We live in an age of Artificial Intelligence, which has significant implications for education, the environment, labor, and more. As people seek to use generative AI, including large-language models such as ChatGPT and Claude and art generators such as Dall-E, to produce text and images, we must consider what Artificial Intelligence means for who we are as humans and for human intelligence and creativity. During the 2025-2026 academic year, the Marymount Institute is sponsoring a series of conversations among humanities and arts faculty and the LMU community about the vital role for the humanities and the arts in a technological age.
Events in the Series
What Are We Actually Doing Here? Teaching and an LMU Education in These Times
November 11, 2025
Higher education is in crisis! AI, federal grant terminations, ultimatums to universities, people questioning the value of a college education, Covid aftermath, and more! So what are we actually doing here?! What does it mean to teach in this particular place at this particular time? What is an LMU education meant to do? What kinds of young people do we want to help shape? Join us for a discussion of the meaning and purpose of an education in these times. Facilitator: Elizabeth Drummond (HIST), Director of the Marymount Institute and CFD Faculty Fellow for Mission & Ministry. Panelists: Rebecca Sager (SOCL), Mairead Sullivan (Core Director, WGST), Jason Baehr & Dan Speak (PHIL).
What Do You Do With a BA from College? What is Your Life Going to Be? The Meaning & Purpose of an LMU Education, an Education for Meaning & Purpose
November 18, 2025
What does it mean to be an LMU student, in Los Angeles, at this particular moment in time, when the world can seem a big, scary place? How can you find your purpose, the difference that you will make in the world? How does an LMU education shape you as a person? We often talk about skills and outcomes, but an LMU education is more than just job training – it is an education that helps you create meaning the world, that helps you find your purpose, that informs the values that guide your life. Join faculty and students for a discussion of the meaning and purpose of an LMU education in a time of such change. Facilitator: Elizabeth Drummond (HIST), Director of the Marymount Institute and CFD Faculty Fellow for Mission & Ministry. Panelists: Jason Baehr (PHIL), Natalie Riddick (HIST ‘23), Rebecca Sager (SOCL), Mairead Sullivan (WGST & Core Director).
Behind the Bot: AI & its Social, Racial, and Environmental Effects
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 @ 12:00 - 1:30pm in UHall 3002
Technology is not neutral. AI is here, but what does it mean when we use it? This discussion will foreground the social, racial, and environmental effects of AI. Facilitator: Elizabeth Drummond (HIST), Director of the Marymount Institute. Panelists: Sarah Adeyinka-Skold (SOCL), Brian Treanor (PHIL), Amy Woodson-Boulton (HIST).
A Life of the Mind? AI & Education
Monday, April 13, 2026 @ 4:00 - 5:30pm in UHall 3002
What is “artificial intelligence”? How does it differ from – enhance or harm – human intelligences? What does it mean for learning and the kind of education students get here at LMU. Facilitator: Elizabeth Drummond (HIST), Director of the Marymount Institute. Panelists: Jason Baehr (PHIL), KJ Peters (ENGL), Mairead Sullivan (WGST & Core Director).
Democracy Dies in Misinformation
Thursday, April 16, 2026 @ 12:00 - 1:30pm in UHall 3002
AI fakes – images, “news stories,” videos – are flooding the Internet. How do we know what is real and what is fake? What does the spread of misinformation, and disinformation, mean for our democracy? How can we develop the necessary critical thinking skills to be active and engaged citizens? Facilitator: Elizabeth Drummond (HIST), Director of the Marymount Institute. Panelists: John Parrish (POLS), Kate Pickert (JOUR), Kai Prins (CMST), Dan Speak (PHIL).