USC Libraries & The Ahmanson Labs' February AI Meetup demonstrated the growing interdisciplinary interest in artificial intelligence across campus. The meetup once again brought a diverse group of thought to the table.

Cross-Disciplinary Connections 

The February meetup showcased USC's diverse AI community, with participants representing multiple areas:

  • Library Sciences: Professionals exploring AI for enhancing programs, services, and ethical teaching methods
  • Computer Science: Graduate students and researchers working on AI development and implementation
  • Psychology and Architecture: researchers exploring AI-powered data analysis and disciplinary applications
  • Fine Arts and Cinema: Curators examining AI's impact on creative programs and services

Tool Exploration and Resources 

A significant focus of the discussion centered on emerging AI tools and their applications via show & tell.

Perplexity Spotlight 

The group explored Perplexity AI capabilities, noting:

  • The new “Deep Research” feature that allegedly scored 21.1% on Humanity's Last Exam
  • Enhancements with DeepSeek R1 and o3 reasoning capabilities
  • Social channel search functionality
  • Personal library integration through “spaces” feature
  • Special access for USC affiliates (available through September 2025)

Other tools discussed included Cursor AI, the "AI Code Editor" that's better than Copilot; Math GPT; NotebookLM.

Academic Integration and Ethics 

As a continuation to the first meetup, Tuesday fostered important discussions about AI in education, including:

  • Ethical implementation of AI in teaching and research environments
  • Balancing AI-enhanced productivity with traditional academic practices
  • Cross-disciplinary approaches to AI ethics and responsibility

Looking Forward 

Future meetup developments will include:

  • Feature articles on AI tools, starting with Perplexity
  • Expansion of the communication infrastructure through Slack 
  • Continued monthly meetups, with the next gathering scheduled for March 18th
  • Enhanced focus on practical applications and ethical considerations

Key Takeaways 

This second meetup reinforced several important themes:

  • The value of bringing together diverse perspectives on AI across academic disciplines
  • The importance of maintaining open dialogue about AI ethics and implementation
  • The need for structured communication channels to support ongoing collaboration
  • The benefit of sharing practical experiences with AI tools across different fields

The February gathering demonstrated the growing momentum of the meetup, with participants actively engaging in meaningful discussions about both the practical applications and ethical dilemmas imposed by AI technologies. The mix of disciplinary knowledge creates a unique environment for exploring AI collaboratively.

Please join us for our next meetup on March 18th, 2-3pm in The Ahmanson Lab.

Stay tuned for Slack channel updates and newsletter features.