Courtesy of Ana Lopes, Andrew Mott, and Bowdoin Communications

Six student ambassadors were recently recruited to represent the work of the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity. Through this role, students from across disciplines and class years will conduct independent research, discuss the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in various aspects of campus life and gather perspectives to improve the initiative’s current and future goals.

For neuroscience and music major Mauricio Cuba Almeida ’27, a summer program in San Diego inspired his interest in AI ethics and his decision to apply for the ambassador program.

“AI is a very powerful tool, but we need to think about how we implement this in a way that’s ethical, in a way that’s protecting everyone’s privacy and rights and humanity,” Cuba Almeida said. “So, at the end of the day, I’m here because I know AI is a double edged sword—that there is potential for good and bad.”

While the ambassadors have routine check-ins and group meetings, they also engage in self-guided projects to pursue their curiosities about the integration of AI into education and research at the College. Cuba Almeida is meeting with professors who have received research grants from the Hastings Initiative to see which tools they are using and how they can be helpful to faculty and students more broadly.

Ana Lopes ’28 applied for the position because she noticed that everyone was talking about AI and its rapid evolution at Bowdoin, and she was interested in combining her interests in technological development with considerations about the ethics of AI use. In her independent project, she seeks to explore the neuroscience of learning and how students can productively learn with AI.

“I’m looking forward to opportunities to do research…. My main focus is actually to understand how we can use AI to learn better,” Lopes said. “It would be really nice if I could talk with a lot of students, understand how they learn and how they think that AI can be beneficial or not beneficial to their learning and experiment with the tools.”

Joe Gaetano’s ’27 interest in AI began with him noticing its rapid growth trajectory, especially on college campuses. Through the ambassador position, Gaetano hopes to integrate student perspectives into the Hastings Initiative’s work and ease discomfort surrounding AI on campus.

“I hope that, one day, through the ambassadorship or the Hastings Initiative in general, we can get to a point on campus where everyone feels good about using AI and feels that it’s going to be mutually beneficial for students and professors,” Gaetano said.

Gaetano is currently working on two research projects: one using AI to plan fitness regimens in comparison to leading fitness apps and the other investigating the ethical implications of how ChatGPT offloads certain queries to simpler AI models. However, the project that Gaetano expressed the most excitement about is an upcoming survey that the ambassador group plans to conduct to gain a more comprehensive understanding of AI use across campus.

“We’re going to try to get to the bones of how students are using AI on campus and what the proper way is so that we can get everyone on the same page…. We’re looking for people to become as comfortable as possible with AI usage in the right way,” Gaetano said.

In addition to the survey, Gaetano aims to connect with students through pop-up stations where students can stop by with questions relating to AI usage, as well as how the Hastings Initiative funds are being allocated for increased transparency.

Lopes also expressed the desire to connect with students about how the ambassadors can best support them as they navigate AI.

“I feel like all the students should know about this initiative and how to contact us,” Lopes said. “I would really love to learn more about what the community is needing.”

Similarly, Cuba Almeida’s main goal as an ambassador is to provide students with the tools they need to critically evaluate how they want to use AI.

“We want to provide the space for informational learning about AI while at the same time giving students the power…. We’re not here to simply teach them all about [AI] but to give them the tools to explore AI for themselves,” Cuba Almeida said.