October 25, 2023 • 53 mins
We are joined today by Associate Professor in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum in the Center for Writing Excellence both at the University of Central Florida, Dr. Laurie A. Pinkert. In addition to these positions, Dr. Pinkert also coordinates an interdisciplinary fellowship-writing initiative that is supported by the College of Graduate Studies.
Dr. Pinkert's research aims to better understand relationships between writing and identity and to develop approaches to writing program design, development, and administration that can support writerly identity development.
Most recently Dr Pinkert has been at the forefront of developing an AI undergraduate certificate program within the College of Arts and Humanities in addition to coursework surrounding AI and the teaching of writing.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:07):
Greetings and welcome to
D.W.R discussions on writing and rhetorica space for informal conversations
around research and practice in the fieldat the university level.
A place inclusive for curious novices,blossoming scholars and seasoned academics
to consider and sharetheir inquiries, experiences and passions
surrounding writing and rhetoric.
(00:29):
We are your hosts, professorsMeeghan Faulconer and Nikolas
Gardiakoswith the University of Central Florida.
Thank you for joining us.
Now let's get this conversation started.
Hi. We're joined todayby associate professor in the Department
of writing and Rhetoric and directorof writing across the Curriculum in
(00:53):
the Center for Writing Excellence, bothat the University of Central Florida, Dr.
Laurie PinkertIn addition to these positions, Dr.
Pinkard also coordinatesan interdisciplinary fellowship
writing initiative that is supportedby the College of Graduate Studies.
Dr. Pinker's Researchaims to better understand relationships
between reading and identityand to develop approaches
(01:15):
to writing, program,design, development and administration.
Ongoing research includes collaborationas a co-investigator
on the National Science Foundationfunded study Institutional Transformation
examining the intersections of moralfoundations and ethical frameworks.
Most recently, Dr.
Pinker has been at the forefrontof developing an AI undergraduate
(01:39):
certificate programwithin the College of Arts and Humanities.
In addition to coursework surrounding AIand the teaching of writing,
thank you so much for joining us today.Thanks for having me.
We're so excited to talk to youabout all these things
that are so relevant and topicaland happening here at UCF. Wow.
Yeah, I'm excited to talk about themand to be here with you.
(02:00):
So thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely.
So if we could jump rightin, I think at the start to
I know we are very privileged
to have learned a little about thisat our department meeting last week.
But if you could kind ofgive us an overview
of what this CERT program is
and kind of what it meansin the context of the college. Yeah.
So I might start thatwith the context at the university
(02:23):
a little bitand then move into the college.
I had the opportunity this summerto serve on a task force that the provost
put together, thinking about whatthe needs are surrounding AI
for faculty in regards to their researchand teaching, but also for students.
So what is it that students are goingto need to know how to do,
need to understand,need to be able to research, etc.
(02:47):
in orderto function not only in the university
but also out in the workplaces.
And as part of that proposalthat the task force put together.
Curricularneeds were certainly one of them.
And so thinking about the kindsof courses that the students needed
was at the forefrontof some of those conversations, both
in terms of what you need for specializedknowledge within your discipline,
(03:08):
which I think will be handledby different disciplines in different ways
based on industry expectations,
certifications that are requiredwithin the field, disciplinary knowledge.
But then also, what is itthat that all students are going to need
to graduate with in order to be
what what I'm coming to callkind of illiterate in in the world?
(03:31):
And so in bringing back that information,each time
the committee would meet to our chairand the Dean,
I think they got really excitedabout the idea of a certificate,
an undergraduate certificate program,but also about the idea
that we in the arts, in the humanitieshave a particular approach
to bring to these conversationsthat can help us to
(03:56):
expandour understandings of the implication
lens of these tools and technologies,to critique them, to be creative
with them, to better understand them,to think about their roles in history.
You can imagine a range of applications,so the certificate is really meant,
I think, both to be an opportunityfor us to collaborate in the college
(04:18):
and to really help individuals understandthat A.I.
isn't just for computerprogrammers, right?
