The University of Georgia hosted its 2026 Charter Lecture on March 25, featuring Elena Karahanna and J. Marshall Shepherd, two Regents’ Professors who discussed the evolving relationship between humans and artificial intelligence as well as the growing risks from global climate change.
The annual lecture is intended to honor the university’s founding ideals by highlighting significant research that addresses urgent global challenges. This year’s event focused on how technological advancement and environmental volatility are shaping society.
During his opening remarks, UGA President Jere W. Morehead congratulated Karahanna and Shepherd, saying “their scholarship is recognized both nationally and internationally as innovative and pace-setting.”
Karahanna traced her research from early desktop computers to current autonomous AI agents. She said that technology adoption has shifted into a co-evolutionary process where humans shape technology while being shaped by it in return. “The question is no longer will we use technology,” Karahanna said. “The question is how do we design systems that shape us in ways we value.” She also described negative aspects of digital connectivity such as exhaustion from constant interruptions, excessive use, and bias in consumer judgment caused by online reviews. Her current work investigates designing AI systems that counteract human bias while preserving collective knowledge processes.
Shepherd spoke about his research on extreme weather events and their impact on supply chains, public health, and national security. He discussed his work demonstrating how urban environments can influence thunderstorms through heat, pollution, and landscape changes—a phenomenon known as the urban rainfall effect—and explained the brown ocean effect where hurricanes maintain strength over land due to water vapor from saturated soils. “Hurricanes are no longer an issue only for Savannah or Tybee Island or St. Marys,” said Shepherd while referencing inland agricultural damage caused by recent storms like Michael and Helene.
Shepherd also described collaborations with organizations such as the U.S. Navy and insurance industry to assess weather-related risk, concluding with a call for proactive resilience strategies using his framework of risk, response, resilience, remembering, and recovery.
Provost Benjamin C. Ayers introduced the speakers at this event hosted by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Since 2020, Regents’ Professors have used this platform to share insights influencing not just academia but also industry policy decisions.
