Inaugural WCI AI & Writing Fair

On February 23rd, the Writing & Critical Inquiry Program at the University at Albany hosted the inaugural AI & Writing Fair in the Campus Center Ballroom, an all-day event dedicated to the places where AI, writing, and critical inquiry intersect.

Those in attendance were treated to a Zoom keynote discussion led by Charles Logan with research presentations by UA undergraduate students Katie O'Ghallager and Pride Joy Chitolie.

Throughout the day, guests could visit research posters on various topics regarding AI, writing, and critical inquiry by UA undergraduates Nihitha Ganneboina and Jasmine Jean-Louis, as well as a collaborative poster by WCI instructors Ian Singleton and Dr. Sarah Giragosian on the topic of second body impact and thinking before we prompt.

In the afternoon, UAlbany faculty led various hands-on workshops that ranged from learning how to effectively use Microsoft Copilot, how AI can potentially limit the importance of creativity in academic learning, and even live debating against large language models like ChatGPT.

It took a lot of people, departments, and organizations to help pull the event together, but it was quite successful.