People's Canon for Human Flourishing in the Age of AI |

Caption: Mariia Sukhomlinova, John Bernau, Whittney Barth, and Brady Beard (L to R).

On September 9, 2025 the Center for the Study of Law and Religion  hosted a panel discussion on the topic of artificial intelligence and the humanities. The event featured discussion of the Peoples’ Canon for Human Flourishing in the Age of AI, an interactive digital humanities project led by Center Executive Director Whittney Barth and Director of Digital Scholarship John Bernau. The project aims to collect from the public recommendations of works of literature, academic research, art, or other forms of media that speak in some way to the theme of human flourishing in the age of AI.

Brady Beard, Head of Research and Instruction at Pitts Theology Library, served as a respondent and offered additional insights into the historical development, current role, and prospects of AI as a tool in humanistic inquiry. These remarks were followed by a Q&A discussion with the audience, which was comprised of law school and other graduate students, faculty, and staff. The event was moderated by Emory college student and Woodruff scholar Mariia Sukhomlinova.

The People’s Canon project website is available at https://peoplescanon.ecdsomeka.org/. As of the time of this writing, the project has collected 30 submissions from across the United States and Europe, including 17 books, 5 academic papers, 2 poems, a movie, and an AI-generated Facebook clip.

The People’s Canon project is still collecting submissions. You may recommend a work for inclusion in the project by submitting a short form.

The project is made possible by a seed grant from the Atlanta Interdisciplinary AI Network.