Bennington College Launches Center for Artificial Intelligence
Bennington College announces the launch of the Bennington Center for Artificial Intelligence (BCAI), a new interdisciplinary initiative devoted to studying artificial intelligence with technical precision and ethical seriousness. It is an academic response to a transformation already underway in education, labor, creativity, and public life.
“Artificial intelligence is embedded in search engines, hiring systems, financial markets, media production, scientific research, and classrooms,” said Darcy Otto, PhD, Director of BCAI and faculty member in Computer Science. “A small number of companies are deploying increasingly powerful systems at global scale, often ahead of sustained public deliberation. We want to educate our students and the public toward greater understanding and ethical use of the technology.”
The Center will begin by focusing on how current Bennington students and faculty learn about and use AI, along with hosting a public speakers series starting this month. The series invites critics, technologists, artists, researchers, and policymakers to campus for thorough discussions on the technology. Sign up online to receive information about these events.
A summer institute, planned for August 2026, will include intensive sessions focused on understanding how AI systems function and how to approach them responsibly, and an inaugural symposium to evaluate AI's cultural, economic, and political implications is planned for the fall.
“We are positioning Bennington as a site of serious debate about AI,” said Otto. "We want to turn the technology from a free-for-all into something much more thoughtful and responsible for students and society.”
Bennington's multidisciplinary and student-driven approach makes it a fitting home for thoughtful evaluation of and leadership in AI.
“AI does not belong to one field. It cuts across all of them,” said Otto. “We need to know who benefits and who bears the costs. And that’s why we need scholars, artists, and scientists to converge in order to guide how it will be used. Bennington is structured to hold these conversations."
More information, visit the Centers & Initiatives page.