Upcoming Event

ChatGPT and Education: Hype Versus Reality

March 24th, 2023- 12-1 PM

Online Event – Register Here

In a few short months, many of us have heard of or tried ChatGPT, the large language model (LLM) that generates coherent texts on demand in a broadly accessible chat interface. Many opinions have been voiced about ChatGPT and other natural language intelligence systems, and crucially, how they may affect education and teaching in practice. Are LLMs an unstoppable force for cheating, a powerful tool for learning, or all or none of the above?

In this panel we’ll bring together multidisciplinary, research-based perspectives on these topics — UMass professors and an alum who are world-leading experts in the large language models, the impact of technology on education, and social implications of language technologies. In the question period, we invite community members to share examples of what they’ve seen from ChatGPT in practice. What have we learned about these issues, and what plans, if any, should we have going forward?

All Events

  • AI Beyond STEM: digital skills to unleash the power of data science and AI for all
    by Andy Anderson
    June 6 2023, 1:00 PM ET – 2:00 PM ET Are you curious about the digital skills required to unlock the potential of data science and artificial intelligence in non-science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields? Join us for “AI Beyond STEM: digital skills to unleash the power of data science and AI for all” hosted by The Alan Turing Institute. This online-only panel event will bring together experts from diverse backgrounds, including digital humanities, linguistics, zoology, and more, to discuss the digital skills that are essential for future success in their fields. We will explore the specific challenges and opportunities […]
  • ChatGPT and Education: Hype Versus Reality (3/24/2023 12 Noon)
    by Andy Anderson
    The UMass Computational Social Science Institute and the Institute for Social Science Research present ChatGPT and Education: Hype Versus Reality In a few short months, many of us have heard of or tried ChatGPT, the large language model (LLM) that generates coherent texts on demand in a broadly accessible chat interface. Many opinions have been voiced about ChatGPT and other natural language intelligence systems, and crucially, how they may affect education and teaching in practice. Are LLMs an unstoppable force for cheating, a powerful tool for learning, or all or none of the above? In this panel we’ll bring together […]
  • Mememormee – A Dance & AI Performance (4/27/23)
    by Wendy Espinosa
    April 27th, 7:00 PM The Powerhouse Abstract: A dance-theater piece situated at the cutting edge of machine learning and art, mememormee explores the prismatic effects of the recent surge of AI-enabled artmaking that will soon confront dancers, choreographers, or anyone with a moving body. This performance uses choreography derived from one-of-a-kind AI models trained exclusively on the movements of lead choreographer, the particle physicist and AI researcher Dr. Mariel Pettee, over the course of nearly 6 years by several teams of scientists. Titled after a Joyce quote that blends “memory” and “remember me”, mememormee proposes a different, more sustainable version […]
  • AI and War: Where are we headed? (4/13/23)
    by Wendy Espinosa
    April 13th, 6:30 PM Cole Assembly Room, Converse Hall Abstract: “AI will transform all aspects of military affairs… In the future, warfare will pit algorithm against algorithm.” –National Security Commission on AI, Final Report, March 2021 As is true in almost every other field, artificial intelligence is being applied to military activities, both for routine logistical tasks and front-line war-fighting. Looking forward, it is likely that AI will play an ever-increasing role in combat operations. This, in turn, has raised questions about the legal and moral implications of endowing machines with a capacity to choose targets for attack with limited […]
  • Artificial intelligence is Social Science: Natural language Processing From and For Social Analysis (4/11/23)
    by Wendy Espinosa
    April 11th, 4:30 PM CHI Think Tank, Frost Library Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) are coming to prominence with startling new advances, but their functioning and potential is poorly understood, with incredibly weak scientific grounding of every cool recent result you’ve heard of. Why? Considering the history of AI research, its major approaches are sometimes conceived as a “neats versus scruffies” dichotomy: formal mathematics (e.g. logic) versus ad-hoc engineering (e.g. neural nets). But both views are incomplete. AI is better viewed as a social science: all successful computational models of language and human intelligence are incredibly […]
  • Mind the Bot? How Close are Chatbots to Having Minds (Like Ours)? (3/22/23)
    by Wendy Espinosa
    March 22nd, 4:30 PM CHI Think Tank, Frost Library Abstract: The remarkable performances of chatbots like ChatGPT have arguably made the classic Turing Test for machine intelligence obsolete; ChatGPT’s ability to participate in convincing human-like conversations is uncanny. But are we any closer to artificial general intelligence? To AIs with minds ? In this talk, I will explore some of the ways that generative language models like ChatGPT do and do not behave like human minds and what they would need to get closer to being truly minded. Speaker: Laura Sizer is Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at Mount Holyoke College. […]