Join us! SCI Open House, Spring 2026
Communication ⧫ Connection ⧫ Community are the three keywords that define the mission of SCI. We seek to educate students and advance scholarship for communication, information and media; to build and sustain relationships; and to contribute to a more peaceful, just, and informed society.
This year, we will focus on the topic of Human-Centered AI. We want to have a thoughtful dialogue about how we can ensure rapid technological shifts around AI serve, rather than overshadow, the well-being of our communities and humanity. The challenge is no longer just technical efficiency, but the ethical integration of AI to expand education and research. With presentations by Dr. Shyam Sundar, a leader in socially responsible AI, we reaffirm our commitment to developing communication frameworks that balance innovation with empathy and public responsibility. In addition to the keynote presentation, attendees can choose to attend a mini-workshop offered by the five SCI Programs. Whether you’re a prospective student, current student, alumnus, stakeholder, or simply curious about the dynamic field of communication and information, this event is for you.
- Date: April 10, 2026 (Friday)
- Time: 4:30-6:00 PM, reception to follow
- Place: Art Building Auditorium & Kuykendall Hall, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Campus Map
- Visitor Parking Options
- Recommended parking in green stalls behind Kennedy Theatre (Just Park Location ID 1303)
- Pay for parking with your mobile phone using JustPark
Mini Workshops
Get a taste of the diverse programs offered by SCI through interactive 20-minute workshops. Choose from one of the following options:
Multimodal Generative AI from a Media Arts Perspective
If an AI generates an image from a prompt, who is the artist? This workshop explores how generative AI tools are transforming creative workflows and challenging traditional ideas of authorship and design in digital media.
- With Patricia Anna Kāwelu Amaral, PhD, Associate Professor
- Program: Communication
- Time: 4:30-4:50 PM
- Place: Kuykendall Hall #209
Are We Able to Love Our Creations? AI and the Human Imagination
We’ll examine how cultural narratives shape our emotional responses to artificial intelligence. Drawing on iconic images—from Frankenstein to Her—participants will match familiar AI stories with underlying themes such as monster, companion, or existential threat. Through discussion and a “Love Spectrum” exercise (Tool → Pet → Child → Partner → God), we will consider whether love is a meaningful or dangerous framework for understanding AI. The session invites reflection on control, responsibility, and vulnerability, asking what it would truly mean to love something we design and direct.
- With Min-Sun Kim, PhD, Professor; Krystyna Aune, PhD, Professor; and Ava Kikut-Stein, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Program: Communicology
- Time: 4:30-4:50 PM
- Place: Kuykendall Hall #210
The Writer’s Remains, Post Generative-AI: An Inquiry into the Essence of Humanity
While Generative AI platforms can do amazing compositional writing work, beyond what most people can do, and like nothing any technological tool could do before, most people also can sense a GenAI writer at work just by reading a sentence or two. The writing is just a bit too smooth. Too clean. Too flat. It works, and communicates the message, but it’s also missing something at its core. Not writerly voice. It has a voice. But it’s something else. This session will aim to determine what that “something” is and why people might be the secret ingredient to the writing process for a long, long time.
- With Brett Oppegaard, PhD, Professor
- Program: Journalism
- Time: 4:30-4:50 PM
- Place: Kuykendall Hall #305
Generative AI: Ingredients and Recipes
We’ll take a lighthearted look at the sources and processes of generative AI systems, how professionals in library and information science integrate them with traditional LIS services, and how generative AI can be used as a tool to explore new, creatively tasty information directions.
- With Rich Gazan, PhD, Professor
- Program: Library and Information Science
- Time: 4:30-4:50 PM
- Place: Kuykendall Hall #207
Deep Listening and Communication for Leadership and Life
Explore the power of deep listening to enhance leadership, foster meaningful connections, and improve communication in professional and personal settings.
- With Maya Soetoro, PhD, Associate Specialist, and Dan Milz, PhD, Associate Professor
- Program: Matsunaga Institute for Peace
- Time: 4:30-4:50 PM
- Place: Kuykendall Hall #307
Presentations
Keynote
Human-Centered AI: Navigating Bias, Promoting Transparency, and Combating Misinformation
Dr. Sundar will explore how human-centered AI can mitigate bias and combat misinformation. The session will focus on the tendency to over-trust AI and what the industry can do to promote trust calibration among users.
S. Shyam Sundar is James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects and the Founder and Co-Director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State. He is Director of the university-wide Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence, an interdisciplinary consortium devoted to the development and application of AI with an emphasis on its social and ethical implications, enhancing social good and mitigating threats posed by its misuse.
S. Shyam Sundar, PhD
SCI Alumni Awards
After the keynote presentation, we will celebrate the outstanding achievements of SCI alumni and unveil this year’s Distinguished Alumni Awardees. Be inspired by the remarkable contributions of our alumni to the fields of communication and information, and witness the recognition of their exemplary work in shaping the future of our society.
- Time: 5:00 to 6:00 pm
- Place: Art Building Auditorium, UH Mānoa
Networking Reception
Unwind and connect with fellow attendees at our reception in the Art building courtyard. This is your chance to mingle with our SCI community, including students who are excited to share highlights from their experiences this year.
- Time: 6:15 pm
- Place: Art Building Courtyard, UH Mānoa
Questions?
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions you have about this exciting open house event.
(808) 956-8881