{"id":241021,"date":"2026-02-19T07:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=241021"},"modified":"2026-02-19T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T18:05:50","slug":"uconn-humanities-panel-explores-the-future-of-ai-and-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/02\/uconn-humanities-panel-explores-the-future-of-ai-and-work\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Humanities Panel Explores the Future of AI and Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

With millions of people now using generative AI to\u00a0complete tasks both large and small, there\u00a0is considerable anxiety about how this technology will\u00a0impact\u00a0the future of work. Are jobs now at risk because of AI?\u00a0What is the right approach to integrating AI into the workplace \u2013 optimism or skepticism?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent panel, co-sponsored by the UConn Humanities Institute (UCHI) and the University of Connecticut Professional Employees Association (UCPEA) union,\u00a0sought\u00a0to answer the looming question: \u201cWill AI Replace Us?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The panel brought together three speakers with experts in various dimensions of technology and AI.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sachin S. Pandya, the Roger Sherman Professor of Law at the UConn School of Law,\u00a0spoke from his perspective as a legal expert. Pandya researches the\u00a0use of computational tools in legal settings, as well as US work and anti-discrimination law. In his opening remarks,\u00a0he discussed ways in which various US states are proactively tackling issues of AI and work.\u00a0New York, for instance, passed a\u00a02025 law protecting civil servants\u2019 employment rights (ensuring they\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0be replaced by AI) for at least three years. On the\u00a0flip side, Montana\u00a0passed a \u201cRight to Compute\u201d statute which limits the government\u2019s ability to regulate AI use by private individuals and businesses.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pandya\u2019s examples highlight how political questions (what is more important\u00a0\u2013\u00a0protecting\u00a0the public\u2019s safety and security, or individual freedom?) are already shaping the legal landscape in which AI is flourishing.\u00a0Decisions we make now will\u00a0determine\u00a0exactly how, and to what degree, AI intertwines with our lives in the coming years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Roger Sherman Professor of Law at UConn Law Sachin Pandya speaks during the “Will AI Replace Us?” panel in Konover Auditorium of the Dodd Center for Human Rights on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Sydney Herdle\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to this issue, state Sen. James Maroney arrived virtually to the panel, fresh from attending Gov. Ned Lamont\u2019s address at the start of the 2026 legislative session. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0thinking about this question [\u2018Will AI Replace Us?\u2019] in terms of the state of Connecticut,\u201d said Maroney, adding that his office is focused on putting protections\u00a0into place for Connecticut residents.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maroney, whose work on tech legislation has been recognized nationally,\u00a0identified\u00a0housing and employment as two areas of particular concern.\u00a0Recently, he shared, landlords and employers alike have been embracing the controversial practice of\u00a0using AI tools to scrape\u00a0external data on prospective tenants and\u00a0employees\u00a0\u2013 oftentimes unbeknownst to the applicants.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that, since so many companies and so many landlords are using these tools, that you have the opportunity to see what it\u2019s based on and correct anything that\u2019s wrong,\u201d said Maroney.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maroney also spoke to\u00a0the employment equity issues raised by AI. For example, he said, the jobs\u00a0currently most threatened by AI \u2013 among them\u00a0administrative assistants and customer service representatives \u2013 tend to be held by women, often women of color.\u00a0They are also\u00a0important\u00a0entry-level positions from which careers can be built, said Maroney.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UConn interim Chief Information Officer Ted Laskaris\u00a0shared his perspective from the Information Technology Services team, where he oversees and coordinates the University\u2019s vast information\u00a0technology system \u2013 all the hardware and software that makes the learning, research, and communication at UConn possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Laskaris emphasized that adapting to changing technology has long been a critical skill in the workplace.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA year from now, if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0doing your job the same way you are today,\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0doing something wrong \u2013 and your\u00a0manager\u2019s\u00a0doing something wrong,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He also\u00a0stressed the opportunities created by AI. Rather than thinking of generative AI as a one-stop-shop that can replace human work, Laskaris said, we should recognize that\u00a0its outputs should be subject to human review. There is still a need for human\u00a0expertise\u00a0to ensure the accuracy and efficacy of AI outputs \u2013 like people to test AI-produced code for quality assurance before it goes out to users.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am not afraid of [AI], and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to cannibalize as much as we think it will,\u201d said Laskaris. \u201cTo the degree that it does, there is so much other work that is going to come from that automation.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second half of the event featured a\u00a0question-and-answer session, with UConn community members\u00a0asking questions about the environmental impact of AI and how\u00a0people\u00a0can work to protect critical-thinking disciplines in the university environment, which\u00a0are\u00a0crucial for fostering AI literacy and responsible use.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The afternoon\u2019s conversation reflected a key theme set out in the introduction by\u00a0UCHI director\u00a0Anna Mae Duane.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Duane, who is a professor of English, pointed out the active voice used in the construction \u201cWill AI Replace Us?\u201d — rather than the passive-voice \u201cWill We Be Replaced by AI?\u201d The wording was intentional, she said; it emphasizes\u00a0agency and avoids the idea \u201cthat we are powerless to decide or shape what work is,\u00a0what it means, and what it\u2019s for.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a moment when we need what universities do, more than ever,\u201d Duane said. \u201cIt will take every one of us to ensure\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0moving forward towards a future that is in alignment with our values.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The \u201cWill AI Replace Us?\u201d\u00a0panel\u00a0was one iteration of a continual series of \u201cAI cafes\u201d hosted by UCHI, building on the Institute\u2019s groundbreaking research into the human dimensions of AI. Learn more\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0UCHI website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Experts offered their responses to the question \u2018Will AI Replace Us?\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":241022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226,2711,2460,2648,2076,1857,2235,2225],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2413],"class_list":["post-241021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas","category-emerging-technology","category-faculty","category-blue-research","category-research","category-law","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-storrs"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 00:53:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241021"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241148,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241021\/revisions\/241148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/241022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241021"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=241021"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=241021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}