Falling into AI

Sept. 22 | 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Kansas Union - Woodruff Auditorium
Admission is free, though registration is required. 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/falling-into-ai-2026-tickets-1997716243060?aff=oddtdtcreator 

Join us for the opening day of Falling into AI. Educators, students, researchers, healthcare professionals, and industry leaders from across KU and KU Medical Center will come together to learn from experts at Google and Amazon Web Services and discuss the opportunities and challenges AI presents for higher education and beyond. The day will feature keynote presentations, a panel discussion, and breakout sessions focused on research, teaching and learning, and student innovation. Attendees will also have the opportunity to visit open labs and center showcases across the Lawrence campus to see how KU researchers, educators, and students are using AI to support their work, research, and develop new ideas.

Registration & Networking (8:30 - 9:00 a.m.)

Keynote Address and Q&A: Reclaiming the “I” in the Instructional Core: Pedagogical Optimism, Human Agency, and the Future of Learning (9:00 - 9:45 a.m.)

Presenter: Zac Chase, Global Lead, Scaled Programming
Google for Education
Description: As generative and agentic artificial intelligence systems rapidly evolve, higher education faces a pivotal crossroads often caught between breathless techno-solutionism and reactive surveillance. In this opening keynote, Zac Chase—lead author of the 2016 and 2024 National Educational Technology Plans and Global Lead for Scaled Programming at Google for Education—reframes this moment through the lens of learning science and the classic instructional core.

Drawing on David Hawkins’ foundational triad of I, Thou, and It, Chase demonstrates that AI is not an instructor; it is a profound expansion of the “It”—the shared object of inquiry and task design. When the technological task space expands, our responsibility is to elevate and reconstruct the human “I.” Exploring insights from Ethan Mollick (Co-Intelligence), Tricia Bertram Gallant and David Rettinger (The Opposite of Cheating), and Sam Illingworth (Slow AI), this talk moves beyond policing shortcuts to embrace academic integrity as an invitation to learn. Above all, it issues a rallying cry to reclaim our core definitions: while technology executes automated loops and predicts next tokens, humans remain the original agentic and generative beings—rooted in purpose, empathy, and the enduring power of the teacher-student relationship.

Keynote Address and Q&A: Mary Strain from Amazon Web Services | AWS (9:45 - 10:45 a.m.)

Mary Strain leads AI and machine learning strategy for U.S. education at Amazon Web Services and began her career teaching middle school in the Bronx.  

Panel Discussions (10:45 - 11:30 a.m.) 

Hear directly from Jennifer Fowler (Dell) and Brad Hoffman (Google) as they discuss emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the future of education, research, healthcare, and work. Bring your questions and join the conversation.

Collaboration Break & Lunch (11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)

Breakout Sessions 1-4 (12:00 - 12:45 p.m.)    

Session 1: Introduction to Kiro IDE | AWS - Big 12 Room 

Presenter: Travis Berkley, AWS
Description: Meet Kiro — AWS's new AI-powered IDE that turns a single prompt into a full-featured application, complete with specs, automated tests, and production-ready code. See how Kiro's coding workflow lets students go from idea to working software in minutes, not weeks.

Session 2: Future of Human Learning and the Role of AI - Jayhawk Room 

Presenter: James Basham, CIDDL
Description: The Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL), focused on technology in educator preparation. 

Session 3: AI and Apple Intelligence in Higher Education - The Jay 

Presenter: Andrew Currah, Education Leadership Executive with Apple
Email:acurrah@apple.com 
Description: Examine Apple’s integrated approach to artificial intelligence, from the design of Apple Silicon to the AI-powered capabilities that are now built into the platform. Attendees will explore how these technologies apply in a higher education context, with attention to privacy, security, and accessibility. The session will include demonstrations of current tools and use cases, along with practical guidance for developing AI proficiency on Apple devices. This session is open only to KU and KUMC attendees. 

Session 4: KU Finance - English Room 

Presenter: Craig Alexander, KU Finance
Email:craig.x.alexander@ku.edu 
Description: KU's financial operations team discusses the opportunities, challenges, and future of AI in finance.

Breakout Sessions 5-8 (12:55 - 1:40 p.m.)  

Session 5: The Intelligent Laboratory: Expanding the Boundaries of Discovery with Agentic AI and Modern Cloud Systems - Big 12 Room 

Presenter: Christopher Mende, Director of Customer Engineering for Google
Description: This session examines how the convergence of generative models, agentic systems, and elastic cloud platforms is reshaping the research lifecycle. Looking beyond raw computational hardware, the discussion explores how frontier platforms like Google DeepMind's Co-Scientist and Antigravity function as collaborative intellectual partners—accelerating hypothesis formulation, vetting experimental logic in silico, and dynamically assembling reproducible compute environments. Drawing on practical lessons from enterprise and academic deployments across the country, Christopher Mende outlines the architectural patterns and systemic shifts that allow institutions to cultivate friction-free research ecosystems, empowering scholars across domains to spend their time where it matters most: advancing human knowledge.

