By Avia Stoller —
Is AI taking over the world? Though this might be an exaggeration, and perhaps only to some,
the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Writing held a panel discussion called “Artificial
Intelligence in Student Work and Student Life” that sought to address questions surrounding AI.
Furthermore, the panel discussed predictions and current observations concerning how AI has
transformed—or will transform—the economy, environment, education, social interactions, and
labor. Professor Linh Dich and Professor John Tassoni lead the event, and were accompanied
by students taking ENG 309k: Writing with AI and Digital Tools.
The event began with introductions to Dr Linh Dich, Dr. John Tassoni, and the ENG 309 class.
Joining the group discussion from the ENG 309k class was Hailie Edwards, an English Studies
major and sociology minor; Isabelle Stafford, an English Studies major; Marley Specht, a double
English Studies and community arts major; and Emma England, an English major. In a
fascinating twist, each panel participant used an AI-generated image to demonstrate who they
were to attendees in this Zoom event.
Professor Tassoni, writer of Teaching and Generative AI, presented his observations
concerning how AI has and will change students’ and teachers’ lives. Dr. Tassoni sees the
potential of AI for helping students in basic writing courses by providing “common wisdom,” a
type of knowledge that first-generation college students may not have access to when they start
their college careers. Another observation Dr. Tassoni shared related to the “Wabi Sabi” effect
on professors, which he describes as being “an appreciation of the incomplete.” Now that AI has
infiltrated academic papers, it seems that professors actually enjoy writing exemplifying the
types of errors real humans make. These imperfections convey that a student actually wrote the piece, instead of some AI program. This certainly resonated with some faculty attendees who
were in attendance.
Professor Lihn Dich spoke next on the panel, leading the discussion about concepts that the
ENG 309k class is focused on. Dr. Dich’s class explores various questions such as: What is AI?
What are the ethical dilemmas of AI? What is the impact of AI in education? Professor Dich also
mentioned that the students in the class wrote newsletters around the campuses, where
students shared their observations and questions with different departments and audiences.
The session was then opened to general questions, at which point students in ENG 309k
provided their knowledge and opinions on various topics. For example, Dr. Dich asked the
students, “How does learning about AI help us think more deeply about being human/our
humanity?” Hailie Edwards responded, “Learning about AI can help us think more deeply about
being a human because it makes us question our thinking.” Edwards then went on to consider
the following: “What if life doesn’t have to equal work? AI is kind of making us question this …
and I think that’s why a lot of people are a little scared of AI, because they don’t like this idea of
being questioned and they don’t like this idea of their nine to five being disrupted.”
Another question asked by Dr. Dich was, “What is dating like with AI?” Marley Specht replied,
“[AI] poses a huge ethical question: What are our relationships and how is AI going to infiltrate
[them]? And that’s another thing that we’re really defensive over… our humanity, our
relationships, the way that we interact, and AI coming in and mimicking that—it feels really
uncanny and uncomfortable to us as humans.”
Isabelle Stafford used Specht’s reply to help construct her own comment: “I listened to a TED
talk that was about artificial intimacy, and it talked about the ways that interacting with AI is
beginning to change our expectations for humans. When you interact with a bot, it can say the
most perfect things [and it] will always be on your side. It will validate you. It will tell you what
you want to hear.”
The questions then started to focus on academics, such as AI in plagiarism, classroom
practices of AI tools, and the impact AI has on students’ mental health and brain development.
Those who attended the event, such as faculty of the Regional campuses, chimed in by asking
questions and giving their thoughts on the topics.
Dr. Dich concluded the event by telling the group that she may hold an online ENG 309k next
year, but for now, the class will not be held on the campuses. For those interested in more
discussion on AI, an event about AI in workforce preparation is being held on November 19th at
7:00 pm in the Wilks Conference Center on the Hamilton campus, hosted by The Office of
Career Services and Professional Development.
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