The people who are maybe creatingthe next iteration of the new chat bot,
but it really is for all of usto engage with
in creative ways,critical ways, productive ways.
(04:38):
So so I think that's at the heart ofof the reason for it.
I'm excited about itbecause we're having conversations
about the ethics of these technologiesand the central ity of ethical
considerations, the literacies that areneeded in order to engage with these.
And so I think that's why my colleagueand I were tasked
with kind of heading upthe collaborative effort in the college
(05:02):
is because we see at the heart of thisthe humanities, the arts,
and also those conversations around,again, how how do we think about this
and how are we going to be criticaland engaged users?
It's interesting thing in that it'salmost a chicken and egg situation
in regards to students and facultyand that a lot of us are at the same
(05:26):
jumping offpoint for understanding and learning and
and we don't want to make any assumptionsthat one particular demographic
has more experienceor information than the other.
And a lot of usare all on the same playing.
You know, a levelplaying field at this point.
So what is that processlike in terms of trying to develop
courses that would go along with this typeof certificate or certificate program?
(05:47):
Yeah,
I think
we are in some ways at similarstarting points,
but I think that that also requiresthe acknowledgment
that we're all at also differentstarting points.
And what I mean by that isI think there are particular presumptions
we make about one group or the other,whether that students or faculty,
(06:10):
you know, tech heavy majors versus
arts, heavy majorsor socially heavy majors, etc..
And so I think, you know,prodding a little bit of that to recognize
that the sameness is also
the same in its variantsis really important.
And so I wanted to mentionthat at the outset, because I think that
(06:33):
when you're building courses, you're alsothinking about, well, what are the common
starting points and what can we presumeand what do we need to teach?
And so unpackingsome of those conceptual pieces.
So, for example, when it comes toif we're thinking about chat bots,
right, chat bots, something like chat DVT,can someone use that critically?
(06:53):
You have to understandlarge language models.
You have to understand big data
and how big data feedsinto those large language models.
So even if someone is like using chat t,
it doesn't necessarily meanthey understand them behind the scenes.
So I think that's part ofit is like recognizing the layers
and that someone may be,
(07:15):
you know, a user of something,but not an understanding of it.
They understand what it doesfor them in the moment,
but they might not understand itslimitations based on how it was created.
I think that's the same for facultyand for students.
I do thinkmany fields are taking this up, right?
And so one of the placesthat we've encouraged our colleagues
to go to in thinking about what,
(07:37):
you know, an
air course might need to entailin their discipline is to look
for that journal in your fieldthat's engaging with a
AI in some critical scholarly way, andthat can help you to think and explore.
So I think in our field CompositionStudies just released a special issue
that has some short piecesthat really engage
with some of the fundamentalsand that also remind us, you know, A.I.
(08:00):
is a technology among many technologiesthat we have encountered.
So there are some fundamentalsthat stay the same.
That's the other thingI would say about this certificate
is that we are thinking about itnot just as A.I.
as an instance, but alsohow it's set within this larger ecology.
So big data is a big piece of that.
So we've been throwing aroundsort of terms like,
(08:23):
you know, artificial intelligence,big data and the human experience
as the kind of frameworkfor what we're doing and how we do it,
because I doesn't functionwithout those other pieces.
So just so I'm certainthat I'm understanding you correctly
when you say big data,what does that mean in this context?
So well, her so it means different things
(08:47):
in that artificial intelligence
means different things, right?
So we can use an instance.
So we think about text generators
and I'm using text there specificallybecause you might have image content
and that might be generateda little bit differently.
But if we're thinking about textgenerators, I gave the example
(09:09):
earlier of chatbots,but there are multiple and there are many.
These are built based on a large datasetthat provides the input
that then can enablethe building of the model
that then enablesthe generation of the text, right?
So there's this a large dataset
(09:30):
that provides the basison which the tool is trained.
And that's what I mean
when we're thinking about big data, it'sthose large datasets behind,
but they're going to look different acrossdifferent A.I.
technologies, and it's not.
