Dr. Aaron Mauro, Associate Professor of Digital Media and Chair of the Department of Digital Humanities at Brock University, has co-designed an innovative humanities-focused undergraduate program in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Drawing on over a decade of expertise in Natural Language Processing (NLP), this interdisciplinary degree equips cultural workers with both critical and technical skills to navigate AI’s transformative potential.

In his Brock Talk, Dr. Mauro will explore his research practice using NLP tools—such as Large Language Models (LLMs) and other Machine Learning techniques—to explore the evolving landscape of literary and cultural scholarship. He will demonstrate how these technologies can illuminate new pathways in analyzing texts, exemplified by his work on the Mapping Ann-Marie McDonald Project, which reimagines approaches to one of Canada’s most celebrated authors. The talk will also showcase RISK, a platform designed to safeguard research teams and data in an era of growing digital vulnerabilities, highlighting strategies for ethical and secure innovation in humanities research.