4.15.26 | 10:00am - 11:00am
This is the second in a series of Tech Talks sponsored by the Computer Science Department entitled “AI: Friend and Foe.” It is about the rise of the AI revolution, and the best and worse use of AI chatbots, Agentic Agents and AI powered tools both in academics and in the workplace and the pros and cons of AI. Some of the Pros include the use of AI in early cancer detection, and vaccine research, its productivity gains in the workplace and in scientific research. Cons include LLM bias, hallucinations, the proliferation of misinformation, jobs disruption and cognitive decline from overreliance. A conceptual map, terminology and concepts are included together with, historical context and future trends.
Speaker’s Background
During his forty-year career, Adj. Prof. Wm. D. Chiesl has been responsible for the delivery of enterprise IT solutions to a wide range of Fortune 1000 companies. More recently, for the past five years, he’s taught mathematics and undergraduate computer science courses at Mercer University in Macon where he is also a First-Gen Mentor. He is passionate about helping students succeed in the classroom and also helping to prepare them for success in the workplace. He holds an MS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a BS in Mathematics and Chemistry from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
Prof. Chiesl began his career as a systems programmer and later took on a variety of roles as a business analyst, database designer, IT project manager, entrepreneur and IT consultant and eventually as a director of large-scale systems development division. Half his career has been with national IT consulting firms working with clients over a wide range of industries, including healthcare, financial services, energy management, manufacturing, transportation, telecommunications, and scientific research.
He has held strategic leadership roles in two cybersecurity programs for two multi-billion corporations and lectured about AI origins, practices and future trends. He has taught certification workshops in software development and risk management.