"AI Safety for the Global Majority"
Aditya Vashistha
Assistant Professor of Information Science and Director of the Cornell Global AI Initiative, Cornell University

AI safety is often framed around alignment failures, existential risk, or misuse by powerful actors. Yet for much of the world, the risks of AI are far more immediate: misrepresentation, exclusion, stereotyping, and the erosion of dignity. These harms disproportionately affect communities that are already marginalized — including people with disabilities and those in non-Western cultural contexts.

In this talk, I argue that current approaches to AI safety are limited not only in scope but in standpoint. When safety is defined from dominant social and geographic positions, the harms that matter most to marginalized communities become invisible, anecdotal, or secondary. Drawing on case studies from my work with people with disabilities in the US and India, I show how AI systems both promise expanded access and simultaneously reproduce cultural bias, ableism, and structural inequities. I conclude by outlining pathways toward a globally grounded approach to AI safety — one that treats representation, cultural context, and participatory governance as core safety challenges rather than peripheral concerns.

Bio: Dr. Aditya Vashistha is an Assistant Professor of Information Science at Cornell University, where he directs the Cornell Global AI Initiative, a university-wide effort to integrate global perspectives into the design, evaluation, and governance of AI. His research focuses on building and studying AI systems that advance equity for historically marginalized communities, particularly across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. His work has led to widely deployed systems impacting over 300,000 people and has received multiple best paper awards. He is the recipient of the Facebook Access Innovation Prize, Google and Microsoft Faculty Awards, and Cornell's President's and Provost's Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching, and Service. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Washington.

This event will be held in person in G25 Stimson and will also be streamed live over Zoom (registration required). Join us at the LRC or on Zoom.

The event is free and open to the public.

"Including Pronunciation Practice in All Language Classes: Why and How"
LRC Signature Speaker
Anne Violin-Wigent
Associate Professor of French and Director of the Basic Language Instruction Program, Michigan State University

Pronunciation instruction tends not to be included in language classes due to lack of time and/or training. In this presentation, attendees will learn a formula for teaching pronunciation in three simple steps. The presentation focuses on elements of pronunciation linked with meaningful grammatical distinctions. Examples are in/about French but the formula can easily be adapted to other languages. With these activities, in addition to improving their accent, their oral comprehension, and their confidence, students will gain a greater awareness of grammatical structure and use them more accurately (Martin & Jackson, 2016; Violin-Wigent, 2022).

Bio: Dr. Anne Violin-Wigent is an Associate Professor of French at Michigan State University. Her research currently focuses on the effectiveness of explicit instruction in the acquisition of a second language (in particular on the development of pronunciation) and on student retention in language programs past requirements. She has been serving as the French Language Director and Assistant to the Language Director for many years and has taught a wide variety of classes, including History of the French language, Evolution of French Gastronomy, Teaching Methods, and French linguistics and phonetics to name but a few. She has co-authored Sons et Sens: La prononciation du français en contexte, published in 2013 by Georgetown University Press. She is also actively involved in teacher professional development, with the Michigan World Language Association, and in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.

This event will be held in person in G25 Stimson and will also be streamed live over Zoom (registration required). Join us at the LRC or on Zoom.

The event is free and open to the public.

The Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) is excited to hold its inaugural Undergraduate Open House on Thursday, August 27 from 3:30-6:00pm at the Kahin Center (640 Stewart Ave).

This Open House will showcase all the SEA-related opportunities and organizations on campus, including languages, courses, study abroad, arts, internships, research, and student organizations!

We will be having shaved ice, yummy snacks, and fun Southeast Asia-related activities available. Plus, we are offering door prizes every half hour—come for a chance to win 😊

Protecting forests is about much more than protecting trees. It is about people, culture, livelihoods, and understanding the local realities that shape how conservation actually works. Drawing from experiences in different countries, this session will explore what we can learn when research meets practice—and how universities, communities, governments, and conservation organizations can work together to turn knowledge into action. Rather than a traditional presentation, this will be an open and interactive conversation about what works, what does not, and where new opportunities for collaboration can emerge.

