Osher at Dartmouth

06/11/2026

AI: Too Artificial? Too Intelligent? Too Much Energy?
Dan Reicher, July 22

Dan Reicher has spent his career at the intersection of energy, policy, and technology. He served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, led Google's climate and energy work, co-founded the country's first renewable energy project finance firm, and is currently a Senior Fellow at Dartmouth's own Irving Institute for Energy and Society.

His lecture examines AI from multiple angles: its fast-growing applications, its problematic uses, and — crucially — the massive amounts of energy and water its data centers consume. But Reicher also asks whether AI could become part of the solution, accelerating the clean energy transition by improving how we manage electric grids, industrial systems, and buildings.

Register now for this session or the full six-session series at osher.dartmouth.edu.

06/10/2026

Weekly Newsletter: June 9, 2026 - Meet two more Summer Lecture Series speakers, Michèle Flournoy and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong.

https://mailchi.mp/01740442f392/for-the-curious-5088582

06/01/2026

Available Courses: New Addition to our Summer Term Lineup! - https://mailchi.mp/e3369e595916/for-the-curious-5088537

05/30/2026

Adam Rodman, July 15
Can AI Think Like a Doctor?

Adam Rodman is a practicing internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and the director of AI programs at one of the country's leading academic medical centers. He also leads the effort to integrate AI into Harvard Medical School's curriculum and serves as a visiting researcher at Google DeepMind.

His lecture traces medicine's long relationship with technology — from bedside observation to statistics to computers — and brings that story into the present with an honest, balanced look at what today's medical AI can and cannot do. The session closes with practical guidance: how you, as a patient, can use AI tools to better understand health information, prepare for appointments, and take a more active role in your own care.

Register now for this session or the full six-session series at osher.dartmouth.edu.

https://osher.dartmouth.edu/events_programs/summer_lecture_series/index.php

05/29/2026

What Can the Declaration of Independence Teach Us About Artificial Intelligence?
Brinnae Bent, July 8

Brinnae Bent is a faculty member and engineer at Duke University, where she directs the TRUST Lab and leads initiatives to make AI systems more explainable, ethical, and accessible. She has built machine learning algorithms for some of the world's largest companies and developed tools with real-world medical applications — from helping people walk to monitoring glucose noninvasively.

In her lecture, Dr. Bent uses an unexpected starting point — the Declaration of Independence — to explain how AI systems actually work, why they have the limitations they do, and what timeless questions about truth and legitimacy mean in an age of machine intelligence. No technical background required; this talk is designed for everyone.

Register now for this session or the full six-session series at osher.dartmouth.edu.

https://osher.dartmouth.edu/events_programs/summer_lecture_series/index.php

05/28/2026

Did you know that some Osher at Dartmouth courses take field trips around the Upper Valley?

Gail McPeek and Adair Mulligan's Spring Term course recently spent a morning on Balch Hill. The participants were able to admire the Grafton County champion red oak, and also had great views of Moose Mountain.

It is so special that the biggest red oaks in Grafton County are here in the Upper Valley! Have you even hiked up Balch Hill to see them?

05/27/2026

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-ai.html

The Pope just asked the world: what happens when truth is no longer "self-evident" in the age of AI? 🤔 This summer, Osher at Dartmouth's Summer Lecture Series tackles that same question — How Is Artificial Intelligence Transforming America? — with six remarkable speakers across medicine, ethics, energy, economics, and national security. Wednesdays, July 8 – August 12. Lebanon Opera House + Livestream.

Learn more at https://osher.dartmouth.edu/events_programs/summer_lecture_series/index.php

Marking the 135th anniversary of Rerum novarum, Pope Leo XIV releases his first encyclical, entitled ‘Magnifica humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human ...

05/17/2026

Available Courses 5/15/2026:
🌴Summer Course Registration Opens This Week!🌴

View the Summer Term courses on the website, and start planning for what you want to take! Classes include deep dives into the shortest of short stories, Spanish, emotional intelligence, Mah Jongg, and more!

Registration opens Wednesday, May 20th, 2026!

Term runs June 29 - August 21, 2026. - https://mailchi.mp/b601bfca69cf/for-the-curious-5088480

05/16/2026

We love when our Study Leaders bring in props for their classes!

These specimens are from Study Leader Rob Nawojchik's Spring Term course "Whales, Dolphins, Seals and Sea Lions: Exploring the Biology of Marine Mammals"

Rob draws on his many experiences working with marine mammals when preparing for his classes. His presentations also feature his photographs of marine mammals from around the world.