The big
data is an issue that pervadesbeyond AI tools too.
So we see data collection about usall the time.
(09:54):
Yeah, I was going to say as a follow upquestion to what you just said, Laurie,
what are some of thehave you all talked about?
What are some of the challenges inteaching about those kinds of technologies
where the technologies themselvesand how they work,
the people that programthose and create those,
they're not really sort of providingthat information about like
(10:16):
how those models are createdor how those outputs are, you know,
are created, you know,through the use of this technology,
especially now since it'ssort of like everyone's vying
for those positionsof wanting to be the one.
And there's lots and lots of,you know, investment money at stake
and potential, you know, profits at stakeand things like that.
(10:38):
So, you know, information about exactlywhat's going on with a lot of
these is really hard,if not impossible to come by.
Has that been something that's
been part of the conversations of thinkingabout teaching about these technologies?
Yes, certainly. So I do think
there there is
some benefit to the,you know, elements of secrecy.
(11:03):
Right.
To not giving away everything
on the part ofmaybe the tool builder will say.
But I do think there are peoplewho will talk to you
about how they are builtand there is some information
that's out there about them,because as people begin to understand
the tools, they're going to want to knowon what they're built.
Right?
(11:23):
And so I'm thinking about early iterationsof some of the tools
where you needed to know orthe tool would tell you where you needed
to know what the range of the datasetwas in terms of dates.
So how recent was it scrapingwhatever was on the web?
Right?
Whatever they had collected from the WorldWide Web to to create the dataset.
(11:44):
Because if you ask it a question
after a certain date,it couldn't answer the question.
Mm hmm.
And so so I think you're rightthat there are issues
and those issues become
doubly problematicif we're teaching people to be critical.
But I think that's part of it, too,is that if there is a demand
for in order to use this tool,I need to know on what it's built,
(12:08):
whose voices are there.
If we're talking about text generations,who whose voices are omitted.
Right.
And also on what is it basing
the way that it constructs the text.
Right.
And so so I think it's a it's a both.
And like, yes,there are limitations to what we can say,
but as we learn the limitations,we can create a culture
(12:31):
of asking for the informationthat we need to be critical users.
Yeah, and I think that's why too, it'ssuch an interesting technology
to talk about in the arts and humanities,because,
you know, from my understanding of itand seeing some examples,
you know, of people using in classroomsand hearing those types of,
you know, examples, a lot of whatwhat I find common about,
(12:56):
you know, peoplewho use this in classrooms
and for assignments and activitiesand stuff like that is that
there's a focus on what you sort of ask itor how you ask it to produce things.
You know, a lot of people talkingabout the prompts that you give it, right.
Being crucially importantin terms of how those are written,
how those like parameters are, you know,the things that are fed into the tool
(13:18):
in order to get, you know,
like good input in good input out kind of,you know, basic idea.
So yeah, I think that that is, you know,central to a lot of what we talk about
as well in our fields,you know how to ask it or how to use it
through through prompts and you know,giving it parameters and things like that.
(13:40):
There's a lot to think aboutbefore you do that.
I think that's why we as rhetoric
scholars and writingscholars are so excited by this.
It's like the first time you triedto search in the library database,
especially a few years ago.
It's gotten better,
but when I was an undergrad,it was hours that you would spend
just digitally rewording your search,thinking of new keywords.
(14:01):
How am I going to tryto get the information
that I'm looking forwhen I don't quite know what it is?
But I know the area and
rhetorically having that
awareness of how do I position
the subject that I want to write aboutin a way that is generative
to the appropriate audience,the appropriate purpose, like
I think we as peoplein that College of Arts
(14:23):
and Humanities are like,Oh yeah, this absolutely goes together.
There's also the considerationthat it takes people who know how to think
creatively and outside the box to do thatkind of problem solving.
It's not something that can just be doneby following steps one through three
or whatever.
It's that,Oh well, it's not doing this way.
