AI and Human Innovation Initiative
A university-wide initiative to address AI with a humanities and fine arts approach.
UND's AI and Human Innovation Initiative brings an arts and humanities perspective to inquiry regarding AI's potential promise and peril, and its broader implications for society and culture. To nurture ethical and equitable AI use and development, the initiative advocates challenging and exploring AI's application through insights grounded in the arts and humanities.
It explores interdisciplinary AI application, creative pursuit, critical inquiry, and pedagogy; its ethos rests on the knowledge that AI impacts all human endeavors and that humanistic perspectives must inform the advance of this technology.
AI and Human Innovation Showcase
The University of North Dakota’s AI and Human Innovation Initiative is excited to announce its second annual AI and Human Innovation Showcase to be held at UND on March 20, 2026. Proposals are sought for projects which feature new and developing models for how AI can be used to partner with human thought and endeavors in classroom activities, research, creative activities and community projects.
Early Bird registrations made by March 2, 2026 will include a free lunch.
Call for Proposals
Please use the proposal link below to submit your project for consideration. We are particularly interested in projects that focus on the partnership of AI and Human Innovation to enhance or initiate:
- Human connection and/or the articulation of the human experience
- Social impact or community change
- Creative endeavors
- Interdisciplinary problem-solving
- Improved understanding of the human -AI interface
Projects can be at any stage of development from conceptual to fully implemented. Please indicate if AI is used to create the proposal or any part of the presentation. We seek to showcase a balance of disciplines and project types, and welcome submissions from faculty, staff, community members, and students. Presenters must attend the showcase and present in person.
We welcome submissions from:
- Teaching/pedagogical initiatives
- Research/scholarly activities projects
- Creative endeavors
- Community-related or outreach projects or programs
- “Town and gown” collaborations
- Interdisciplinary or cross-institutional projects
Media
In 2025, UND hosted its first AI and Human Innovation Showcase, spotlighting how artificial intelligence is being used creatively and critically across campus. With a keynote, panel, and over 25 student and faculty presentations, the event celebrated interdisciplinary work that connects AI with the arts, humanities, research, and human experience. It was a vibrant platform for discovery, dialogue, and collaboration around the promise and challenges of AI. Media coverage from the event can be found below.
- UND Today: AI and Human Innovation Showcase
- WDAY Radio: AI and Human Innovation Showcase
UND AI and Human Innovation Team
- Emily Cherry Oliver, Co-Director
- Anna Kinney, Co-Director