hours!

Both postdocs welcome any AI-related questions.

Collin Lucken: Mondays and Tuesdays 9-10am in Dudley Coe 107

Background in: AI ethics and democratization, public engagement, robotics and embodied cognitive science, history and philosophy of AI

Adrienne Kinney: Wednesdays and Thursdays 9-10am in Dudley Coe 110

Background in: machine learning (ML) explainability, trustworthy AI technical tools, ML and hybrid ML models, applied mathematics

• 
  Professor Dan Stone Encourages Healthy Disagreement at Bowdoin

  In a presentation aimed at Bowdoin faculty and staff, Stone introduced how he uses a new AI tool to facilitate dialogue across differences, particularly among students.
• 
  How to Use AI to Combat Climate Change

  An expert in computational linguistics, Dan Loehr gave a talk at Bowdoin on how AI is and can be used to address climate change by mitigating emissions from carbon-intensive sectors, modeling climate change, and capturing carbon.
• 
  Student Ambassadors Recruited as Part of the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity

  The six students will play a crucial role as peer educators, acting as a bridge between the student body and the Hastings Initiative team. They will support programming, outreach, and resource development designed to help their fellow Polar Bears engage thoughtfully with artificial intelligence and its ethical implications.