Convocation

Critical Thinking in the Age of AI

Critical thinking in the age of AI is a strong academic theme because it reaches across the full range of programs at UMA. It sits at the center of Data Science, Computer Information Systems, and Cybersecurity, where students study directly what these systems can and cannot do. It speaks to the work of writing and interpretation in our English and writing programs and across the arts, where the question of what only a human can make has taken on new urgency. It reaches into the professional fields our students enter, from Education and Nursing to Business and Justice Studies, where good judgment cannot be outsourced. And in areas of study like Philosophy and Psychology, it raises fundamental questions about sound reasoning and the biases embedded in the data these systems learn from. Few themes touch so many corners of the university at once, which makes this one a natural fit for the true interdisciplinary nature of knowledge and problem-solving. Because generative AI tools can now produce fluent text, images, and analysis on demand, every field is being asked the same underlying question: what does it mean to reason, create, and know something for ourselves? That question does not belong to any single department or program, which makes it a fitting theme for the whole university and a natural fit for the true interdisciplinary nature of knowledge and problem solving.

Another component of this year’s academic theme is the adoption of a single theme-related book by a number of classes across the curriculum:  More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI by John Warner.
The emergence of generative AI is a historically significant development that is already reshaping how we work, learn, write, and communicate. Warner’s book 
argues that writing is a form of thinking and feeling that AI cannot replace, and makes the case for treating the expansion of generative AI as an occasion to reckon with what the real work of writing is for. Questions of academic integrity, authorship, misinformation, data privacy, labor, and the environmental costs of the technology are evolving daily, which keeps a fast-moving subject squarely timely and grounded in our students’ lived experience.

Critical thinking in the age of AI also speaks directly to many of our general education themes, and it dovetails especially well with the change in General Education requirements that now include Critical Thinking as a documented component. To examine these tools well is to practice exactly the habits general education aims to cultivate: weighing evidence, questioning sources, distinguishing genuine reasoning from convincing imitation, and considering the ethical and equitable implications of how a technology is built and used. The theme invites discussion of ethics and cultural diversity as well, including who is represented in the data these systems learn from, who benefits, and who is left out. In this way, studying critical thinking in the age of AI challenges us to analyze systemic issues, question the norms of our moment, and equip our students to make thoughtful, informed decisions long after they leave UMA.

The Colloquium Committee looks forward to working with the faculty, staff, and students for a productive academic theme for the year.