Session 8: “AI: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly In Charlotte And Around The World,” taught by Dr. Helen Davies
July 14 and 16; July 21 and 23
10am – 12pm

AI is everywhere these days. A few questions plague most of us, such as “What on earth actually is AI?” “What am I supposed to do with this? Should I be using this?” “What is this new technology doing to our already fast-paced world?” As much as I wish I could give you simple answers to all of these questions, I cannot. No one can. We will, however, touch on each of these subjects as well as the more lived experiences and personal questions that we grapple with in this new age. What does it mean to read, write, think, and create in this world of AI? Have these things shifted? How does AI affect our city? We will briefly cover what this technology actually is and how it fits in with prior tech, and we will do some hands-on experiments with the technology. We will then step back and discuss the environmental implications, how we collectively feel it might affect Charlotte, and some potential ways it could impact our future. I will introduce you to stories, scientific ideas, art, and interviews as we grapple with how other people envision this future developing – and we will decide if we agree with them.

Meet your instructor: Helen Davies is an assistant professor at UNC Charlotte in the English department and is a joint faculty member in the School of Data Science. She currently has a Gambrell Faculty Fellowship through the Charlotte Urban Institute to look at AI usage in our city.  Helen’s work focuses on the intersection of digital humanities and medieval literature. She uses multispectral imaging, a technology originally designed for satellite imaging, to recover documents that you cannot otherwise see. As an expert in the digital humanities, Helen studies technology and its implications for society and vice versa. Her recent work can be found in Studi Francesi, Studia Celtica Fennica, Digital Philology, and Dark Archives.