For the high-flex option, register in advance. You will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Title:
Rethinking Intelligence in the Age of AI

Abstract:
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly performs cognitive, creative, and behavioral tasks once regarded as human capabilities, scholars and educators face a defining challenge: How should we now understand ‘intelligence’? From the perspective of gifted, creative, and talented studies, this question is especially urgent. Traditional definitions of intelligence, anchored in measurable, performance-based indicators, have long coexisted in tension with more contemporary perspectives emphasizing contextual, developmental, and creative factors. Yet as AI systems demonstrate sophisticated problem solving, pattern recognition, and adaptive behaviors, these polarized frameworks no longer fully capture the evolving landscape.

This presentation argues that the construct of intelligence must be reconsidered in light of AI’s expanding capabilities. Rather than reinforcing binaries between human and AI, scholars and educators must examine how these constructs interact, overlap, and diverge. Doing so requires embracing uncertainty: What aspects of intelligence remain distinctly human? How might human intelligence develop differently alongside different manifestations of AI? How should educational systems cultivate the intellectual qualities that will matter most for children and youth growing in an AI-mediated world? Drawing from emerging research in human-AI interaction, socially assistive technologies, and gifted education, this talk invites all of us to explore new conceptualizations of intelligence that honor both human complexity and technological advancement. Attendees will gain a broadened understanding of intelligence as a dynamic, multifaceted construct, one shaped by creativity, context, and evolving environments. They will leave with deeper insight into how shifts in the meaning of intelligence may influence future trajectories for young learners and the educators who support them.

Bio:
Benna Haas, PhD is the Assistant Director of the Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute (GER²I) and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies at Purdue University. She oversees the Super Saturday Programs (K–8), which offer STEM-focused enrichment experiences for children and youth, and teaches High-Ability pathway courses for pre-service teachers in the College of Education. Her research centers on human–AI interaction, with particular interest in undergraduate students’ perceptions of Socially Assistive Robots used for differentiated instruction. She also examines emerging AI policy across Big Ten Academic Alliance institutions and R1 universities. Recently, she received an internal College of Education grant to expand her work on AI–human interactions and collaborates with the Department of Computer Science on innovative, education-oriented AI projects. She holds a BA in English from Oberlin College, an M.Ed. and M.S.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a PhD in Gifted Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Citation:
Dai, Y., Liu, A., & Lim, C. P. (2023). Reconceptualizing ChatGPT and generative AI as a student-driven innovation in higher education. Procedia CIRP, 119, 84-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2023.05.002