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MCC Daily Tribune

Today's SUNY Sponsored Online Civic Event: Course Development using AI and Civic Discourse

Join the SUNY Civic Education and Engagement and Civil Discourse Fellows in systemwide conversations about the meaning and importance of civic education and engagement. Beginning September 17th, the Fellows invite the SUNY community to participate in one or more of the Fall 2024 Civic Learning and Civic Engagement Online Series events. More information and registration for the events are available online.

Today's event:

Case Study: Course Development Using AI and Civic Discourse
September 24th, 2024 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Angela Graves, Associate Professor, Global and Diversity Studies, Alfred State College

How can AI tools be used in teaching SUNY General Education courses? We will discuss AI's potential use in creating individualized experiences, customizable modules, and Open Education Resources. A survey course, Global & Diverse Perspectives, taught at Alfred State College of Technology, is using AI in the Fall 2024 to create one such module on civic discourse. Opportunities for this module to be adapted for specific disciplines or for inclusion in a range of courses will be discussed. 

Upcoming Events:

STEM Education IS Civic Education:
October 1st, 2024 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Nirav Patel, Instructor, Environmental Science, Binghamton University

There is an urgent need to intentionally incorporate civic reasoning, discourse, and responsibility in STEM education. Numerous studies point to lower levels of civic participation in STEM majors when compared to other majors. Furthermore, we are entering an era where we have become increasingly reliant on and benefit from advancements in science, alongside the need to regulate emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence. Given this, we need STEM students to be trained on effective civic discourse and engagement.

This is a one-hour online workshop designed to help SUNY faculty become successful at incorporating civic discourse in STEM fields. Participants will examine a variety of teaching practices and principles and will also participate in a roundtable discussion on how civic discourse is being currently taught. 

Artificial Intelligence and Technology Effects on Politics and Civic Engagement [Workshop and Panel Presentation]
October 15th, 2024 from 12:00pm to 1:15pm
Angie Chung, Professor, Sociology, University at Albany 

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and other forms of technology has had a transformative effect on the political landscape and civic engagement in the U.S. and abroad. With an eye toward the upcoming 2024 U.S. elections, the panelists and discussion will draw on different disciplinary perspectives to explore how technology has and can continue to be used to enhance or undermine democratic processes by disseminating truth and (mis)information, shaping voter behavior, guiding electoral strategies and policy-making, and promoting civic activities. The session will begin with a workshop on using AI, followed by a panel discussion, which will consider the opportunities and risks presented by AI in the context of contemporary politics and civic life.

Speakers: 

  • Alexis C. Crews, Founder, E-NOUGH Consulting and Senior Fellow, All Tech is Human.
    • Topic: Impact of Generative AI, Social Media, and old-school technology on political information and election outcomes.
  • Mila Gasco-Hernandez, Associate Professor & Research Director for the Center for Technology in Government, Department of Public Administration & Policy, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany
    • Topic: Civic Engagement through AI and Public Libraries 
  • Tom Mackey, Professor of Arts and Media, Program Coordinator for Digital Media Arts, and Metaliteracy Researcher in the School of Arts and Humanities at Empire State University
    • Topic: How meta literacy provides a holistic pedagogical framework that prepares learners to be ethical producers of information with generative AI

Moderator: Eric Stern, Professor of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity and Interim Director of the AI+ Institute at the University at Albany

The Highway that Racism Built
October 29th, 2024 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Jean Yang, Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture, SUNY ESF 

In the 1960s, I-81 plowed through a historically Black neighborhood in Syracuse, displacing hundreds. When most of us think of racial injustice, interstate highway design isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. It is, in fact, a perfect example of structural racism in action: intentional government policy, enacted in almost every city in the country, that damaged every aspect of Black lives—cultural, economic, environmental, educational—for generations.

In recent years, more people and high-level institutions have acknowledged the structural racism built into the country’s highway system. The in-progress demolition of the I-81 viaduct is an opportunity to repair the legacy of injustice done to their long-disenfranchised community and establish a template that actively addresses systemic injustice while knitting these communities back together. 

Joseph Scanlon
Anthrop/History/Poli. Science/Sociology
09/24/2024