VALDOSTA— The College of Science and Mathematics at Valdosta State University hosted its latest installment of Café Scientifique on Thursday evening, drawing curious minds from across the community into The Network Coffee Shop for a lively discussion on artificial intelligence.

Led by Dr. Ahana Roy Choudhury, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering Technology, the event offered an opportunity for attendees to explore the evolving world of AI. Rather than delivering a traditional lecture, Café Scientifique offers an open Q&A session. Organizers use this format to encourage participants to ask questions and receive accessible explanations on one of today’s most talked-about scientific topics.

Cristina Calestani, professor of cell and molecular biology at Valdosta State and one of the event’s organizers, feels that this format makes Café Scientifique special. As AI continues to reshape industries from medicine to transportation, Calestani believes events like this are essential in helping the public keep pace with change.

“The advantage of an event like this is that it’s not formal — it’s not a lecture, It’s a Q&A, so it’s really for the public to ask questions they’re interested in,” Calestani explained. “Especially in technology that is changing so fast — and AI even more — it’s a great event to answer those types of curiosity questions people have.”

Choudhury shared her journey into the field, explaining that machine learning drew her in when she saw its potential to perform complex tasks like analyzing medical images — work human experts have traditionally done.

As the event started, attendees grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to ask Choudhury a range of questions about artificial intelligence. One of the subjects that interested attendees was how AI worked on self-driving cars such as Tesla. Another topic revolved around the generation of images and the potential dangers of deepfakes.

For Calestani, the value of Café Scientifique goes beyond the science — it’s about accessibility and trust. “In this kind of event, you know where the person is from and their credentials,” she said. “You just find one hour in the evening, drink a coffee, and you get the best of the best information.”

Organizers plan more events for future semesters and hope word of mouth will encourage more community members to join the conversation.