Session 6: Introduction to Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio | AWS - Big 12 Room 

Presenter: Travis Berkley, AWS
Description: Discover Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio — a single environment where researchers can prepare data, build and train ML models, and deploy them at scale, all without stitching together separate tools. See how it simplifies the path from raw data to research insight.

Session 7: Build Your AI Agent on Any Platform & Get Back Your Time - The Jay 

Presenter: Maggie Mosher
About: Maggie Mosher is a KU special education researcher whose work includes virtual reality, AI tools, and Agentic AI to support students with disabilities.
Email:mosherku@ku.edu 
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggiemosher/ 
Bio:https://flite.ku.edu/people/maggie-mosher 
Description: Ready to move beyond simply prompting AI? In this hands-on breakout, discover the right safeguards and boundaries to put Agentic AI to work, then build your own AI agent using ready-to-use instructional templates for teaching, research, and administrative tasks.

Session 8: From Prediction to Decision: Teaching AI to Read a Patient's Full Medical History | I2S - English room

Presenter: Zijun Yao, (I2S, KU), Assistant Professor 
Email:zyao@ku.edu 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zijun-yao-26371617/ 
Bio:https://ittc.ku.edu/~zyao/ 
Description: A patient's medical record is a story told across years of visits, tests, and treatments, but most AI systems read only fragments of it and produce risk scores that clinicians cannot confidently act on. I will share how my group builds models that read the full timeline and connect it to established medical knowledge, and why the harder question is not whether a prediction is accurate but whether a care team should change what they do because of it.

Breakout Sessions 9-12 (1:55 - 2:50 p.m.)  

Session 9: Center for Teaching Excellence | CTE with Doug Ward (The Jay) 

Presenter: Doug Ward (CTE, KU), Associate Director, CTE
Associate director of KU's Center for Teaching Excellence and an associate professor of journalism. 

Session 10: AI & the KS Economy with Donna Ginther (English Room)

Presenter: Donna Ginther (KU) - Roy A. Roberts & Regents Distinguished Professor of Economics and director of KU's Institute for Policy & Social Research, and a National Bureau of Economic Research associate. 

Session 11: Google AI & Industry Certificates for Student Success (Woodruff)

Presenter: Caroline Levens, Google Head of Education & Workforce
Description: As the University of Kansas navigates the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, this in-person session focuses on actionable upskilling and professional development through KU’s participation in the Google AI for Education Accelerator. Designed primarily for faculty and staff while centering student success, the workshop highlights comprehensive training pathways—including hands-on AI fluency modules and industry-recognized Google Career Certificates in high-demand fields like Cybersecurity and Data Analytics. Attendees will explore practical strategies for integrating AI literacy into curricula, elevating administrative capabilities through structured learning, and connecting students across disciplines to no-cost credentials that boost workforce readiness and career mobility.

Session 12: Care Delivery in the Age of AI (Big 12 Room)

Presenter: Connie Herbert, Dell
Description: Dell Technologies on the hardware and infrastructure behind AI.

Self-Guided Open Lab Tours across campus (3:30 - 5:00 p.m.)

Visit innovative research, teaching, and learning spaces at Joseph R. Pearson Hall (JRP), the Institute for Information Sciences (I2S), and the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). The FLITE Simulator will be available throughout the tour period in the FLITE Lab located in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) of JRP.

Joseph R. Pearson Hall (JRP) 

Address: 1122 W Campus Rd, Lawrence, KS 66045 
Description: Featured Labs/Centers - FLITE Center (Flexible Learning through Innovative Technology and Education), KU Center on Disabilities (KUCD), Center for Innovation, Design & Digital Learning (CIDDL), Center for Reimagining Education (CRE) / Center for Evaluation & Educational Leadership (CEEL), Center for Research on Learning (CRL), and Center for Educational Opportunity Programs (CEOP). The FLITE Simulator will be available in the FLITE Lab (Learning Resource Center Room 115 – back of Center).

Institute for Information Sciences (I2S) (Nichols Hall)

Address: 2335 Irving Hill Rd
Description: Information sciences, computing, cybersecurity, telecommunications, and advanced technology research. 

Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) (Budig Hall, 135)

Address: 1455 Jayhawk Boulevard
Description: Teaching innovation, instructional technology, and AI in teaching and learning.

Register Here:https://redcap.kumc.edu/surveys/?s=DK8XR3PYEFEWEKDF 

Networking & Breakfast (8:00 - 9:00 a.m.)

