A Conversation about AI -The Nuance We Cannot Afford to Lose:
Fear, wonder, misinformation, and the difficult work of thinking together.
Goldtimers is pleased to announce a fascinating discussion on Artificial Intelligence.
Speakers:
Douglas Schwalm, Staff Data Scientist at State Farm, who was formerly an Economics professor at LSU and then ISU
Roy David Magnuson, Professor of Music at ISU and Director of the Adaptive Edge Institute
You can view their full bios here --> Roy David Magnuson and Douglas Schwalm
Topics of discussion:
Douglas Schwalm
Data Situation at State Farm
AI in general at State Farm (Machine Learning and Testing)
Risks of not understanding Causal vs Predictive analyses
Emergent practices of General AI at State Farm
Roy David Magnuson
The visible AI (slop feeds, untrustworthy student work, hollow content) is only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath it, good people are doing genuinely transformative work (humanitarian transcription, computational science, better questioning, democratization of knowledge), and we have to hold both realities at once.
The technology is here and accelerating non-linearly (the task length AI can complete is doubling every ~7 months, with trillion-dollar infrastructure investment) -- the bubble may burst. Still, the capability isn't going away, so we need to learn to "read the bill of sale".
Engaging with this honestly requires nuance, humility, and compassion, and universities should lead the conversation rather than ceding it to vendors who tell us what we want.
This will be an IN-PERSON event only. There will be no LIVESTREAM or RECORDING.
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, at 10:00 AM at the ISU Alumni Center, 1101 North Main Street, Normal, Illinois 61761