About
Language is at the center of what it means to be human, and texts are at the center of humanities scholarship. And, while high-powered algorithms for processing quantitative information have been around for decades, when AI began to read, manipulate, and generate text using large language models (LLMs), the world took notice. Generative AI thrives on texts—texts that it can consume, transform, and even create. As humans, we are today confronted with a new and unprecedented ecosystem in which we must determine the meaning of texts and grapple with who (or what) has the authority to interpret them.
A Canon for Human Flourishing in the Age of AI will address pressing questions related to the construction of self, community, and institutions in a rapidly changing world shaped by AI. The volume will engage with both humanities texts as primary sources and with humanities methods as lenses through which to view a text’s context, legacy, and implications for the future we share with AI. How has or might AI change our conception of self? Our interactions with others? The functioning and purpose of our institutions? These are the kinds of questions this volume will explore. In placing the enduring texts, traditions, and techniques of the humanities together, we aim to create a unique resource for scholars, students, and members of the public who seek to cultivate a humanities-informed perspective to contemporary developments in AI.
We need your help!
"Canons" are sites of contestation and conversation. "The People's Canon for Human Flourishing in the Age of AI," is a resource compiled from responses from members of the public about which works should be included in this new and emerging canon. Your submissions and recommendations will form an important part of this project!
What kind of texts are we looking for? We welcome any and all submissions that offer a unique perspective on human flourishing and its relationship to technology. The People's Canon is especially focused on enduring works in the humanities that have something to add to our contemporary conversation on AI, but are not necessarily about AI.
For questions about the project, please contact Whittney Barth at whittney.barth@emory.edu or John Bernau at john.bernau@emory.edu.