Start the day by connecting with faculty, researchers, healthcare professionals, and students. This networking session provides an opportunity to meet colleagues, exchange ideas, and build new connections before the day begins.

AI Across KU Showcases (9:00 - 10:00 a.m.)

Discover how artificial intelligence is being used across the KU Medical Center. Faculty, educators, healthcare professionals, and students will showcase research projects highlighting AI's growing impact on healthcare, clinical practice, and medical research.

Faculty Innovation Talks (10:00 - 11:00 a.m.)

Hear directly from KU and KUMC faculty members who are integrating AI into their research and profession. These presentations will showcase emerging ideas, lessons learned, and approaches to applying AI to address current and future challenges.

Student Research Showcases (11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)

Learn how students across KU and KUMC are applying AI to their research and professional work. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with student researchers and explore how AI is being used to address challenges and shape the future of their fields.

Lunch (12:00 - 1:00 p.m.)

Take time to network with fellow attendees, continue conversations from the morning networking sessions, and connect with colleagues. 

Interactive labs (1:00 - 3:00 p.m.)

See AI in action through hands-on demonstrations, interactive activities, and discussions. Participants will get a firsthand look at how AI is being used in healthcare and research.

AWS Hands-On Workshop | Room 1007 (1:45 - 4:05 p.m.)

Presenter: Travis Berkeley, Senior Solutions Architect (AWS)
From Bytes to Bench — Best Practices for Life Science Research Agents

Research & Innovation Showcase | Room 1009 (1:45 - 4:00 p.m.)

Student & Research Lightning Talks; 
Posters & Networking

Refreshment Break (3:45 - 4:00 p.m.)

Take time to network with fellow attendees, continue conversations from the morning networking sessions, and connect with colleagues. 

Research & Innovation Showcase | Room 1001 & 1003 (4:00 - 5:00 p.m.)

Presenter: Jen McKay, Chief Medical Information Officer (Google)

Closing remarks & Awards | Room 1001 & 1003 (5:15 - 5:30 p.m.)

One KU AI Showcase
Sept. 24 | 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM
Kansas Union - Woodruff Auditorium & Big 12 Room

Lightning Talks - Woodruff Auditorium (8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.)

A series of short presentations from industry leaders, community organizations, faculty, and researchers from across KU and KUMC. Attendees are welcome to attend individual presentations or stay for the full series. No session registration is required for Thursday, September 24. Attendees are welcome to attend Lightning Talks throughout the day.

The full Lightning Talk schedule is on the next tab. 

Vendor & Community Showcases (8:30 - 11:30 a.m.)

Amazon Web Services, Google, Dell, KC AI Club (Doug Hohulin & Blake Hodgson), AI Collective (Scott Holsman), SalesForce (Brad Patterson), KU Medical Center technology partners TBD.

Lunch - On your own (11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)

Vendor & Community Showcases (12:00 - 3:00 p.m.)

Flexible Learning through Innovations in Technology & Education (FLITE), Virtual reality Opportunity to Integrate Social Skills (VOISS), KU Medical Center, Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL), Institute for Information Sciences (I2S), Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), Institute for Policy & Social Research (IPSR). 

One KU AI Showcase - Lightning Talks
Sept. 24 | 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM
Kansas Union - Woodruff Auditorium

Lightning Talk 1: Amazon Quick -- Easily Create and Share AI-powered Insights into Your Data (AWS) | 8:30 - 9:00 a.m.

Presenter: Travis Berkley, AWS
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Description: A live demo of Amazon Quick, an AI-powered work companion that puts research and data analytics at your fingertips. Connect your datasets, run SQL queries, build interactive visualizations, and generate publication-ready reports — all through natural conversation. See how Quick turns complex data workflows into simple prompts, helping researchers and analysts move from raw data to insight in minutes.

Lightning Talk 2: Your AI Strategy Is Only as Good as Its Context | 9:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Presenter: Brad Patterson, Salesforce
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Description: Generative AI can produce an answer, but universities need AI that understands the institutional context surrounding the question, including data, permissions, processes, and people. This session explores why trusted context is becoming the foundation for moving AI from isolated experimentation to meaningful institutional action, and how emerging approaches like Salesforce and Anthropic's Claudeforce partnership are connecting advanced AI reasoning with governed enterprise data and workflows.

Lightning Talk 3: Adopt Does Not Equal Adapt: AI Lessons From Real Businesses | 9:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Presenter: Scott Holsman, AI Works HQ
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Email:scotth@nextlevelperformers.com
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottholsman/ 
Description: Buying the tools is the easy part. A field report on where AI rollouts go right, where they go wrong, and what separates the two.

