Born Before AI: A Lecture Series

Born Before AI 2

Spring 2025

Now returning for its second season, the Born Before AI lecture series continues to offer a rich survey of artificial intelligence: what it can do, how it works, why it is so disruptive, and where it is headed. The series features experts with deep knowledge and experience in AI, drawn from NKU’s faculty and leaders.

Although this year’s lectures don’t presuppose any background from last year’s series, we will give particular attention to the new capabilities of AI that have emerged over the past twelve months.

The title of this series is a nod to 1956, the year when the term "artificial intelligence" was born, at a conference at Dartmouth College. Framed primarily as a program for post-career individuals, it welcomes anyone who seeks an authoritative yet engaging overview of this frequently over-exposed field.

This series is part of AI Generations, a suite of programs in the NKU College of Informatics bringing AI knowledge and experience to multiple generations of learners.

There is no charge, but registration is required.

Participants may sign up for any or all of the three sessions.

This lecture series is supported through the generosity of Ellen Rieveschl.

AI-generated image of a small eastern liberal arts college from 1956.

All lectures will be held in the George and Ellen Rieveschl Digitorium, Griffin Hall, NKU.

Part 1: FRIDAY, APRIL 18 | 3:00 - 4:15 PM

THE CORE OF AI (Kevin Kirby, Ph.D.)
What AI does, how it does it, and where it is headed.

AI AND EDUCATION (Shannon Eastep, M.Ed.)
From Chalkboards to Chatbots: How AI is Shaping K-12 Learning

Part 2: FRIDAY, APRIL 25 | 3:00 - 4:15 PM

AI AND MISINFORMATION (Robert Brice, Ph.D.)
How AI-generated content is changing the information landscape and affecting trust.

HEALTHCARE, TAILORED FOR YOU (Valerie Hardcastle, Ph.D.)
AI knows you better than your mother: The promise of hyper-personalized medicine

Part 3: FRIDAY, MAY 2 | 3:00 - 4:15 PM

EXPERIENCING AI

New for 2025 by popular demand, this will be a hands-on session guided by NKU faculty and students, introducing a variety of AI tools to those with little or no prior exposure to generative AI. Participants may bring their own laptops or use NKU-provided computers. A web browser is the only software required.

OUR SPEAKERS

Kevin Kirby. In addition to being the dean of the NKU College of Informatics, Kevin is the Evan and Lindsay Stein Professor of Biocomputing. His primary research area has been in artificial neural networks, and he won the Mathematical Association of America’s George Polya award for a paper connecting AI to the classical art of memory and the mathematics of quantum mechanics. He has given lectures on AI at a variety of places over the years, including Seoul National University (1991), the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne (2006), and the Cincinnati Woman’s Club (2017). He is a member of the Cincinnati AI Catalyst, and organization whose goal is to make the Cincinnati region a hub for Responsible AI.

Shannon Eastep. Shannon is a Teaching Professor and Instructional Technology Coordinator in NKU’s College of Education. With 21 years of experience at NKU, she specializes in leveraging technology to enhance teaching and learning. Shannon has presented at numerous conferences on topics such as online engagement, robotics, course accessibility, and artificial intelligence. She is passionate about integrating artificial intelligence into education and has been invited to speak at area K-12 schools and university workshops on practical strategies for utilizing AI tools in the classroom. She is currently teaching a combined undergraduate and graduate course on AI in Education.

Robert Brice. Robert has a PhD in Philosophy from Michigan State University and is Lecturer in Philosophy in the NKU College of Arts and Sciences. His most recent book is Wittgenstein’s On Certainty: Insight & Method (Springer, 2022), which explores parallels between the thought of Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He serves as the coach of NKU’s Ethic Bowl team, which triumphed at the regional competition and made the nationals for the first time in 2024. Robert is currently teaching NKU’s AI and Philosophy of Mind course.

Valerie Hardcastle. Valerie is the St. Elizabeth Healthcare Executive Director of the NKU Institute for Health Innovation and Vice President for Health Innovation. Before coming to NKU in 2018, she served at the University of Cincinnati as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and then as the Academic Director of the Weaver Institute for Law and Psychiatry. Before that she was Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. An internationally recognized scholar, Dr. Hardcastle is the author of five books and over 210 articles. She received an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in cognitive science and philosophy from the University of California, San Diego.

Note: The black-and-white photo at the top left of this page is not real. It was generated by Google Gemini, a free AI tool, with the prompt: "Please produce an image: a b&w photograph of a small liberal arts campus resembling Dartmouth in the 1950s." (The color photo at the top right is real: Griffin Hall, the home of the NKU College of Informatics, where these lectures will be held.)

To view past lectures, please visit the 2024 Agenda Page.

College of Informatics

Nunn Drive

Highland Heights, KY 41099

(859) 572-5666

NKU uses cookies on this website

Information is collected automatically by NKU as part of the software operation of our website. This data is not personally identifiable information. NKU uses this information for internal purposes, such as marketing and seeing what pages are most frequently visited. Click "Accept" to continue to use NKU website(s), and consent to our collection of cookies. For more information please see NKU's Web Privacy Statement.