AI in Play Panel

October 14th, 2:30-3:30pm, Mann Library 102

This panel will discuss how artificial intelligence and robotics are incorporated into the entertainment, education, and gaming industries, what designers should be mindful of when creating such technologies, and what potential benefits or challenges could arise from this. 
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The Panelists

Deanna Kocher

Deanna is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at Cornell, where she studies child-robot collaboration. She is particularly passionate about engaging children in design thinking and increasing interest in STEM. Deanna has experience in industry as a mechanical engineer and in design consulting, and is an active maker. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her four legged adventure companion. ​

David Tompkins

David Tompkins is a 2nd Year PhD student in the Cornell Play and Learning Lab studying Human Development. He’s interested in how childhood and development is changing in the face of emerging technologies. Prior to starting grad school, David was an associate brand manager on the Playskool Heroes toy line at the Hasbro toy company, where he worked on toy lines including Marvel Super Hero Adventures, Star Wars Galactic Heroes, and Transformers Rescue Bots.​

Kimberly Williamson

Kimberly is a third-year doctoral student in Information Science at Cornell University. Kimberly earned both a Master of Education in higher education and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University. Before pursuing their doctorate degree, Kimberly worked for ten years in higher education data administration at multiple universities in the US. Kimberly has peer-reviewed publications in the areas of learning analytics and educational data mining exploring the best ways to communicate educational data to higher education decision-makers. Kimberly is currently a Data Science Fellow for the Cornell Center for Social Sciences, where they will be providing data consultations to the Cornell community.

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The Moderator

Dr. Guy Hoffman

Guy Hoffman is Associate Professor and the Mills Family Faculty Fellow in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. He heads the Human-Robot Collaboration and Companionship (HRC²) group, studying the algorithms, interaction patterns, and designs enabling the co-existence of people and personal robots in the workplace and at home.