Lightning Talk 4: Enterprise AI in the Age of Agent Teams | 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.

Presenter: Jeff Danley, AI Strategy lead, Burns & McDonnell 
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Email:jeff.danley@gmail.com 
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffdanley/ 
Description: Most enterprise AI programs are still celebrating licenses deployed and employees trained; Jeff Danley, Innovation Development Director at Burns & McDonnell and author of AI-First, shows what comes next: real teams of AI agents doing defined work, with verification built into the architecture and humans validating outputs. Drawing on his own daily operating model and a proven workflow decomposition method, he clarifies what it means to move from AI-adjacent to AI-first.

Lightning Talk 5: US Gov HHS ACL Caregiver AI Prize Challenge - Frances.Care an AI Caregiving Chief of Staff Agent | 10:30- 11:00 a.m.

Presenter: Doug Hohulin, Exceptional Blueprint Consulting & KC AI Club Board
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Email:doug.hohulin@gmail.com 
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/doughohulin/ 
Description: Using AI and real-time wearable telemetry (IoT Devices via Home Assistant) to answer: Is my loved one safe? Happy?  What actions will maximize health over the next minute, hour, day, and year, and how do we coordinate care so nothing is missed? 

Lightning Talk 6: AI Blueprint for Success | 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Presenter: Matt McKenna, Dell
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Description: Dell Technologies on the hardware and infrastructure behind AI.

Lightning Talk 7: Designing AI-Powered Robot Tutors for Elementary School Students  | 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Presenter: Sarah Sebo, I2S 
Location: Alderson Room 
Description: Social robots provide a unique opportunity for elementary students to receive one-on-one, personalized instruction that actively engages students, as opposed to a more passive screen-based interaction. This talk presents research on how AI-powered robot tutors can be designed to effectively support children's learning across reading and social-emotional skills. 

Lightning Talk 8: No Cloud Required: Building AI Systems That Remember and Deploy Themselves | 12:00 - 12:30 p.m.

Presenter: Blake Hodgson
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Email:blake@kcproto.com 
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-hodgson-39b1198/ 
Description: Two things stop most AI projects: the context disappears when you close the chat, and the prototype never leaves your laptop. This talk walks through a self-hosted system built to solve both. Every local research session becomes durable, searchable knowledge. That knowledge feeds directly into building and deploying real production applications, and an automated watchdog monitors and repairs them once they are running. The result is a compounding loop where research feeds construction and what breaks in production feeds back into research. No cloud accounts required, and no data leaves the building. 

Lightning Talk 9: Using AI to Code Job Ads at Scale | 12:00 - 12:30 p.m.

Presenter: Whitney Onasch, Institute for Policy & Social Research (IPSR)
Location: Alderson Room
Description: Use large language models to classify nearly 200,000 science and engineering job ads for signals that employers require or value postdoctoral research experience. We use LLM coding to transform unstructured text into analyzable data, with attention to prompt design, validation against human coders, and the substantive question of whether postdocs are a valuable credential in the private job market or a costly detour for junior scientists.

Lightning Talk 10: Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL) | 12:30 - 1:00 p.m.

Presenter: James Basham, CIDDL
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
TBD

Lightning Talk 11: Designing AI That People Actually Need | 12:30 - 1:00 p.m.

Presenter: Amber Rowland, Associate research professor at KU's Center for Research on Learning and co-director of its Advanced Learning Technologies (ALTEC) division
Location: Alderson Room
Description: Too many AI tools are built around what technology can do rather than what people need. This lightning talk explores how our research team partners with educators, students, families, and other users to co-design AI innovations that are relevant, effective, and ready for real-world use.

Lightning Talk 12: KU/KUMC AI Support | 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Presenter: Sushant Govindan, Vice Chair of Internal Medicine
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
TBD

Lightning Talk 13: Beyond the Score: Using AI to Support Writing Development | 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Presenter: Sean Smith, Professor of Special Education (KU)
Location: Alderson Room
Description: Writing assessment can do more than produce a score; it can provide information that helps students understand what to improve next. This presentation will highlight AI-SCORE as one example of how AI can connect assessment with timely feedback, instructional decision making, and continued writing development.

Lightning Talk 14: Challenges and Considerations for Integrating AI in Universities like KU | 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Presenter: Rick Ginsberg, KU Professor
Location: Woodruff Auditorium
Email:ginsberg@ku.edu 
The presentation and discussion will center on issues impacting integrating AI into teaching, learning, assessment, and research at universities, and some ideas and strategies for moving forward.

Lightning Talk 15: Reading the Signals: Biosensors, AI, and Teacher Self-Regulation | 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Presenter: Melanie Farmer, MPH & KU
Location: Alderson Room