A summer 2023 webinar series sponsored by the Division of Information Technology and the Data Science Institute.
From June 23 to September 29, 2023, we were privileged to present a thought-provoking artificial-intelligence (AI) webinar series tailored specifically for UW–Madison.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, the importance of AI in our academic environment cannot be overstated. As technological advancements continue to shape our society, we believe it is crucial to explore the opportunities and challenges AI brings to the forefront of higher education.
This webinar series aimed to provide a platform for experts and visionaries in the field of AI to share their insights, research and experiences in the classroom, research lab and wider academic community. By delving into topics such as AI ethics, cutting-edge machine learning algorithms, automation and human-machine collaboration, we hoped to foster a deeper understanding of AI’s transformative potential and its implications for higher education.
This was a captivating and engaging journey of discovery and innovation. We’re pleased to present recordings of the webinar sessions here.
Featured webinars
| Date | Topic | Presenter(s) | Recordings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30 | AI from Foundations to Applications Faculty panel discussing AI at UW–Madison. Topics include insights on AI capabilities, risks and impacts in research areas, opportunities and challenges in leveraging AI responsibly across domains. |
Kyle Cranmer, UW–Madison professor of physics and Data Science Institute director, panel leader. Panelists: Rose Cersonsky, Joao Dorea, Kangwook Lee, Sharon Li | Jun 30 session video recording |
| Jul 14 | From Breakthroughs to Empowerment: UW–Madison’s AI Contributions and Accessibility A discussion of AI research on campus, including machine learning models, applications across fields, community resources like the ML+X group and Carpentries data science workshops, and the need for more computing power. |
Xiaojin “Jerry” Zhu, UW–Madison professor of computer sciences, panel leader. Panelists: Salsabil Arabi, Christopher Endemann, Ben Rush, Megan Taylor | Jul 14 session video recording |
| Jul 21 | AI Ethics and Privacy Algorithm biases, equitable conversational AI and frameworks for responsible AI system design that consider diverse stakeholders’ values. |
Kaiping Chen, UW–Madison assistant professor of life sciences communication and Yonatan Mintz, UW–Madison assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering | Jul 21 session video recording |
| Aug 11 | AI and Medical Imaging Current applications of artificial intelligence in medical imaging, noting it serves largely as an assistive copilot to radiologists rather than a replacement, with key considerations being clinical validation, integration, interpretability and mitigating biases. |
Alan McMillan, UW–Madison professor of clinical health sciences, Department of Radiology | Aug 11 session video recording (auto-captioned) |
| Aug 25 | Town Hall on AI and Teaching & Learning A conversation about the challenges and opportunities of generative AI in teaching and learning, covering policies, principles and best practices. |
John Zumbrunnen, UW–Madison senior vice provost for academic affairs, panel leader. Panelists: Emily Hall, Nathan Jung, Jonathan Klein, Kathy Prem, Tonya Schmidt and Tamara Walker. | Aug 25 session video recording |
| Sep 22 | Racism in AI How histories of institutionalized racism in big data, tech industries and society are shaping AI today, highlighting problems like algorithmic bias and potential solutions. |
Lori Lopez, UW–Madison professor of media and cultural studies and author of “Race and Digital Media: An Introduction.” | Sep 22 session video recording |
Full webinar schedule
| Date | Topic | Presenter(s) | Recordings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23 | A Generative AI Briefing An overview of generative artificial intelligence. Includes examples of how it can be used in higher education and industry, as well as considerations for risks. |
Dan Stoneman and David Bruce, Gartner | Jun 23 session detailed description |
| Jun 30 | AI from Foundations to Applications Faculty panel discussing AI at UW–Madison. Topics include insights on AI capabilities, risks and impacts in research areas, opportunities and challenges in leveraging AI responsibly across domains. |
Kyle Cranmer, UW–Madison professor of physics and Data Science Institute director, panel leader. Panelists: Rose Cersonsky, Joao Dorea, Kangwook Lee, Sharon Li | Jun 30 session detailed description |
| Jul 7 | Opportunities and Challenges with Geospatial AI An overview of developments in geospatial AI, highlighting how it advances geography research through spatial data analysis while geography provides practical spatial concepts. He discusses opportunities like intelligent geospatial assistants and challenges around bias, privacy and sustainability. |