So let me go a different wayand then let me adjust and let me pull
(14:45):
upon my, you know, my rhetorical toolboxor whatever to to be a better problem
solver,to get the kind of writing that I need,
even if it's writing thatI didn't generate specifically.
But then I'm going tothen tailor to my needs.
It's a really interesting
relationshipbetween writing and technology.
Like I think about all the yearswe've spent teaching computers
to figure out like,where is there a motorcycle
(15:06):
and all these picturesand checking the boxes,
you know, how oftenwe have those little like
find all the pictures that have a bridgebefore you can buy this thing
that you're trying to do or whateverit is you're trying to do online.
But there is that added element of human
intelligence that without
without it, artificial intelligencereally can't do what it needs to do.
(15:28):
But then we're also it's very symbioticin that relationship between the two.
So I'm excited.
How are we if you can share this,
how are we incorporating other aspectsof arts
and humanities into this type of workin the certificate program?
Yeah.
So we anticipate the certificateto have a couple of core classes
that all students would takewho want the certificate,
(15:50):
but that the electives would represent
all the departments in the collegethat want to participate.
So there's no mandatethat everyone must do this because we
really want this to be a faculty driven,interest driven initiative.
But the invitation is there.
And so we had some great conversations
(16:13):
with colleagues in the artswho were talking about the possibility of,
you know, their own working with AIto create an artistic piece.
And so maybe there's a chance
to bring that into a coursein which students are engaging with a
AI to create artistic pieces as well.
I know there's been lots of conversationin the visual arts about this,
(16:36):
especially as the visual artsin some capacities have turned
digital much sooner than other areas, and
so they've been having these conversationsabout digital art for a long time.
And this is, I think, revivingsome of those conversations.
I think there are already facultywho are doing this work.
So colleagues in history,
for example, that have been centering thisin some of their courses already.
(16:59):
And so those courseswould become part of the certificate.
So I think it's possible for a studentto come in to the certificate and,
you know, reinforce itwith courses from their field
if they happen to be in the arts andhumanities or to end up with four courses
across four different departmentsto comprise their certificate.
But that would help them to think, as yousaid about about that human experience,
(17:22):
whether it's the human experienceof the tools and technologies,
the human experiences you can createwith the tools and technologies
or even the human experience is sort of
as a result of these toolsand technologies.
How does that change our experiencesin the world?
So that reminder,I think that was something that we had
(17:43):
briefly discussed at theat our depart meeting recently,
which was maybe thinking aboutwhich courses might have a, you know,
I guess it would belike a designation to it where they would,
you know, qualifyfor part of the certificate.
Is that kind of the idea?
Yeah.
So I think there will be a thresholdthat courses
would need to meet in orderto be part of the certificate.
(18:05):
So it doesn't mean every coursewhere someone might
be using a text generator for a courseassignment
is going to fit the certificate,but that actually centers a
I big datathese these notions as part of the course.
So in D.W.
AR, for example, I think we do havesome courses that are that are ripe.
(18:27):
I don't know yet which coursesthe department will put forward,
but things like writing indigital environments seems really ripe
for conversations about artificialintelligence, about big data.
Things like literacy and technology
seem really ripefor that conversation as well.
So I think there will be coursesin existence that folks want to,
(18:50):
you know, put up as potential electivesin the certificate.
It might also be the case
that there's a new coursethat a department is eager to develop,
and this would give them a spacefor potential audience for that
either within their own,you know, students
or across the college,across the university.
(19:11):
Because even though it would be housedin arts and humanities,
we know thisour students take certificates all over.
And so it's a chance that studentscould take that certificate as well.
I do think there is a possibility coming,you know, down.
And in the future, other institutionshave developed like an A.I.
(19:33):
designation for coursesthat's at the university level.
And so places
like UF have that kind of a designationwhere they're measuring the numbers
of courses that are engaging, again,meaningfully with AI content.
In the same way we have researchintensive or service learning or global.
So those kinds of thingsthat could be coming and it positions.
