Dear colleagues,
Nearly 70 years ago, Dartmouth convened the workshop widely regarded as the birthplace of artificial intelligence. And many of you are using AI today in your teaching, research, and other work, as we all wrestle with its local and global implications.
As President Beilock has written, we have a history of embracing technology without sacrificing human judgment, critical thinking, and ethics—all hallmarks of a Dartmouth education. We are initiating partnerships that will provide new tools and training, but it will take all of us to determine how to make AI accessible and impactful across Dartmouth, realizing its full potential as we confront the challenges it brings.
A recently formed Faculty Leadership Group on Artificial Intelligence held several introductory meetings this fall. Charged with advising our deans and senior leaders, the group will help us articulate a principled, evidence-based strategy for where AI can meaningfully accelerate Dartmouth’s mission, and where deliberate restraint is essential to safeguard our values and pedagogy. The committee members are:
- Adam Breuer, Assistant Professor of Government and Computer Science (co-chair)
- Peter Chin, Professor of Engineering (co-chair)
- Susan Brison, Professor of Philosophy
- Daniel Chamberlain, Associate Dean of Libraries for Research and Digital Strategies
- James Dobson, Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing
- Vijay Govindarajan, Professor of Management
- Saeed Hassanpour, Professor of Biomedical Data Science
- Siddhartha Jayanti, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
- Paul Novosad, Associate Professor of Economics
- Roopika Risam, Associate Professor and Chair of Film & Media Studies
- Daniel Rockmore, Professor of Math and Computer Science
- Soroush Vosoughi, Associate Professor of Computer Science
- Mikhail Gronas, Associate Professor of East European, Eurasian, and Russian Studies
- Jacqueline Wernimont, Associate Professor of Film & Media Studies
- Dean Madden, Vice Provost for Research (ex officio)
- Barbara Will, Vice Provost for Academic and International Affairs (ex officio)
Each member was appointed for their scholarly expertise, capacity for interdisciplinary thinking, and commitment to advancing Dartmouth’s academic mission. I am grateful for their time, good judgement, and collegial spirit. Their work will be vital to determining how we adapt to an AI-driven world and how we showcase Dartmouth's leadership and history of thoughtful, evidence-driven innovation leading up to the 70th anniversary of the 1956 workshop.
The winter term will bring more opportunities to come together as a community around AI, building on Prof. Jed Dobson’s cross-campus review of our current engagement in his role as Special Advisor to the Provost for AI. In the meantime, we hope that you will provide your feedback and tell us about projects that are already up and running—new work you are either accomplishing with AI or in response to changes brought by AI.
It has been a pleasure working with the committee thus far. I know they will invite your questions and welcome your support in the months to come, as will I. It’s my job as provost to make sure all of your perspectives are represented in this work and that each of our faculty members is supported and successful.
Sincerely,
Santiago Schnell
Provost