by Casey Dawson, WIC Graduate Assistant
This Winter, WIC will be hosting Dr. S. Scott Graham from the University of Texas-Austin, who will be giving a talk and a workshop on writing and generative AI. The title of Dr. Graham’s talk is “AI has Entered the Chat: Promise, Peril, and the Future of Writing in Higher Ed,” and the workshop is titled “ChatGPT in the Classroom: Practicalities & Pedagogies.”
ABOUT THE TALK
Title: “AI has entered the chat: Promise, Peril, and the Future of Writing in Higher Ed”
Date and Time: Monday, February 5, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Location: Horizon Room
Abstract: AI is here. Automated writing tools are already freely available online and in popular word-processing applications. The newfound availability of these technologies has the potential to substantially disrupt teaching in higher education, especially where writing is involved. In addressing these issues, Dr. Graham will discuss the opportunities for and dangers of AI use in the classroom. The presentation will outline the nature of emerging generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, explore the risks associated with academic misconduct and FERPA violations, and offer some insights into how professors and students alike can leverage this new technological reality to support effective writing instruction and other learning goals.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Title: ChatGPT in the Classroom: Practicalities & Pedagogies
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 6, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Location: Milam 215
Abstract: This hands-on workshop will introduce educators to the practical use of ChatGPT for writing instruction. The workshop will have a particular focus on how ChatGPT and similar tools can support teaching (1) specific writing genres, (2) research literacy, and (3) critical technology appraisal. Attendees who wish to participate in the hands-on portion of the workshop should create a free ChatGPT account and bring a laptop.
ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER, DR. S. SCOTT GRAHAM
According to his biography, “Dr. Graham is an associate professor in UT-Austin’s Department of Rhetoric & Writing, as well as the Associate Director for Health, Humanities, and Medicine at the Humanities Institute. He uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to study communication in bioscience and health policy, with special attention to bioethics, conflicts of interest, and health AI. His research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the NSF’s Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), and the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Graham is also affiliated with the Center for Health Communication, the Addiction Research Institute, the University of Texas Opioid Response Consortium, and the Health Informatics Research Interest Group. Dr. Graham is the author of three books, The Doctor & The Algorithm, The Politics of Pain Medicine and Where’s the Rhetoric? He’s also the author of 35 articles, chapters, and essays published in Technical Communication Quarterly, Rhetoric of Health & Medicine, Plos-One, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and other journals. His scholarship has been covered in The New York Times, US News & World Report, Science, Health Day, AI in Health Care, and the Scientific Inquirer.”