About the Breaux Symposium
The annual John Breaux Symposium pushes the boundaries of debate around an aspect of media, politics and public policy. The Symposium aims to harness the expertise and perspectives of individuals hailing from a variety of fields and backgrounds.
2024 John Breaux Symposium: AI in Mass Communication
The 2024 John Breaux Symposium, "AI in Mass Communication," took place on April 16, 2024, in the Manship School's Journalism Building. You can watch the event on the Manship School's YouTube Channel.
The widespread use of artificial intelligence tools is now a reality, including in the communication industry. How are these tools being used? What concerns should we have? How will the industries change? What do practitioners need to know now and why? The 2024 John Breaux Symposium—the Reilly Center’s signature annual event–examines these questions and more.
Panel 1: “AI-Powered Pedagogy: Harnessing the Potential for Teaching and Learning”
- Ginger Guttner, Communications Manager, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
- Henry Hays, LSU Adjunct Instructor, Owner of Henry Hays Consulting & Co-founder of DisruptREADY
- Roy Heidelberg, Ph.D., LSU Associate Professor, E.J. Ourso College of Business
Panel 2: “Real-World Innovators: A Crash Course in AI Communication Practice”
- John Munsell, AI Marketing Strategist, CEO of Bizzuka
- M.P. Wray, J.D., Founder of Top Drawer Strategies
- Jordan Gray, Marketing & Public Affairs Manager, Montgomery Parks
Panel 3: “An AI Experiment: Planning the 2024 John Breaux Symposium"
- Ty'Asia Mahoney, Reilly Center Intern, Moderator
- Savannah Schultes, Reilly Center Intern
- Moumita Roy, Reilly Center Intern
- Tabitha Langley, Reilly Center Intern
- Adamaris Chavez, Reilly Center Intern
Keynote Panel
- Chelsea Sparrow, Culture + Creative Lead, Global Search & AI Team, Microsoft
- Avriel Epps, Ph.D., Computational Social Scientist, Harvard University
- Roy Haggerty, Ph.D., LSU Executive Vice President and Provost
Past Symposia have hosted scholars, journalists, corporate executives, and political and civic leaders. Through keynote speakers, panels and presentations, the intent of the Symposium is to discuss the public’s knowledge about some aspect of our democracy and identify possible actions to increase public awareness and constructive debate.