January 12, 2026

1:00 - 2:00 p.m.  Chris Starr, Solution Architect for AI Governance, Rocket Mortgage

"Artificial Intelligence: The Next Renaissance or the Last Revolution?"

Chris Starr will explore how artificial intelligence today is reshaping knowledge, creativity, and power, then ask whether AI opens a new age of exponential progress or ends the human experience as we know it.

2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Social time with light refreshments

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.  Calvin Blackwell, Professor, College of Charleston 

"Crypto Chronicles: From Novelty to Mania"

Calvin Blackwell will delve into the origins of digital currency, tracing its evolution from an obscure concept to an international mania. He’ll demystify the technology underpinning cryptocurrency and examine its dual role as both an investment and a medium of exchange.