Vermont Business Magazine Saint Michael’s College will host a talk by author and computer scientist Dr. Arvind Narayanan, an expert on Artificial Intelligence (AI), including its value and pitfalls.
Narayanan, a professor at Princeton University, is co-author of the 2024 book AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference, one of Nature's 10 best books of 2024 and one of Forbes's 10 must-read tech books of that same year. The book served as this year’s common read for all Saint Michael’s College first-year students during a time when AI is increasingly prevalent.
AI Snake Oil explains AI’s limits and risks, acknowledging the potential of some AI while also describing the misleading claims about the capabilities of AI and serious harms in how it’s being built, marketed, and used. Ultimately, Narayanan and his co-author, Princeton computer science Ph.D. candidate Sayash Kapoor, aim to help readers make informed decisions about whether and how to use AI at home and in the workplace.
“Our students need foundational knowledge about predictive and generative AI tools in order to make good cost-benefit decisions in their communities and future jobs,” said Professor Kristin Dykstra, Director of the First-Year Seminar program at Saint Michael’s College and Distinguished Scholar in Residence. “Right now, the general public is navigating distorted information about AI tools – the public conversation in recent years has been skewed by the combination of trade secrecy with industry marketing habits. Making ourselves smarter than these tools is our program’s optimistic, essential step toward better serving the common good. AI Snake Oil has been terrific for laying our new groundwork, so that we can discuss A.I. in ever more practical, informed ways.”
Narayanan will explore these and other themes in AI Snake Oil during his talk at Saint Michael’s College on Sept. 11, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the College’s McCarthy Arts Center Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
About Dr. Arvind Narayanan
Narayanan is a professor of computer science and director of the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University. He is the author of two widely used computer science textbooks, as well as the co-author of a newsletter, also called AI Snake Oil, in collaboration with Kapoor. The newsletter is regularly read by 60,000 researchers, policy makers, journalists, and AI enthusiasts. He also led the Princeton Web Transparency and Accountability Project to uncover how companies collect and use people’s personal information. His work was among the first to show how machine learning reflects cultural stereotypes.
Narayanan is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). In 2023, he and Kapoor were named to TIME’s inaugural list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI.
Dr. Narayanan is available for interviews by request on Sept. 11 during the afternoon prior to his talk. Please contact Saint Michael’s College Associate Director of Public Relations Liz Murray at [email protected] to schedule a time with him.
About Saint Michael’s College
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 on principles of social justice and leading lives of purpose and consequence, is a selective, Catholic college just outside Burlington, Vermont, one of the country's best college towns. Located between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain, our closely connected community guarantees housing all four years and delivers an internationally respected liberal arts education, preparing students for fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. Young adults here grow intellectually, socially, and morally, learning to lead with empathy and professionalism, and to be responsible for themselves, each other, and their world.
COLCHESTER, VT – Saint Michael’s College www.smcvt.edu
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