(19:55):
CARR Well, to have some coursesthat are already demonstrating
those content areas,
I don't knowif you have an answer to this.
I apologize.
I know that you mentioned to usthe other day that University of Florida
and there is was that for youthat is currently doing work with AI
(20:16):
in terms of actual coursecertificates, that type of thing. And.
Greetings and welcome to
D.W.R discussions on writing and rhetorica space for informal conversations
around research and practice in the fieldat the university level.
A place inclusive for curious novices,blossoming scholars and seasoned academics
to consider and sharetheir inquiries, experiences and passions
surrounding writing and rhetoric.
(00:29):
We are your hosts, professorsMeeghan Faulconer and Nikolas
Gardiakoswith the University of Central Florida.
Thank you for joining us.
Now let's get this conversation started.
Hi. We're joined todayby associate professor in the Department
of writing and Rhetoric and directorof writing across the Curriculum in
(00:53):
the Center for Writing Excellence, bothat the University of Central Florida, Dr.
Laurie PinkertIn addition to these positions, Dr.
Pinkard also coordinatesan interdisciplinary fellowship
writing initiative that is supportedby the College of Graduate Studies.
Dr. Pinker's Researchaims to better understand relationships
between reading and identityand to develop approaches
(01:15):
to writing, program,design, development and administration.
Ongoing research includes collaborationas a co-investigator
on the National Science Foundationfunded study Institutional Transformation
examining the intersections of moralfoundations and ethical frameworks.
Most recently, Dr.
Pinker has been at the forefrontof developing an AI undergraduate
(01:39):
certificate programwithin the College of Arts and Humanities.
In addition to coursework surrounding AIand the teaching of writing,
thank you so much for joining us today.Thanks for having me.
We're so excited to talk to youabout all these things
that are so relevant and topicaland happening here at UCF. Wow.
Yeah, I'm excited to talk about themand to be here with you.
(02:00):
So thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely.
So if we could jump rightin, I think at the start to
I know we are very privileged
to have learned a little about thisat our department meeting last week.
But if you could kind ofgive us an overview
of what this CERT program is
and kind of what it meansin the context of the college. Yeah.
So I might start thatwith the context at the university
(02:23):
a little bitand then move into the college.
I had the opportunity this summerto serve on a task force that the provost
put together, thinking about whatthe needs are surrounding AI
for faculty in regards to their researchand teaching, but also for students.
So what is it that students are goingto need to know how to do,
need to understand,need to be able to research, etc.
(02:47):
in orderto function not only in the university
but also out in the workplaces.
And as part of that proposalthat the task force put together.
Curricularneeds were certainly one of them.
And so thinking about the kindsof courses that the students needed
was at the forefrontof some of those conversations, both
in terms of what you need for specializedknowledge within your discipline,
(03:08):
which I think will be handledby different disciplines in different ways
based on industry expectations,
certifications that are requiredwithin the field, disciplinary knowledge.
But then also, what is itthat that all students are going to need
to graduate with in order to be
what what I'm coming to callkind of illiterate in in the world?
(03:31):
And so in bringing back that information,each time
the committee would meet to our chairand the Dean,
I think they got really excitedabout the idea of a certificate,
an undergraduate certificate program,but also about the idea
that we in the arts, in the humanitieshave a particular approach
to bring to these conversationsthat can help us to
(03:56):
expandour understandings of the implication
lens of these tools and technologies,to critique them, to be creative
with them, to better understand them,to think about their roles in history.
You can imagine a range of applications,so the certificate is really meant,
I think, both to be an opportunityfor us to collaborate in the college
(04:18):
and to really help individuals understandthat A.I.
isn't just for computerprogrammers, right?
The people who are maybe creatingthe next iteration of the new chat bot,
but it really is for all of usto engage with
in creative ways,critical ways, productive ways.
(04:38):
So so I think that's at the heart ofof the reason for it.
I'm excited about itbecause we're having conversations
about the ethics of these technologiesand the central ity of ethical
considerations, the literacies that areneeded in order to engage with these.
