Education in the Age of AI: Faculty Panel and Workshop

CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Santa Cruz and the Humanities Institute invite you to a faculty panel and workshop discussing the evolving role of artificial intelligence in education. The event will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, from 10 AM to 12 PM in the College 9/John R. Lewis College Multipurpose Room. All students, faculty, and staff are welcome, and admission is free.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Pranav Anand, Faculty Director of The Humanities Institute and Professor of Linguistics, and the panel will feature:

• Leilani Gilpin, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
• Zac Zimmer, Professor of Literature
• Lauren Lyons, Professor of Philosophy
• Adam Smith, Professor of Computational Media

Panelists will discuss how AI impacts teaching and learning, with questions including:

• What does education mean in the age of AI?
• What is the impact of AI use on critical thinking?
• What is the difference between producing good work and learning something?
• Should students opt out of AI use altogether, embrace it, or something in between?
• Are there ways to engage with this technology ethically?
• If I don’t use AI, will I ever get a job?
• What are the realistic impacts of AI on entry-level careers in my field?
• Who should decide how AI is used in education?
• What should be done about AI specifically at UC Santa Cruz?

Following the panel, attendees will participate in small-group workshops to share their opinions on these issues and collectively brainstorm potential paths forward. This event is the first in a proposed series focused on AI and education, with future events building on the outcomes of this initial convening.

Please use our registration form to let us know you are planning to attend. Registration is not required to participate, but it will help us estimate attendance and plan for the event. For questions, please contact CITRIS at citris@ucsc.edu.