On Thursday, Aug 31st, 12-1 PM EST, IEEE Maine Joint Communications and Computer Societies Chapter is hosting a free live webinar “How to Harness Generative AI for Education”, featuring a presentation by Jon Ippolito, Professor of New Media, Co-Director of Still Water Lab and Director of the Digital Curation graduate program at UMaine, followed by Q&A.

Abstract: Can generative AI like ChatGPT be creative? Can it be trusted? The answers to these two questions may be surprisingly intertwined–and counterintuitive. Understanding why requires overturning some common misperceptions about probability, the fundamental driver of large language models. In this webinar, Jon Ippolito leads a conversation meant to clarify the confusing nature of generative AI and derive a framework for deciding the appropriate use of generative AI in the classroom and the workplace.

Speaker Bio: Jon is a new media artist, writer, and curator, whose work has been recognized with awards from the Thoma, Tiffany, Lannan, and American Foundations. At the Guggenheim Museum in New York, he curated the first art museum exhibition of virtual reality and the 2000 Nam June Paik retrospective with John G. Hanhardt. At the University of Maine, he has founded a peer-to-peer digital badges initiative and a graduate Digital Curation program. At the Still Water lab co-founded with Joline Blais, he helped build social software such as the Variable Media Questionnaire, The Pool, ThoughtMesh, and the Cross-Cultural Partnership.

In almost 200 presentations, Jon has spoken out on copyright maximalism, academic insularity, and technological obsolescence. He has published articles in periodicals ranging from the Art Journal to the Washington Post and chapters in over 20 books. Jon co-authored the book At the Edge of Art (Thames & Hudson 2006) with Blais and Re-collection: Art, New Media, and Social Memory (MIT 2014) with Richard Rinehart. You can learn more at his home page: https://jonippolito.net

The event will be moderated by Dr. Julia Upton, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Husson University; IEEE Maine Section Chair and IEEE Maine Communications/Computer Societies Joint Chapter Chair.

There is no registration fee, but you must register here: [ai.umaine.edu](https://maine.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9DLfUtCuSAS_Vo6rtFyiIw#/registration)

Co-sponsored by: UMaine AI

Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/371172