Beyond the Hype and Fear: Two Seniors Prompt Dialogue on AI

Beyond the Hype and Fear: Two Seniors Prompt Dialogue on AI By Sara Coughlin ’26 As the use of artificial intelligence grows around the globe and on campus, Andrew Mott ’26 and Prathit Kurup ’26 are giving students a place to talk about all things AI. Prathit Kurup ’26 and Andrew Mott ’26 enjoying a break from AI. The duo began discussing AI together during their first year at Bowdoin after ChatGPT was released, and realized that others may want to join the conversation. As a result, they established the AI Impacts Club, a group that meets weekly to discuss AI ethics, current events, tools and uses, and the broader AI landscape. “Our modus operandi is to create a space for students to talk about what’s happening with AI and come to their own conclusions,” Mott said. At Bowdoin, Mott studies English and philosophy while Kurup is majoring in computer science and math. With different interdisciplinary backgrounds, they are able to learn from each other, something they aim to incorporate in the culture of the club as well. “Being at Bowdoin and a liberal arts environment also made me think more deeply about some of the implications of these tools, and I wanted to have conversations about how we might think of AI in the world, not just from a technical standpoint, but from a broader standpoint,” Kurup said. “Our interdisciplinary backgrounds add to the club in that we're having conversations about both the technical and the non-technical side of things,” he added, “and we want ...