Santiago Garcia is Director of Forest Partnerships at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). He has more than 20 years of experience working on forest conservation and climate action across different regions of the world, bringing together governments, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, researchers, and conservation organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in Conservation Leadership from Colorado State University. He is also a Regional Affiliate Scholar with the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Cornell University’s Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, where he continues to collaborate on research and initiatives connecting conservation, people, and policy.

Speaker: Xiao Hai

Title: Adrift in the South: Life and Art in China's Factories

Abstract: Forthcoming

Title: Strange Marriages, Painted Skins, and Ghost Writers: Japanese Responses to Pu Songling from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century

Speaker: William Fleming, UC Santa Barbara

Abstract: Through an examination of Japanese translations, adaptations, and imitations of Pu Songling from four distinct historical eras spanning three centuries, this talk traces shifting attitudes not only toward this major author and his work, but toward fiction and translation more broadly.

Speaker's Bio: William Fleming specializes in early modern Japanese literature. His primary research interests include eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fiction, popular theater, book history, and literary and cultural exchange with China and the West; his recent monograph examines aspects of the importation, circulation, reading, and adaptation of Chinese fiction in early modern Japan. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Harvard University and has spent time as a visiting researcher at Kyoto University, Waseda University, and the National Institute of Japanese Literature in Tokyo. Before joining the faculty at UCSB, he taught in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Theater Studies Program at Yale University.

About East Asia Program

As Cornell’s hub for research, teaching, and engagement with East Asia, the East Asia Program (EAP) serves as a forum for the interdisciplinary study of historical and contemporary East Asia. The program draws its membership of over 45 core faculty and numerous affiliated faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from eight of Cornell’s 12 schools and colleges.

Kickstart your international career at Global Careers Week!

This week of events is an opportunity for Cornell students of all levels and nationalities to meet employers from around the globe, hear from alumni working abroad, and learn about the process of finding job and internship opportunities outside of the U.S.

View the full schedule, and register for sessions through Handshake.

Hosted by the Cornell Career Network and co-sponsored by Global Cornell.

The Einaudi Center's Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) is sponsoring this event series on the contemporary crisis in Cuba, in collaboration with Cornell's Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR). The on-campus events will take place in Willard Straight Hall.

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4:30-5:45: Lecture by Eric Hershberg, followed by community discussion

Cuba’s Multidimensional Crisis and Donald Trump’s (Marco Rubio’s…) Revival of the Monroe Doctrine

Eric Hershberg is Professor Emeritus of Latin American Studies and Political Science at American University in Washington, where he was inaugural director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies. Previously, he has been a visiting professor or researcher at Simon Fraser University, Columbia University, NYU, New School, Princeton University, and Southern Illinois University. Between 1990 and 2006 he was Director for Latin America at the Social Science Research Council, in New York, and was president of the Latin American Studies Association between 2007 and 2009. His most recent publications include "North American Regionalism: Stagnation, Decline or Renewal?" (co-edited with Tom Long; University of New Mexico Press), translated and published by the Colegio de México under the title "“El regionalismo en America del Norte: ¿estancamiento, declive, o renovación?,” and “Cuba: Regime Resilience Amidst Economic Collapse,” co-authored with William M. LeoGrande, Revista de Ciencia Politica. Vol. 45, No. 22, pp. 229-256 (2025).

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6:00-7:15: Dance workshop

From Changüí to Son Cubano: The Roots of Salsa

This fun and interactive class will explore the evolution of Cuban musical and dance traditions and their influence on popular, contemporary rhythms such as salsa.

