Dartmouth to Host AI at 70 Conference

The October 29–31 conference brings together leaders from academia, industry, government, and the arts under the theme, AI at 70: What Must Remain Human?

"Seventy years ago, the question before the researchers who gathered at Dartmouth was whether machines could simulate intelligence at all," says President Sian Leah Beilock. "Now we must ask a different question. How do we ensure AI enhances human judgment and doesn’t replace it? Dartmouth started this conversation in 1956. Now we have a responsibility to continue it."

Among the speakers will be Mira Murati Th'12, co-founder and CEO of Thinking Machines Lab.

"This conference is about bringing together people from different disciplines to wrestle with the questions that no single field can answer alone," says Professor of Engineering Peter Chin, who leads the faculty committee responsible for planning the event. "The future of AI will be shaped as much by values and institutions as by algorithms."

Professor of Engineering Peter Chin leads the faculty committee responsible for planning the event. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)

Dartmouth researchers will also present preliminary findings from a multi-year study examining how students' use of AI affects learning, confidence, judgment, and preparation for the labor market.

Supported in part by The Rockefeller Foundation, which helped fund the original gathering in 1956 exploring the possibilities of machine intelligence, the Dartmouth conference will examine the human choices and responsibilities that arise as these systems become increasingly capable.

As AI transforms how knowledge is created, accessed, and applied, universities face fundamental questions about their purpose and future, says Chin.

"Dartmouth, given our holistic liberal arts education, is a great place to have these conversations," says Chin, whose research explores the foundations of intelligence through machine learning, signal processing, mathematics, and computational neuroscience.