Song Gao, UW–Madison associate professor of geography and director of Geospatial Data Science Lab | Jul 7 session detailed description |
| Jul 14 | From Breakthroughs to Empowerment: UW–Madison’s AI Contributions and Accessibility A discussion of AI research on campus, including machine learning models, applications across fields, community resources like the ML+X group and Carpentries data science workshops, and the need for more computing power. |
Xiaojin “Jerry” Zhu, UW–Madison professor of computer sciences, panel leader. Panelists: Salsabil Arabi, Christopher Endemann, Ben Rush, Megan Taylor | Jul 14 session detailed description |
| Jul 21 | AI Ethics and Privacy Algorithm biases, equitable conversational AI and frameworks for responsible AI system design that consider diverse stakeholders’ values. |
Kaiping Chen, UW–Madison assistant professor of life sciences communication and Yonatan Mintz, UW–Madison assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering | Jul 21 session detailed description |
| Jul 28 | AI in Action: Intelligent Systems and Business Operations AI applications in business operations and systems, including 911 call centers and UPS route optimization, and key AI takeaways like the importance of high-quality data and the role for human involvement. |
Laura Albert, UW–Madison professor and the David H. Gustafson Chair of Industrial & Systems Engineering | Jul 28 session detailed description |
| Aug 4 | Workday AI/ML: Different by Design How the cloud-based software leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to empower and augment human capabilities across HR, finance, and student systems while prioritizing data privacy and bias mitigation. |
Gina Guillaume-Joseph and Dan Wesley, Workday | Aug 4 session detailed description |
| Aug 11 | AI and Medical Imaging Current applications of artificial intelligence in medical imaging, noting it serves largely as an assistive copilot to radiologists rather than a replacement, with key considerations being clinical validation, integration, interpretability and mitigating biases. |
Alan McMillan, UW–Madison professor of clinical health sciences, Department of Radiology | Aug 11 session detailed description |
| Aug 18 | Generative AI at Microsoft A brief survey of how Microsoft is developing generative AI models and integrating them into its portfolio of products and services. Topics include solution patterns for AI applications, Microsoft’s principles for responsible AI and emerging trends in generative AI. |
Nick Switanek, principal technical architect for AI, Microsoft Technology Centers | Aug 18 session detailed description |
| Aug 25 | Town Hall on AI and Teaching & Learning A conversation about the challenges and opportunities of generative AI in teaching and learning, covering policies, principles and best practices. |
John Zumbrunnen, UW–Madison senior vice provost for academic affairs, panel leader. Panelists: Emily Hall, Nathan Jung, Jonathan Klein, Kathy Prem, Tonya Schmidt and Tamara Walker. |
Aug 25 session detailed description |
| Sep 1 | No session. Holiday break. | ||
| Sep 8 | AI in Healthcare: Evolving Care Landscapes How AI is reshaping healthcare, including practical AI innovations and their impact on providers and patients. |
Garrett Adams, who leads the EpicCare Ambulatory R&D division at Epic; Joel Gordon, visiting associate professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health; and Frank Liao, senior director of digital health and emerging technologies at UW Health | Sep 8 session detailed description |
| Sep 15 | AI in Biomedical Health Lightning talks about practical applications of AI in areas like drug discovery, medical imaging, EHR data analysis and mental health assessment. |
Lightning talks by UW faculty members Anthony Gitter, Junjie Hu, Yin Li, Anoop Mayampurath and Vikas Singh. | Sep 15 session detailed description |
| Sep 22 | Racism in AI How histories of institutionalized racism in big data, tech industries and society are shaping AI today, highlighting problems like algorithmic bias and potential solutions. |
Lori Lopez, UW–Madison professor of media and cultural studies and author of “Race and Digital Media: An Introduction.” | Sep 22 session detailed description |
| Sep 29 | The Present and Future of Open-Source AI: Leveraging LLMs for Research & Commercial Innovation The current and future states of large language models in academic research and real-world application and how they are becoming a cornerstone for applications ranging from natural language processing to more complex human-machine interactions. |
Sebastian Raschka, PhD, Lead AI Educator, Lightning AI; presented in partnership with Discovery to Product (D2P) as part of UW–Madison Innovate Week | Sep 29 session detailed description |