Nathan Sommer, a Bluffton native and Ph.D. student at the University of Cincinnati, will explore the evolution of the human-computer relationship in a Bluffton University Forum at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, in Founders Hall. The presentation, titled “Teaching Our Machines,” is free and open to the public.

Sommer, whose research currently focuses on musical applications of machine learning, will discuss how machine learning is entering our lives and what we are teaching—and attempting to teach—our computers.

The son of Jon Sommer and Dr. Sally Weaver Sommer, Bluffton’s vice president and dean of academic affairs, Sommer is a 2000 graduate of Bluffton High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Earlham College.