Generative AI has huge potential to affect thought, creativity, and communication, the natural environment, economic and political systems, and social justice and human interactions, but that potential exists alongside substantial risks.Together with concerns about environmental impact, workforce transformation, surveillance, intellectual property, and the non-consensual use of personal data, how AI is adopted, the controls we put in place, and how quickly we can adapt will determine not only the benefits but also how disruptive this period of change will be.
Achieving AI's potential to add to our prosperity, productivity, and quality of life will require human creativity and ideas as well as ethical, political, economic, and environmental reflection.
Bringing together students from all size faculties, this year's Global Engagement Seminar will explore these critical questions through interdisciplinary collaboration and project-based learning. Working with colleagues from other faculties, you will develop projects that engage with the evolving relationship between AI, technology, and society while developing innovative ideas for a more equitable, creative, and human-centred future.
The emphasis is on innovative and collaborative problem-solving with interdisciplinary teams of students, and it will culminate in the 2026 Desmarais Family Summit, where students will share their findings with the UWaterloo community and beyond.