And so I think that's why my colleagueand I were tasked
with kind of heading upthe collaborative effort in the college
(05:02):
is because we see at the heart of thisthe humanities, the arts,
and also those conversations around,again, how how do we think about this
and how are we going to be criticaland engaged users?
It's interesting thing in that it'salmost a chicken and egg situation
in regards to students and facultyand that a lot of us are at the same
(05:26):
jumping offpoint for understanding and learning and
and we don't want to make any assumptionsthat one particular demographic
has more experienceor information than the other.
And a lot of usare all on the same playing.
You know, a levelplaying field at this point.
So what is that processlike in terms of trying to develop
courses that would go along with this typeof certificate or certificate program?
(05:47):
Yeah,
I think
we are in some ways at similarstarting points,
but I think that that also requiresthe acknowledgment
that we're all at also differentstarting points.
And what I mean by that isI think there are particular presumptions
we make about one group or the other,whether that students or faculty,
(06:10):
you know, tech heavy majors versus
arts, heavy majorsor socially heavy majors, etc..
And so I think, you know,prodding a little bit of that to recognize
that the sameness is also
the same in its variantsis really important.
And so I wanted to mentionthat at the outset, because I think that
(06:33):
when you're building courses, you're alsothinking about, well, what are the common
starting points and what can we presumeand what do we need to teach?
And so unpackingsome of those conceptual pieces.
So, for example, when it comes toif we're thinking about chat bots,
right, chat bots, something like chat DVT,can someone use that critically?
(06:53):
You have to understandlarge language models.
You have to understand big data
and how big data feedsinto those large language models.
So even if someone is like using chat t,
it doesn't necessarily meanthey understand them behind the scenes.
So I think that's part ofit is like recognizing the layers
and that someone may be,
(07:15):
you know, a user of something,but not an understanding of it.
They understand what it doesfor them in the moment,
but they might not understand itslimitations based on how it was created.
I think that's the same for facultyand for students.
I do thinkmany fields are taking this up, right?
And so one of the placesthat we've encouraged our colleagues
to go to in thinking about what,
(07:37):
you know, an
air course might need to entailin their discipline is to look
for that journal in your fieldthat's engaging with a
AI in some critical scholarly way, andthat can help you to think and explore.
So I think in our field CompositionStudies just released a special issue
that has some short piecesthat really engage
with some of the fundamentalsand that also remind us, you know, A.I.
(08:00):
is a technology among many technologiesthat we have encountered.
So there are some fundamentalsthat stay the same.
That's the other thingI would say about this certificate
is that we are thinking about itnot just as A.I.
as an instance, but alsohow it's set within this larger ecology.
So big data is a big piece of that.
So we've been throwing aroundsort of terms like,
(08:23):
you know, artificial intelligence,big data and the human experience
as the kind of frameworkfor what we're doing and how we do it,
because I doesn't functionwithout those other pieces.
So just so I'm certainthat I'm understanding you correctly
when you say big data,what does that mean in this context?
So well, her so it means different things
(08:47):
in that artificial intelligence
means different things, right?
So we can use an instance.
So we think about text generators
and I'm using text there specificallybecause you might have image content
and that might be generateda little bit differently.
But if we're thinking about textgenerators, I gave the example
(09:09):
earlier of chatbots,but there are multiple and there are many.
These are built based on a large datasetthat provides the input
that then can enablethe building of the model
that then enablesthe generation of the text, right?
So there's this a large dataset
(09:30):
that provides the basison which the tool is trained.
And that's what I mean
when we're thinking about big data, it'sthose large datasets behind,
but they're going to look different acrossdifferent A.I.
technologies, and it's not.
The big
data is an issue that pervadesbeyond AI tools too.
So we see data collection about usall the time.
(09:54):
Yeah, I was going to say as a follow upquestion to what you just said, Laurie,
what are some of thehave you all talked about?
