Tech Crash Courses: Continuing to Navigate the Generative AI Landscape

Less Friction, More Focus: Generative AI for Overburdened and Neurodivergent Librarians 

Ruthann Mowry, Curator of Rare Books & Manuscripts University of Illinois Urbana-Campaign
February 12, 12-1pm CST
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, Feb 10

Generative AI can reduce cognitive and administrative burden, particularly in tasks that demand speed and diplomacy without diminishing professional judgment. This webinar examines practical applications, such as drafting correspondence, summarizing meetings, and developing instructional activities, with attention to issues of equity, neurodivergence, and burnout. 

We will critically address ethical considerations, including accuracy, privacy, and authorship, alongside the risk of framing AI as a justification for unsustainable workloads. The session equips participants with replicable methods that build capacity, strengthen transparency, and uphold professional integrity. 

Ruthann E. Mowry is a Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts and Assistant Professor at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They hold graduate degrees in Library Science and Ancient History. Their research develops inclusive curatorial models that expand access to special collections, amplify historically marginalized voices, and positions libraries as spaces of community connection. Ruthann’s work spans the study of medieval magic and manuscript culture, historical board games as public pedagogy, and the application of generative AI to support library professionals. Across these areas, they examine how tools, narratives, and infrastructures shape public engagement with cultural heritage. Committed to cultural stewardship and public humanities, Ruthann advances a vision of special collections librarianship that is both academically rigorous and publicly relevant.

Teaching, Learning, and Researching with AI: A Panel Discussion

UW Madison Faculty
February 26, 2025, 12-1pm CST
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, Feb 24

In the current age of AI students are inundated with the latest and greatest AI tools. What does that mean for teaching and learning? How can we set students up for success? Join UW-MadisonSchool of Computer, Data & Information Sciences faculty as they discuss how AI has impacted their classrooms and how they are approaching AI when it comes to research. 

• Devansh Saxena, Assistant Professor, UW-Madison Information School
• Clinton Castro, Assistant Professor, UW-Madison Information School
• Meena Syamkumar, Teaching Faculty, UW-Madison Department of Computer Science

Devansh Saxena is an assistant professor in the Information School and a researcher and educator in human-centered data science, responsible AI, and public interest technology. He studies and designs AI systems for equitable and participatory decision-making in government and community contexts. His research further scaffolds the development of responsible AI practices that support AI innovation at the early stages of ideation, problem formulation, and project selection.

Clinton Castro is an assistant professor in the Information School and an affiliate professor in the Department of Philosophy. He specializes in information ethics and fair machine learning. His recent open access book—Kantian Ethics and the Attention Economy (co-authored with Timothy Aylsworth)—argues that we have moral duties, both to ourselves and to others, to protect our autonomy from the threat posed by digital distraction.

Meenakshi Syamkumar is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research focuses on the implications of artificial intelligence for computer science and data science education. In her teaching, she explores effective ways to integrate AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, aider and Claude into her Data Science courses that introduce students to state-of-the-art data science systems and workflows.