Annual “Contexts” Conference at WP, which Explores Current Issues through an Multidisciplinary Lens, to Focus on Artificial Intelligence


Artificial intelligence: Is it the beginning or the end? This is the question that will be discussed in this year’s “Contexts” conference, hosted annually by William Paterson University’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

The day-long, multidisciplinary conference, now in its 12th year, takes place Thursday, October 26 in the University Commons Ballrooms. The schedule is as follows:

9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. – Session 1: “The Beginning”

  • Dr. Warren Davis (Principal Member, Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories)
    • Presentation Title: Artificial Intelligence: A Historical and Technical Perspective
  • Kelly Bishop (Journalist and Freelance Writer)
    • Presentation Title: Should musicians fear AI or embrace it?

11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Keynote Address

  • Dr. John Symons (Professor of Philosophy, Kansas University)
    • Presentation Title: Writing and Thinking in the Age of Large Language Models

2:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. – Session 2: “The End?”

  • Dr. Daniel Estrada (University Lecturer, New Jersey Institute of Technology)
    • Presentation Title: Ideals and ideology in AI
  • Ms. Amanda Hoover (Staff Writer, WIRED)
    • Presentation Title: AI and the Arts

09/25/23