Reimagining the Academy: AI, Liberal Education, and the Future of Learning

This panel examines the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on higher education within the context of liberal values. As AI technologies reshape teaching methodologies, research capabilities, and institutional operations, we explore how colleges and universities can integrate these tools while preserving the core tenets of liberal education—critical thinking, intellectual pluralism, and the pursuit of knowledge as a public good. Distinguished panelists will address pressing questions about academic integrity in an era of generative AI, the ethics of algorithmic decision-making in admissions and assessment, and how technological innovation might either exacerbate or ameliorate existing inequalities in higher education access. The discussion aims to articulate a vision for AI adoption that enhances rather than diminishes the humanistic foundations of higher learning, balancing technological efficiency with the enduring values of open inquiry and democratic education.