Newhouse Launches Program for Staff to Explore Efficiency, Creativity and Innovation Through AI
Madelyn Geyer, Ali Vito and Holly Zahn comprise inaugural Copilot Future Forward Program class.
The Newhouse School has launched a new program for staff members to explore the potential of using artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency, creativity and innovation in the workplace.
The Copilot Future Forward Program begins this semester. Participants will have access to the paid version of Copilot—Microsoft’s version of an AI assistant—and receive hands-on training and resources to incorporate AI tools into their daily tasks.
Three staff members comprise the inaugural class after attending a December 2024 workshop at Newhouse on using AI tools to augment workplace productivity. Dean Mark Lodato selected participants following a call for applications from the Newhouse Office of Research and Creative Activity.
- Madelyn Geyer, content manager (Office of Communications)
- Ali Vito, development and alumni engagement associate
- Holly Zahn, assistant director of special events
The Copilot Future Forward Program seeks to foster a community of AI-savvy professionals who can lead by example within their departments. The program builds on Newhouse’s commitment to provide opportunities to explore the responsible use of artificial intelligence across the entire school community.
Photo Gallery: Newhouse Advanced Media Management Students Explore Cutting-Edge Innovations at Global Tech Show in Las Vegas
Last month, six students from the Newhouse School’s advanced media management (AMM) program traveled to Las Vegas to attend CES, the largest tech and media trade show in the world. As fellows for AMM, the students worked with Advanced Media Professor in Residence Shelly Palmer, a leading voice in the tech industry, to research exhibitors throughout the fall semester.
At the show, they assisted Palmer during his industry client tours and gained valuable insight from his interviews with X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Mark Cuban and other influential media executives. The fellows — Grace DeBoer, Sydney Hvizdvzak, Laura Knaflewski, Aiden Kwen, Niara McIntyre and J.K. Rees — were led by program director Adam Peruta. During their time in Vegas, the students also connected with Newhouse and Syracuse University alumni and other industry professionals at networking events.
CBS News and Stations Partner with Newhouse School to Explore Challenges of Navigating Misinformation, Disinformation
The Jan. 30-31 events mark the start of a new partnership with CBS News and Stations to include collaborative opportunities for students to engage with journalists in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities.
CBS News and Stations is partnering with the Newhouse School to explore the growing challenges of navigating misinformation and disinformation.
Two days of programming that focus on questions about how to discern truth from falsehood begin Jan. 30, when CBS News and Stations journalists will take part in the panel discussion “An Eye on Misinformation and Disinformation.” Among those scheduled to attend are CBS News’ senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang G’06, congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane ’98, reporter Ali Bauman ’15 and CBS News Confirmed executive editor Rhona Tarrant.
The panel discussion and workshop mark the start of a new partnership with CBS News and Stations that will provide more distinctive opportunities for Newhouse students to engage with alumni and learn from leaders in the field. Plans include collaborative content creation with the network and student engagement with CBS News and Stations journalists in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities.
“We are thrilled to work with Newhouse’s talented students and faculty, leveraging this relationship to foster meaningful discussions and prepare future journalists to navigate the complexities of reporting locally, nationally and globally,” said Laurie Orlando, SVP of Talent Strategy and Development, CBS News and Stations.
The collaboration highlights Newhouse’s enduring commitment to excellence in journalism education as the school celebrates its 60th anniversary, Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato said.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Newhouse students to learn from some of the best reporters, editors and producers in the country, starting with our timely and intensive discussions about maintaining journalistic integrity while combatting disinformation,” Lodato said.
“On behalf of Syracuse University, let me express our deep gratitude to the CBS News and Stations team for sharing their time and insights about these critical topics,” he added.
Regina Luttrell, senior associate dean at Newhouse, and Jason Davis, a research professor, will work alongside the CBS News team during the masterclass to help students navigate the tools and techniques available to analyze misinformation and disinformation. The session will include interactive case studies, analysis of real-world examples and a hands-on interactive session where participants learn and apply practical techniques to combat misinformation and disinformation.
The 25 Newhouse students participating in the masterclass have been selected from an application process, which was open to Newhouse juniors, seniors or graduate students. As part of the visit to Newhouse, members of the CBS News and Stations team will also review student reels.
The Rise of Misinformation and AI: Developing Tools to Detect What’s Real and the Impact on Upcoming Elections
With the increase of misinformation and disinformation on the internet and social media, our brains struggle to process what we’re seeing and whether an image, a video clip or a story is real or not.
Faculty members Jenny Stromer-Galley and Jason Davis have studied the trends and created tools to help discern what’s real and what is synthetic when it comes to content posted online and on social media.
Stromer-Galley is an expert in political campaigns and misinformation and is a professor in the School of Information Studies; Davis is an expert on misinformation and disinformation detection. He is a research professor with the Office of Research and Creative Activity in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and is also co-director of the Real Chemistry Emerging Insights Lab.
“Depending on where people are getting their information, the quality and credibility of that information could be quite low,” Stromer-Galley says. “It leaves the public more vulnerable to state actors who are trying to engage in disinformation campaigns or U.S.-based malignant actors who are trying to manipulate the public for their own ends.”
“Our brains have not evolved as fast as the technology, and so we are still as vulnerable as we ever were to the same sorts of approaches at being deceived, intentionally or unintentionally,” Davis says. “With this new digital landscape and digital speed and scale, we need digital tools to help us protect ourselves from ourselves sometimes, and sometimes from that malicious information ecosystem.”
On this “’Cuse Conversation,” Stromer-Galley and Davis offer up tips and tools you can use to help spot misinformation, share advice to help us be better-informed consumers of information and social media, and analyze the latest research on misinformation trends in the upcoming presidential election.