What are some of the challenges inteaching about those kinds of technologies
where the technologies themselvesand how they work,
the people that programthose and create those,
they're not really sort of providingthat information about like
(10:16):
how those models are createdor how those outputs are, you know,
are created, you know,through the use of this technology,
especially now since it'ssort of like everyone's vying
for those positionsof wanting to be the one.
And there's lots and lots of,you know, investment money at stake
and potential, you know, profits at stakeand things like that.
(10:38):
So, you know, information about exactlywhat's going on with a lot of
these is really hard,if not impossible to come by.
Has that been something that's
been part of the conversations of thinkingabout teaching about these technologies?
Yes, certainly. So I do think
there there is
some benefit to the,you know, elements of secrecy.
(11:03):
Right.
To not giving away everything
on the part ofmaybe the tool builder will say.
But I do think there are peoplewho will talk to you
about how they are builtand there is some information
that's out there about them,because as people begin to understand
the tools, they're going to want to knowon what they're built.
Right?
(11:23):
And so I'm thinking about early iterationsof some of the tools
where you needed to know orthe tool would tell you where you needed
to know what the range of the datasetwas in terms of dates.
So how recent was it scrapingwhatever was on the web?
Right?
Whatever they had collected from the WorldWide Web to to create the dataset.
(11:44):
Because if you ask it a question
after a certain date,it couldn't answer the question.
Mm hmm.
And so so I think you're rightthat there are issues
and those issues become
doubly problematicif we're teaching people to be critical.
But I think that's part of it, too,is that if there is a demand
for in order to use this tool,I need to know on what it's built,
(12:08):
whose voices are there.
If we're talking about text generations,who whose voices are omitted.
Right.
And also on what is it basing
the way that it constructs the text.
Right.
And so so I think it's a it's a both.
And like, yes,there are limitations to what we can say,
but as we learn the limitations,we can create a culture
(12:31):
of asking for the informationthat we need to be critical users.
Yeah, and I think that's why too, it'ssuch an interesting technology
to talk about in the arts and humanities,because,
you know, from my understanding of itand seeing some examples,
you know, of people using in classroomsand hearing those types of,
you know, examples, a lot of whatwhat I find common about,
(12:56):
you know, peoplewho use this in classrooms
and for assignments and activitiesand stuff like that is that
there's a focus on what you sort of ask itor how you ask it to produce things.
You know, a lot of people talkingabout the prompts that you give it, right.
Being crucially importantin terms of how those are written,
how those like parameters are, you know,the things that are fed into the tool
(13:18):
in order to get, you know,
like good input in good input out kind of,you know, basic idea.
So yeah, I think that that is, you know,central to a lot of what we talk about
as well in our fields,you know how to ask it or how to use it
through through prompts and you know,giving it parameters and things like that.
(13:40):
There's a lot to think aboutbefore you do that.
I think that's why we as rhetoric
scholars and writingscholars are so excited by this.
It's like the first time you triedto search in the library database,
especially a few years ago.
It's gotten better,
but when I was an undergrad,it was hours that you would spend
just digitally rewording your search,thinking of new keywords.
(14:01):
How am I going to tryto get the information
that I'm looking forwhen I don't quite know what it is?
But I know the area and
rhetorically having that
awareness of how do I position
the subject that I want to write aboutin a way that is generative
to the appropriate audience,the appropriate purpose, like
I think we as peoplein that College of Arts
(14:23):
and Humanities are like,Oh yeah, this absolutely goes together.
There's also the considerationthat it takes people who know how to think
creatively and outside the box to do thatkind of problem solving.
It's not something that can just be doneby following steps one through three
or whatever.
It's that,Oh well, it's not doing this way.
So let me go a different wayand then let me adjust and let me pull
(14:45):
upon my, you know, my rhetorical toolboxor whatever to to be a better problem
solver,to get the kind of writing that I need,
even if it's writing thatI didn't generate specifically.
But then I'm going tothen tailor to my needs.
It's a really interesting
relationshipbetween writing and technology.
