Human Centered
Intelligence:
in the Age of AI
Symposium Details
Date: Monday, April 27, 2026.
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Location: BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC), Rice University.
Register for the Symposium
Symposium Purpose
The 2026 Digital Learning Symposium is a full-day, mid-sized, faculty-centered event designed to advance Rice University’s approach to teaching and learning in the age of AI. The symposium foregrounds Human-Centered Intelligence in Teaching and Learning, positioning AI as a tool that supports, rather than replaces, human judgment, creativity, ethics, and pedagogical relationships.
Why Attend?
Practical Artifacts
Leave with a refined syllabus statement or an AI-supported assignment ready for use.
Ethical Clarity
Gain actionable guidance on responsible approaches in your class: co-design and develop shared language, guidance, and guardrails.
Community
Build relationships with cross-disciplinary peers and students to sustain this work year-round.
Tentative Schedule
Keynote and Plenary Workshop Facilitator
José Antonio Bowen
José Antonio Bowen has been leading innovation and change for over 40 years at Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southampton (UK), as a dean at Miami University and SMU and as President of Goucher College. Bowen has worked as a musician with Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, and many others and his symphony was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music (1985). Bowen holds four degrees from Stanford and has written over 100 scholarly articles and books, Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (2024, Johns Hopkins University Press), the Cambridge Companion to Conducting (2003), Teaching Naked (2012 and the winner of the Ness Award for Best Book on Higher Education), Teaching Naked Techniques with G. Edward Watson (2017) and Teaching Change: How to Develop Independent Thinkers using Relationships, Resilience and Reflection (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021). Bowen has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and has three TED talks. Stanford honored him as a Distinguished AlumniScholar (2010) and he has presented keynotes and workshops at more than 300 campuses and conferences 46 states and 17 countries around the world. In 2018, he was awarded the Ernest L. Boyer Award (for significant contributions to American higher education). He is a senior fellow for the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
AI Symposium Planning Committee Members
University-wide Input and Suggestion Form
Please submit ideas, suggestions, or feedback to the Symposium Planning Committee. We are seeking your input on potential keynote speakers, panel topics, or specific session ideas that align with our Human-Centered Intelligence theme.
Submit IdeasThe committee is organized into the following four active working groups to help shape the event:
- Keynote & Faculty Panels: Focusing on the morning sessions, including the keynote address and disciplinary faculty talking panels.
- Workshops & Hands-on Activities: Designing interactive afternoon sessions where attendees can create practical teaching artifacts.
- Contributor Shortlist: Managing the recruitment and framing of internal and external speakers.
- Student Programming: Organizing student-inclusive elements such as poster sessions, hackathons, and student panels.