I attended the (Re)Imagining Liberal Arts & STEM Education in the Age of GenAI conference at Harvey Mudd College on May 21-22, 2026. The keynote speaker, Alex Hartemink, a professor at Duke University, titled his presentation “What should we know about AI?” He discussed AI fluencies and awareness, posing questions like, “Is AI truly intelligent, or does it just appear to be?” and “Why is AI suddenly omnipresent?”<\/p>\n
Hartemink used a slide with movie screenshots, featuring characters like C-3PO, HAL 9000, and WALL-E, to illustrate AI’s cultural impact. He also included a scene from the movie “Her,” which he had recently watched, prompted by a podcast special. The inclusion of WALL-E highlighted humanity’s desire to create intelligent beings in our image.<\/p>\n
Hartemink humorously presented a timeline of AI’s history, noting its many waves since the 1940s. He referenced the rise of neural models, symbolic AI, and the Turing test, along with the ebbs of AI winters in the 1970s and 1990s. The timeline showed peaks with expert systems in the 1980s, machine learning, and deep learning, up to the current focus on large language models.<\/p>\n
He emphasized understanding the differences between AI algorithms, models, and products, sparking curiosity about what people mean when they oppose AI. Hartemink also addressed misconceptions, such as assuming AI output is guided by meaning, and the belief that AI’s future is set in stone. He argued that we have the power to shape AI’s future, especially within education.<\/p>\n
Hartemink linked the roots of the word “education” to “lead out” and “imagination” to forming mental images, posing questions about the kinds of minds needed to sustain imagination and how people are shaped in intellect and character. He concluded with questions about the formation of one’s intellect and imagination, leaving attendees with thoughts to ponder.<\/p>\n