Hobart and William Smith Colleges

5 January 2026 Civic Speech and AI

Students in Public Speaking utilized a new AI civic literacy tool in partnership with the City of Geneva. 

Students in “Public Speaking” recently explored how emerging AI technologies may have a role in strengthening civic engagement. The course is taught by Executive Director of the Centennial Center and Center for Community Engagement Katie Flowers. For their final assignment of the semester, students evaluated the artificial intelligence platform Heywire.ai, which the City of Geneva recently started piloting to make City Council meetings more accessible.

The tool generates transcripts of City Council meetings, as well as identifies speakers, advocacy topics and areas of public concern. By making discussions searchable and easier to follow, the platform gives residents more insight to the workings of local government.

“Leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance civic participation within today’s rapidly evolving landscape of learning is an initiative I was proud to advance in partnership with HWS,” says City Manager for the City of Geneva Amie Hendrix, who also served as a guest speaker in the course.

For their assignment, students used the platform to observe City Council proceedings and analyze how local leaders and the public communicate. Each student selected a speaker and topic from a recent meeting and evaluated their rhetoric and delivery through the lens of ethos, pathos and logos. They considered how effectively speakers connected with their audience and what additional strategies could have strengthened the message. The assignment invited students to draw connections between public discourse and their own developing voices as advocates, culminating in reflections on a social justice issue they may choose to champion in the future.

“I’m passionate about student literacy,” Spencer Pinque ’26 says. “As a member of the HWS Tutor Corps and through my work at the Geneva Boys and Girls Club, I’ve encountered many children struggling with reading. I have to believe with more support for literacy education, excitement can replace fear.”

For many students, the platform opened a new window into community life. Elizabeth Whitney '27, who is interested in food systems, searched transcripts for “food” and followed the Council’s discussion and public comments on food insecurity and food distribution. The experience introduced her to agencies working locally on the issue and a community member’s perspective on access and communication.

City Council member Chris Lavin ’81, L.H.D. ’21, Instructor of Philosophy and Director of Blueprint Geneva Jacqueline Augustine ’99, Instructional Technologist Sarah Gobe and Geneva City School Board member Brian Whitley joined the class to hear students’ presentations.

Heywire.ai’s Head of Research Kareem Elzein also joined the class to hear students’ takeaways on the platform, and to share plans for future product integrations, such as factchecking.