Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the next James Dolliver National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professors.

For 2022-25, Professors Justin Tiehen (Philosophy) and Ariela Tubert (Philosophy) will jointly hold a Dolliver Professorship, focused on “The Humanities and Artificial Intelligence.” 

The project will cover both work in the Humanities that is about AI, as well as work in the Humanities that makes use of or is otherwise informed by AI.  Topics to be considered include AI-generated music and painting-like images, literary and other texts, and AI ethics, which invokes privacy concerns and algorithmic bias.  The Dolliver seminar for Puget Sound faculty will engage in generative discussions about the ethical, social, and existential issues that arise from AI and the ways that AI can contribute to and enhance work in the Humanities.  “The Humanities and Artificial Intelligence” is aligned with Tiehen and Tubert’s ongoing teaching and research, including a co-written manuscript entitled Robot Existentialism, about the intersection of artificial intelligence and issues of rationality, creation, and value. 

The Dolliver Professorship is a three-year appointment.  In the first summer of the appointment, the chair holders organize a summer seminar for Puget Sound faculty connected with the development or improvement of courses and pedagogy in the Humanities.  The second year of the Dolliver Professorship supports visiting speakers or other programming, and the third year funding can support a visiting faculty member with connections to central themes in the Dolliver Professorship. 

We are fortunate to be able to have a rich and very complementary set of faculty development opportunities to support a large number of colleagues in continued efforts to refresh and enrich coursework and co-curricular engagements for our students. 

Please join me in extending congratulations to Justin and Ariela,

Laura
Laura L. Behling, Ph.D. l Provost and Professor of English