Published Content
Generative AI Can Revitalize College Writing
Sean Pears
There is a broad decision architecture in conversations about Generative AI that breaks down into enthusiasts about the technology and pessimists about its cultural, political, and economic impacts. This breakdown has impeded the theorization of the emergent value and purpose of College Writing courses in a world of Generative AI chatbots. The article presents 12 theses that attempt to offer a broad theoretical framework for educators teaching writing-intensive college courses, and a sample course syllabus framework that models how these could be applied. The theses address the stress points that the technology presents for both students and educators, discuss where and how productivity gains should be conceived, and outline how class time and assessment should be redesigned.
AI Conceptualization and Policy Permissibility
Zea Miller, Kashish Sachdeva, and Jake Walker
When universities create AI policies, they often conceptualize AI as something, such as a tool or a resource. This study questions whether such policies are affected by how they envision AI. In other words, is the permissible a function of conceptualization? To answer, R1 university policies were rated independently by three raters on two axes: conceptualization and permissibility. When visualized, the ratings clearly show that while AI qua TOOL does not inherently attach either to the restrive or permissive, AI qua RESOURCE does not attach to the restrictive. Ultimately, this study shows that universities are unlikely at this time to conceptualize AI as a resource and simultaneously ban it.
Examining Student Opinions about Artificial Intelligence at the University of Florida
Julia House
As artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced, it has become a prominent consideration in the academic world, sparking a range of differing viewpoints on its appropriate use. While AI in education holds great potential, it also presents limitations and ethical implications to be considered. Understanding student perspectives is valuable in the conversation about AI, and especially important in guiding its integration into academic settings, such as the shaping of academic policies. This paper serves to explore UF undergraduate student opinions on AI, revealing that they are largely open to the permissive use of AI in their work. Additionally, the results of this research suggest that while UF undergraduate students believe AI is valuable and enhances their work, many students desire clear expectations for its usage. Ultimately, this paper offers insight into the overarching opinions that UF undergraduate students hold regarding AI in the current moment.
The Ethical Implications of AI in the Composition Classroom: From Plato to Parrots and Back Again
Rebecca Cepek, PhD
This article addresses the needs of first-year writing students in regard to the use of generative artificial intelligence programs in the composition classroom. The responses to generative AI in academia have settled into three somewhat predictable patterns: complete resistance, complete acceptance, and the ever-popular middle ground. While generally, I like to avoid extremes, I am unable to do so in this case: I feel for the sake of our students, in terms of first-year writing, we must take the path of complete resistance. The various generative AI systems, as they exist now, are flawed for a variety of reasons, with deeply troubling ethical implications in terms of the environment, the information they produce, and the ways in which they share that information.