Like I think about all the yearswe've spent teaching computers
to figure out like,where is there a motorcycle
(15:06):
and all these picturesand checking the boxes,
you know, how oftenwe have those little like
find all the pictures that have a bridgebefore you can buy this thing
that you're trying to do or whateverit is you're trying to do online.
But there is that added element of human
intelligence that without
without it, artificial intelligencereally can't do what it needs to do.
(15:28):
But then we're also it's very symbioticin that relationship between the two.
So I'm excited.
How are we if you can share this,
how are we incorporating other aspectsof arts
and humanities into this type of workin the certificate program?
Yeah.
So we anticipate the certificateto have a couple of core classes
that all students would takewho want the certificate,
(15:50):
but that the electives would represent
all the departments in the collegethat want to participate.
So there's no mandatethat everyone must do this because we
really want this to be a faculty driven,interest driven initiative.
But the invitation is there.
And so we had some great conversations
(16:13):
with colleagues in the artswho were talking about the possibility of,
you know, their own working with AIto create an artistic piece.
And so maybe there's a chance
to bring that into a coursein which students are engaging with a
AI to create artistic pieces as well.
I know there's been lots of conversationin the visual arts about this,
(16:36):
especially as the visual artsin some capacities have turned
digital much sooner than other areas, and
so they've been having these conversationsabout digital art for a long time.
And this is, I think, revivingsome of those conversations.
I think there are already facultywho are doing this work.
So colleagues in history,
for example, that have been centering thisin some of their courses already.
(16:59):
And so those courseswould become part of the certificate.
So I think it's possible for a studentto come in to the certificate and,
you know, reinforce itwith courses from their field
if they happen to be in the arts andhumanities or to end up with four courses
across four different departmentsto comprise their certificate.
But that would help them to think, as yousaid about about that human experience,
(17:22):
whether it's the human experienceof the tools and technologies,
the human experiences you can createwith the tools and technologies
or even the human experience is sort of
as a result of these toolsand technologies.
How does that change our experiencesin the world?
So that reminder,I think that was something that we had
(17:43):
briefly discussed at theat our depart meeting recently,
which was maybe thinking aboutwhich courses might have a, you know,
I guess it would belike a designation to it where they would,
you know, qualifyfor part of the certificate.
Is that kind of the idea?
Yeah.
So I think there will be a thresholdthat courses
would need to meet in orderto be part of the certificate.
(18:05):
So it doesn't mean every coursewhere someone might
be using a text generator for a courseassignment
is going to fit the certificate,but that actually centers a
I big datathese these notions as part of the course.
So in D.W.
AR, for example, I think we do havesome courses that are that are ripe.
(18:27):
I don't know yet which coursesthe department will put forward,
but things like writing indigital environments seems really ripe
for conversations about artificialintelligence, about big data.
Things like literacy and technology
seem really ripefor that conversation as well.
So I think there will be coursesin existence that folks want to,
(18:50):
you know, put up as potential electivesin the certificate.
It might also be the case
that there's a new coursethat a department is eager to develop,
and this would give them a spacefor potential audience for that
either within their own,you know, students
or across the college,across the university.
(19:11):
Because even though it would be housedin arts and humanities,
we know thisour students take certificates all over.
And so it's a chance that studentscould take that certificate as well.
I do think there is a possibility coming,you know, down.
And in the future, other institutionshave developed like an A.I.
(19:33):
designation for coursesthat's at the university level.
And so places
like UF have that kind of a designationwhere they're measuring the numbers
of courses that are engaging, again,meaningfully with AI content.
In the same way we have researchintensive or service learning or global.
So those kinds of thingsthat could be coming and it positions.
(19:55):
CARR Well, to have some coursesthat are already demonstrating
those content areas,
I don't knowif you have an answer to this.
I apologize.
I know that you mentioned to usthe other day that University of Florida
and there is was that for youthat is currently doing work with AI
(20:16):
in terms of actual coursecertificates, that type of thing. And.
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