Imagine a machine dreaming in algorithms. What would it dream about? Would it conjure up visions of efficiency and optimization—or something closer to human longings, fears, and imagination? This speculative question isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. At the crossroads of artificial intelligence and the humanities, we find the most profound questions about what it means to be human in a world increasingly shaped by machines.
The Soul of Storytelling in AI
One of humanity’s defining traits is our ability to tell stories. Stories preserve culture, connect generations, and make sense of the world. AI, surprisingly, has entered this realm with tools that create poetry, write novels, and craft narratives. But can an AI understand what it means to suffer, love, or hope? And what happens to storytelling when machines, rather than humans, write the tales we consume?
AI’s foray into creativity doesn’t diminish humanity’s role; instead, it amplifies it. It challenges writers, filmmakers, and artists to reimagine their craft. It invites us to collaborate with the machine—not as competitors but as co-creators shaping the future of narrative.
Ethics as a North Star
Every story has a moral, and in the story of AI, ethics is its guiding star. The humanities hold the compass, reminding us of questions that technology alone can’t answer: Whose stories are amplified by AI? Whose are erased? How can we ensure that the AI narrative we create is just, inclusive, and reflective of all human experiences?
Collaboration or Domination?
Several presentations at this symposium explore the idea of framing AI not as a competitor or threat, but as a collaborative partner. While machines excel at processing data, humans contribute nuance, emotion, and context. Could this partnership redefine the limits of innovation, anchoring it within the depth of human culture and thought, or are we risking a dynamic that skews toward technological dominance?
In this shared space, we find not just answers but deeper questions: What does it mean to create? To know? To be? These questions remind us that while AI may excel at computation, it is the humanities that give purpose to the quest for knowledge.