September 2024

Implementation of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan

September 4, 2024

Q&A: Philosopher David Chalmers on ChatGPT, consciousness, and his days at WashU

A luminary in contemporary philosophy, David Chalmers has a unique perspective on the rise of large language models and other generative AI programs. Chalmers took part in a Q&A ahead of his upcoming TRIADS-sponsored speaking engagement at Washington University.

Q&A: Gabrielle Kirilloff on how games shape
our culture

In March 2024, Washington University Assistant Professor of English Gabrielle Kirilloff launched an ongoing column for Forbes covering the intersection of video games with real-world issues. Kirilloff's column came to fruition thanks to support from the Program in Public Scholarship, whose mission is to help WashU faculty translate their research and expertise for public audiences.

Mindfulness Science & Practice team members publish study on the neurological effects of mindfulness practice

WashU Mindfulness Science & Practice faculty lead Todd Braver and colleagues in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences have published a new study on the neurological effects of mindfulness practice in ScienceDirect. Mindfulness Science & Practice is a multiyear cluster funded by the Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures.

Humans change their own behavior when
training AI

A transdisciplinary team funded by TRIADS discovered an unexpected behavioral pattern when they asked humans to train an AI bot. In a new study published in PNAS, WashU researchers found that participants actively adjusted their own behavior to appear more fair and just when told they were training artificial intelligence, an impulse with potentially important implications for real-world AI developers.

Program in Public Scholarship Workshop: Writing for The Conversation

“Academic rigor, journalistic flair”: this Creative Commons-licensed online news organization is an invaluable tool for emerging and established public scholars alike. Learn how to develop story ideas and pitch them to The Conversation with the help of the Program in Public Scholarship. Lunch will be provided.

TRIADS Speaker Series: David Chalmers

Can ChatGPT Think? David Chalmers, University Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science at New York University and co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, addresses that question in this talk, presented by the TRIADS Speaker Series.

WashU Mindfulness Week

Join the Mindfulness Science and Practice group at WashU for four days of music, art, movement, silence, and stillness. Experience community and conversation, insight, rest, and reflection. Mindfulness Week is supported by the Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures.

Center for the Literary Arts: Banned Books Week Reading with Carmen Maria Machado

The Center for the Literary Arts hosts Carmen Maria Machado during Banned Books Week. Machado will read from her works and discuss the banning of her own books. Machado is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House and the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties.

The Metaverse and its Premoderns: Islam in an Expanding Reality

Presented by the Immersive Technology Collective, a multiyear cluster of the Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures. Christiane Gruber, Professor of Islamic Art at the University of Michigan, discusses the convergences between immersive technologies and Islam.

Program in Public Scholarship Seminar: Publishing Your First Book

Publishing your first book can be daunting, and feel isolating at times. But a lot of the dilemmas and mysteries around publishing your first book are quite common and can be worked through with practical steps. This seminar, presented by the Program in Public Scholarship, will be a safe space for first-time authors, with lunch provided.

Jaynes Centennial Symposium

This symposium will celebrate the accomplishments of Edwin T. Jaynes, a distinguished physics professor whose work helped to shape the future of quantum science. Presented by the Center for Quantum Leaps, the Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, and the Department of Physics, the symposium will invite a highly interdisciplinary mix of participants spanning neuroscience, AI, engineering, physics, and chemistry.

Can Comedy Save Us From the Apocalypse?

Evolutionary psychologist and public scholar Athena Aktipis will present her current research and new book on a public panel with WashU scholars. Presented by the Program in Public Scholarship.