S4E3: Innovating with AI in the Classroom
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
Glossary of AI Tools
AI tools offer diverse functionalities, from content creation and translation to video editing and music production. Most provide free versions with basic features, while paid versions offer advanced capabilities like faster processing, greater customization, and higher usage limits. The following glossary highlights various tools and the differences between their free and paid options. Please note that AI tools are rapidly evolving, with new features and innovations emerging frequently. This list highlights a variety of tools, but it is not exhaustive, as the landscape of AI technology continues to change and expand.
Content Generation (Text, Writing, Blogs, Social Media)
- ChatGPT (OpenAI): AI language model designed for content generation and assistance with tasks like writing, coding, and brainstorming.
- Claude (Anthropic): Conversational AI designed for problem-solving, writing, and general conversation.
- Copy.ai: Tool designed for generating written content like blog posts, social media captions, and emails.
- Jasper (formerly Jarvis): AI-driven writing assistant for content creation, including blogs, marketing, and emails.
- Notion AI: Integrated AI tool within Notion for content creation, brainstorming, summarization, and note organization.
Translation
- DeepL: Translation tool available in multiple languages, known for high-quality translations.
Transcription and Summarization
- Descript: AI-powered tool for audio and video transcription and editing.
- Otter.ai: Provides real-time transcription services, ideal for meetings, interviews, and lectures.
- ChatPDF: Upload PDFs and engage in chat-based interactions to extract information, summarize content, and ask questions.
Music and Audio Creation
- Udio: AI tool for music production, allowing users to generate and edit tracks using AI-generated elements..
- Suno: AI music tool for generating music, beats, or soundscapes.
Research
- Elicit: Research assistant designed for academic and scientific literature reviews, hypothesis generation, and summarization.
- Research Rabbit: Research discovery tool for finding academic papers and visualizing citation networks.
- Perplexity: AI-powered search engine for answering questions by gathering information from the web.
Video Creation and Editing
- Lumen5: AI-powered video creation tool that converts blog posts or articles into engaging videos.
- Pictory: AI tool that converts long-form content like webinars, podcasts, or blogs into short video summaries..
- Runway ML: Tool for video and image editing with features like background removal and motion tracking..
- Synthesia: AI-generated video creation tool with realistic human avatars, ideal for educational content or corporate communication.
Guides and Workflow Documentation
- Scribe AI: Tool for creating step-by-step guides and workflows using AI to capture and document processes.
Creative and Image Generation
- MidJourney: AI-powered image generation tool for creating visuals from text prompts, popular among artists and marketers.
Advanced AI and Multimodal Processing
- Google Gemini (formerly Bard): Advanced AI project from Google designed for text, multimodal processing, and reasoning. Aimed at expanding AI’s potential in research and problem-solving.