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Welcome to the AI@Colby site, your dynamic resource for artificial intelligence at Colby College.
Developed through a collaboration among the Academic Technology Services, the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the Library, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Writing Department, this site supports the Colby community in exploring and using AI in human-centered and ethical ways.
Here, you'll find:
Institutional guidelines, available tools, and curated resources for AI.
Upcoming events and the latest AI news from across campus.
Colby College is committed to responsibly using and developing generative artificial intelligence tools. We believe that generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we live, work, and learn, and we are excited to use it in ways that benefit teaching, learning, and staff workflows. We are also aware of the risks that generative AI systems may cause. It is our goal to use and develop human-centered generative AI systems that result in fair, relevant, and meaningful learning experiences.
Support
Support
Troubleshooting, access issues, or information security: ITS Support Center or support@colby.edu
Academic setup, operational guidance, or consultation: Academic Technology Services or teched@colby.edu
Advanced academic or research-related support: Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence or davisai@colby.edu
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the branch of computer science focused on making intelligent machines. There is no single, simple definition of AI due to its wide range of capabilities. AI systems can learn from data, reason, make decisions, and have a perception and a form of language comprehension. AI systems leverage a broad range of computational techniques, including machine learning, neural networks, natural language processing, and computer vision.
A Synergistic Ecosystem
The combination of big data, ICT advancements, high-speed computing, and neural networks has created a synergistic ecosystem that drives AI. For example:
Big Data: Enables models to be trained with diverse and representative datasets.
ICT Infrastructure and High-Speed Computing: Facilitates real-time data exchange and processing across networks and reduces the time required for training AI models, enabling rapid experimentation and development.
Neural Networks: Enhance AI's ability to understand and replicate human-like intelligence.
Big Data
AI relies heavily on large volumes of data, often referred to as "big data," which serves as the foundation for training algorithms and improving their performance. The availability of vast, structured, and unstructured datasets, collected from sensors, websites, transactions, and social media, has significantly advanced AI. For instance, models like neural networks learn to recognize patterns and make predictions by analyzing this data.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
Rapid advancements in ICT and the development of high-performance or advanced computing have been crucial in enabling modern AI. ICT provides the infrastructure for collecting, transmitting, and storing massive datasets, while fast computers equipped with powerful GPUs and TPUs accelerate the computationally intensive training of AI models. Cloud computing further democratizes access to AI tools, allowing organizations of all sizes to deploy AI applications.
Neural Networks
Serving as the backbone of AI, neural networks – inspired by the structure and functioning of the human brain – are a key component of AI. They consist of layers of interconnected nodes (neurons) that process and transmit information. Deep learning, a subset of machine learning, uses deep neural networks with many layers to solve complex problems such as image recognition, natural language processing, and autonomous driving. These networks excel at identifying intricate patterns and relationships in data, making them highly effective for a wide range of applications.
What is Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI)
What is Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI)
Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is a type of artificial intelligence that “generates” new content (like text, images, or music) based on patterns learned from vast amounts of training data. It uses algorithms to generate outputs that resemble the original data but are new and unique, often mimicking human creativity.
A Large Language Model (LLM) is an advanced type of artificial intelligence based on complex statistical models originally designed for machine transcription and translation. LLMs are “trained” on vast amounts of data to enable them to predict a probable sequence of words in response to a prompt and produce coherent, contextually-relevant responses.
LLMs and generative AI are closely related because LLMs are a specific type of generative AI. Essentially, LLMs are the language-focused subset of generative AI, utilizing large datasets to generate relevant and contextually appropriate text responses.
Latest Events and Opportunities
Latest Events and Opportunities
Writing Pedagogy Lunch: Helping Students Balance Generative AI Use, Writing, & Critical Thinking
Research has started to show there are cognitive costs to high levels of generative AI use, particularly for students’ writing and critical thinking abilities. How can faculty decide whether and when to integrate generative AI tools into their classes? This workshop will briefly discuss recent research and provide a framework for thinking about how to maintain cognitive engagement and generative AI tool use for writing and critical thinking.
Facilitator: Stacey Sheriff (Writing Dept.)
Date: Wednesday, March 11
Time: 12:00-1:00pm (It’s okay to arrive a little late/leave early for your class!)
Location:Robins Room – Roberts Building
Registration (includes buffet lunch): https://forms.gle/Mq8oADoJNnQDtvNa9
Colby Sponsors: Writing Department
For questions, contact Stacey Sheriff (ssheriff@colby.edu)
Center for Teaching and Learning & Davis Institute for AI – Share a Little, Learn a Lot: Teaching in the Age of AI (Roundtable)
Whether you’re incorporating AI into your curriculum, adapting pre-existing assignments, or not sure what the best routes for your classes are, your perspective is essential to cultivating community wisdom around AI at Colby. Join your colleagues for a casual roundtable to talk about what’s on your mind. Share a little, learn a lot. No preparation required.
