In this podcast episode, we explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), education, and the ethical challenges it presents in the classroom. Our guests, Lara Bryfonski, Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics, and Ben Harbert, Professor and Chair in the Department of Performing Arts, share insights from their fields of linguistics and music.

Lara describes how she integrates AI into her linguistics courses, focusing on how it impacts language learning and the ethical concerns of AI bias, particularly around language diversity. She encourages students to critically evaluate AI tools like text-to-speech and machine translation, highlighting how these systems can marginalize minority dialects.

Ben discusses AI’s role in music creation, where AI challenges traditional notions of human creativity. His students experiment with AI-generated music, comparing its output to human creations and examining the implications of AI on the emotional depth and cultural significance of music.

Both guests emphasize the importance of teaching students to be critical users of AI, exploring ethical issues such as bias, ownership, and the future of human creativity in an AI-driven world. The episode concludes with a discussion on how educators can prepare students to navigate AI thoughtfully, ensuring the preservation of human diversity and creativity.

This episode was produced from a 60-minute panel discussion held at Georgetown's Digital Learning Days event in August 2024. To hear the full, unabridged conversation visit this Vimeo page.

Bios

Featured in this episode:

Lara Bryfonski, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics

Benjamin J. Harbert, Professor | Chair, Department of Performing Arts|Director of Undergraduate Studies - Music

Georgetown AI Resources

• Georgetown Linguistics and AI

• Teaching with AI

• Additional CNDLS Resources in AI

• Georgetown Initiative on Pedagogical Uses of Artificial Intelligence (IPAI)

• Artificial Intelligence (Generative) Resources

  
  

  Visit cndls.georgetown.edu for our full show notes.