Duke University hosted the Triangle AI Summit on May 30, spotlighting AI’s role across industries and academia.
The event pulled in about 450 in-person attendees and 160 online. Provost Alec Gallimore opened with a call for collaboration.
“We know that dialogue and collaboration are the way forward in charting our future with AI,” Gallimore said during opening remarks.
Faculty from all Duke schools shared research. Duke is backing AI projects with campus-wide initiatives, including free ChatGPT-4o access for undergrads through an OpenAI pilot.
Keynote by New York Times tech reporter Cade Metz and four panels tackled AI’s societal effects, scientific innovation, and education impacts.
The summit highlighted both AI’s promise and its risks. Duke Health’s Nicoleta Economou-Zavlanos detailed AI detecting strokes better than doctors and easing clinician burnout with ambient tech that transcribes talks.
Brinnae Bent from Duke Engineering showed off an AI-powered device helping patients with neurological diseases regain mobility.
“Thousands of people all over the United States use this now to walk their daughter down the aisle, or run with their grandkids again,” Bent said.
Bent also flagged dangers like deepfake porn targeting teens and biased AI policing. Vice provost Yakut Gazi noted AI’s disproportionate effect on women in the workforce.
Panelists agreed AI won’t replace humans anytime soon. Bent pointed to Klarna’s bot-driven customer service cuts that tanked its valuation by $40 billion. Metz stressed AI’s gaps.
“There are so many things that we do that these systems do not. We’re just good at dealing with the chaos, the unexpected that comes up in our daily lives,” Metz said. “Machines are not as good at that. They’re good at recognizing patterns.”
Misinformation fueled by AI “hallucinations” got mention from computer science professor Chris Bail. Duke’s Jun Yang warned about blind trust in AI among students.
“As an educator, I’m really worried about our next generation that is growing up in this world where AI is omnipresent. They just have this unfounded trust in these AI models.”
Students stressed education must evolve.
“Pandora’s box is open. It’s not something we could ever take back. It’s about evolving and shifting the education system,” Duke sophomore Dara Ajiboy said.
Duke will expand AI leadership and community engagement this fall. Visit ai.duke.edu for details.