Adolfo Castillo Duvergel began his professional career in 2008 as a dancer in the company of musical shows of the Provincial Music Center of Guantánamo. He was a member of the Babul Folkloric Ballet company in the province of Guantánamo and served as a dance specialist in the Provincial Music Center. In 2019, he began to work as a dancer in the Soldance Company in the province of Matanzas and as a teacher of Folkloric and General Dances at the Professional School of Dance of that province. In 2021, he created the DanSaril project that brought together dancers with the aim of exchanging experience and experimenting with dance creation and artistic expression on stage while cultivating the value of cultural traditions and respect for Cuban cultural identity. In 2022, he was selected by the International Dance Council (CID) to be an active member of this prestigious institution that belongs to the UN, representing traditional Cuban and Caribbean popular culture. Since February 2024, he has been residing in Ithaca and working as part of the Salsa Ithaca team, teaching Master Classes and workshops on Latin, Afro-Cuban, and percussion Dances to contribute to the development and preservation of Latin, Afro-Cuban, and Caribbean cultures.

Lisbet Lisnay López Luna is a professional dancer who graduated from the Alfredo Velázquez Carcases Professional School of Dance in the province of Guantánamo (2018). Professor of modern dance technique at the Professional School of Art of Matanzas, Lisbet began her professional dance career in 2018 in the Babul Folkloric Ballet Company as part of its Social Service. Here, she participated in different events, shows, cultural and artistic galas, and national tours, gaining vast experience and raising her technical-artistic level. In 2020, she began working as a teacher of modern dance technique at the Alfonzo Pérez Isaac Professional School of Art in the province of Matanzas. She stood out for her excellent results in the training and preparation of elementary school students. That same year, she performed as a professional dancer in the Somos Latinos company. From 2021 to 2024, she has worked with the DanSaril Project as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer, and as a dancer in the Soldance Company in the tourist center of Varadero. Since February 2024, she has lived in Ithaca, New York, working with Salsa Ithaca in its cultural events, classes, workshops, and performances.

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About the Event

Hosted by the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS), part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, this community conversation and cultural event is cosponsored by Cornell's Department of Government, CUSLAR, MeCha and ACAU, and Salsa Palante. The series seeks to analyze and encourage dialogue about Cuba's multidimensional crisis, its relationship to a newly assertive U.S. hegemonic stance in the Western Hemisphere, and potential responses from domestic civil society networks that work on human rights and social justice issues in Latin America. The conversations, guided by the expertise of Professor Eric Hershberg of American University, will take place both on campus and in the downtown Ithaca area, bridging the gap between university and local community audiences. With the goal of uplifting Cuba's rich cultural tradition, the series will also feature a dance workshop led by Lisnay López Luna and Adolfo Castillo Duvergel.

The event is funded with support from an Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) grant.

A moving and humane portrait of the abolitionist revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who led Haiti’s fight for independence from French colonial rule

“My name has become a horror to all those who want slavery,” declared Jean‑Jacques Dessalines as he announced the independence of Haiti, the most radical nation‑state during the Age of Revolution and the first country ever to permanently outlaw slavery. Enslaved for the first thirty years of his life, Dessalines (c. 1758–1806) joined the revolution that abolished slavery within the French colony. Then he became a general in the colonial army of the new French Republic. When it was discovered that France once again supported slavery, Dessalines declared war on his former allies. Fighting under the slogan “Liberty or Death,” his army forced the French to evacuate in late 1803. At the start of the new year, Dessalines declared independence from France and became the leader of a free Haiti.

A hero to Haitians for centuries, Dessalines is portrayed abroad as barbarous and violent. Yet this caricature derives not from facts―as Julia Gaffield demonstrates with extensive new research―but from the fears of contemporary enslavers. Showcasing the man behind the myths, Gaffield reveals Dessalines’s deep suffering, warm friendships, and unwavering commitment to destroying slavery, racism, and colonialism, and his bold insistence on his people’s right to liberty and equality.

Julia Gaffield is a Professor of History at William & Mary. She is the author of Haitian Connections in the Atlantic World: Recognition after Revolution (UNC Press, 2015), winner of the Boucher Book Prize from the French Colonial Historical Society, and I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti's Fight for Freedom (Yale UP, 2025).