Dates, Times, Location
Wednesday, March 18, 12-1pm, Hurd Room (Roberts 111C) – Lunch provided!
Thursday, April 2, 12-1pm, Camp Room (Dana 044) – Lunch provided!
Sponsors: Center for Teaching and Learning & Davis Institute for AI
For questions contact: Jordan Troisi (jdtroisi@colby.edu) or Ryan Bloom (ebloom@colby.edu)
[DavisAI] March MuleChat Theme: AI & Society
Living in a world where our works are constantly assessed against grades, leaderboard, KPIs, etc., we are often reduced to dominant criteria that presumes a singular narrative of “success”. Alongside this narrative, the emergence of AI offers a shortcut for fast answers, with the potential to accelerate conventional achievements at the risk of jeopardizing independent thinking, judgement, and active engagement with our surroundings.
Drawing inspiration from neuroscience concepts of hollowed/fortified mind and social theories such as Foucault’s “panopticon,” this MuleChat session will engage you in simulations that make explicit the scenario of being assessed and interacting without pondering. Through these exercises, we will experience and reflect on the shifts in our behavior and thinking patterns under such conditions. Some questions to reflect upon include:
How does interaction differ when engaging with audiences that “hear” versus those that do not?
How do our behaviors shift when we are consciously observed or assessed?
Does AI stifle our perspectives or widen our understanding of the world?
What implications for an AI-integrated society can we draw from this experience?
By participating in a series of interrogation and defense tasks, we hope to inspire reflections on how we live together in an atomized and digital world, with a vision to incentivize nourishment of critical thinking necessary to navigate through this radical transformation.
Looking Ahead: To analyze and engage with the tangible world, DavisAI and the Statistics Department will co-host the 2026 DataFest, where data literate and critical minds can collaboratively diagnose and propose solutions to concrete social challenges. Sharpen your critical eye in March, and apply it to the real world in April!!
[DavisAI] Interdisciplinary Summer Bridges Program
DavisAI Interdisciplinary Summer Bridges Program is now live on Handshake and accepting applications! It is a paid eight-week program where students can learn AI fundamentals during phase one and turn ideas into practice during phase two.
No coding experience required! All majors & year levels up to juniors are welcomed!
Application Deadline: Monday, March 16, 2026
Contact: DavisAI at davisaiadmin@colby.edu
[DavisAI] Call for work: Journal of Writing With and About AI
The Journal of Writing With and About AI (JWAI), is an annual online journal published by the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Colby College (DavisAI).
JWAI’s mission is to engage the Colby community in critical AI literacy through creative and scholarly writing. Published by DavisAI, the journal features works that investigate and examine the changing natures of human-machine interactions through experimentation and critical reflection.
Colby College students, staff, and faculty are welcome to submit to our third issue from January 1–May 15, 2026. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Find our full submission guidelines, including how to submit, here.
Contact: DavisAI at davisaiadmin@colby.edu
[DavisAI] Elevate Your AI Skills this January and Spring with MuleChat!
Whether you’re curious, skeptical, or ready to build, join us for a personalized, one-on-one MuleChat session. This is a judgment-free zone designed for you to test the waters, explore new ideas, and understand both the potential and limitations of AI tools in a low-pressure setting. No question is too basic or too advanced—we will meet you wherever you are!
January and Spring 2026 Semester Focus:
January — New Year, New Skills: Build Your AI Learning Partner: Create your own custom AI assistant to boost your learning!
February — Art & Algorithms: Unpack the ethical and technical intricacies of AI-generated art.
March — AI x Data Science: Navigate efficient workflow chains and the limitations of AI-backed data analysis.
April — Poetry & AI: Dig into the technical limitations and creative opportunities of using generative AI in a poetic practice.
May — To Summer & Beyond: Explore AI after Colby and over the summer—what will you create?
Ready to make AI work for you?
Sign up HERE or scan the QR code in the poster.
Note: After filling out the brief form to share your interests, you will find a link on the confirmation page to select your desired appointment time.
Contact: DavisAI at davisaiadmin@colby.edu
Latest News
Latest News
Colby Meets the AI Moment in 2025
Colby Meets the AI Moment in 2025
In the fast-evolving world of artificial intelligence, 2025 was characterized by a shift from pure experimentation to the scaling of practical, advanced AI systems. At Colby, the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence met the moment. Here are highlights of our most popular stories about AI. Learn more
Gemini and NotebookLM are now available for the Colby Community
Gemini and NotebookLM are now available for the Colby Community
Two Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools – Google Gemini and NotebookLM – are available for all faculty, students, and staff using your colby.edu account. Learn more
We're frequently updating new content , and collaboration is always welcomed! If you have any questions, feedback, or corrections regarding the information provided, please contact Academic Technology Services at teched@colby.edu to get in touch.
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