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Gen AI Symposium Breakout Sessions

Innovative Use Cases for OperationsKlarman Auditorium

Discover how generative AI is transforming University operations through real-world examples and experiences from three administrative units.  We’ll explore how AI-driven solutions are enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and helping make significant advancements forward in our work.

Ismael Carreras
Associate Dean of Strategic Analysis, Office for the Dean of Administration and Finance, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Sherri Kotosky
Senior Quality Assurance Analyst / Scrum Master, Harvard University Information Technology, Central Administration

Scott Kearney
Senior Software Engineer, Harvard University Information Technology, Central Administration

Dave LaPorte
Senior Director of Integration and Innovation Harvard University Information Technology, Central Administration

Rob Linnaeus
Consultant, Harvard University Information Technology, Central Administration

Rachel Lewellen
Director, AA&D Resources, Alumni Affairs and Development, Central Administration

Caroline Dunbar
Development Coordinator, Harvard College Fund, Alumni Affairs and Development, Central Administration


Teaching with Chatbots: What Changes, What Matters, and What’s at StakeAldrich Room 007 

This session explores how chatbot technologies are transforming teaching and learning, highlighting key pedagogical shifts, essential values, and critical challenges educators face in their integration.

Sharad Goel
Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Leah Plunkett 
HLS Online Executive Director and Associate Dean of Learning Experience and Innovation, Harvard Law School

Adam Rodman
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School


Rethinking Assessments in a GenAI World – Aldrich Room 008

This session explores how to authentically assess student learning in a GenAI-driven world, examining academic integrity, genuine understanding, and innovative evaluation strategies in higher education.

Sue Farrell
Associate Dean for Assessment and Evaluation in the Program in Medical Education and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Andrew Ho
Charles William Eliot Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Marlon Kuzmick
Director of the Learning Lab, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Dan Levy (moderator)
Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School


Using AI to Address Global ChallengesAldrich Room 009

This session will focus on two topics that are having an enormous impact globally – refugee resettlement and climate change solutions. The first focuses on how AI can help give refugees a better start in their new lives by using machine learning models to detect patterns in administrative data to match refugees with communities where they’re most likely to thrive. These models uncover hidden synergies, enabling more personalized, effective placements. 

The second topic focuses on utilizing Large Language Models to analyze financial filings, identifying how firms and industries advance climate solutions. By adopting a business opportunity perspective, products and services that foster the transition to a low-carbon economy, such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and energy efficient equipment and buildings can be explored.

Shirley Lu
Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Elisabeth Paulson
Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School


AI in Communications: Enhancing Healthcare & Data Storytelling Aldrich Room 010

Some of  generative AI’s most powerful and transformative potential lies in communications, In the first presentation of this session, OpenAI’s latest image generation capabilities will be showcased to produce compelling, high-impact visuals directly from research abstracts and raw data. Attendees will learn step-by-step techniques to train and fine-tune a chatbot using custom style guides and decision rules, as well as a curated prompt library.

The second presentation of this session will focus on the rapid increase in patient-initiated emails to their healthcare providers through electronic portals. This research evaluates the potential of AI to manage practitioners’ Inbox messages effectively,  examining its impact on quality, satisfaction, and workflow efficiency, with the goal of informing organizational decisions on AI integration in clinical communication.

Susanna Gallani
Tai Family Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Tim Sanders
Executive Fellow, Digital Data Design Institute, Harvard Business School


Innovative Research ToolsAldrich Room 011

This session will highlight a handful of generative AI tools with broad-based research application across domains.

Kiante Brantley
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Institute Investigator at the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence

Max Shad
Senior Director of AI/ML Research Engineering at the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence

Marinka Zitnik
Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School


Improving Research through Data CurationAldrich Room 012

This session will highlight the impact of data selection and curation on research outcomes across various disciplinary domains.

Melissa Dell
Andrew E. Furer Professor of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Francesca Dominici
Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population, and Data Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative, Central Administration

Stu Snydman
Associate University Librarian, Harvard Library and Managing Director for Library Technology, Harvard University Information Technology, Central Administration


Regulation, Compliance, and Ethics of GenAIAldrich 108

Join us in exploring the evolving regulatory, legal, and ethical landscapes surrounding generative AI technologies, particularly in administrative contexts. Our panel will discuss key considerations and provide resources to help you responsibly leverage AI in your work.

Chris Bebenek
University Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, Central Administration

Nathan Hall
Deputy Chief Information Security and Data Privacy Officer, Harvard University Information Technology, Central Administration

Klara Jelinkova
Vice President and University Chief Information Officer, Central Administration

Matthew Kopec
Program Director and Lecturer, Embedded EthiCS, Faculty of Arts and Sciences


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