HENKF2601U Free topic A: “Sure! Here’s a description for a new MA course on Sociolinguistics and AI.” How text-generative AI is transforming language, text and social worlds in contemporary society

The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 marked the beginning of an era: Large language models and their application as part of text-generative AI are rapidly changing the way we engage with language. The ways we write, read, speak and listen are all being transformed by the availability of new AI tools. In a sense, we’re witnessing an ontological shift in which language and text no longer have quite the same status in the world as they used to. This poses a host of challenges, say some, or opportunities, say others, – for society at large as well as sociolinguistics as a discipline.

The fundamental question we will be asking throughout this course is this: how is the availability of text-generative AI affecting social worlds as we know them by establishing new practices around language and text?

The course will introduce you to the basics of text-generative AI. What is a large language model? How do chatbots like ChatGPT work? What ethical questions are raised by the new technologies? And what do people use AI tools for? You will also be introduced to the field of sociolinguistics, the study of social worlds through language. What are central theoretical concepts and methods in this field, and how can they be used to study how AI is transforming language, text and social worlds in contemporary society?

No prior experience with – or particular knowledge of – AI is required, but plenty of critical curiosity is a sine qua non. If you want to learn more about the finer details of machine learning, neural networks etc., you should sign up for a different course. But if you want to know more about, and critically explore, how AI is becoming part of everyday life, from a sociolinguistic perspective, then this is the course for you.

The course is based on the AI-UNI research project (www.ai-uni.dk), which explores how generative language technologies are used as part of academic practices. Using this research project as a starting point, we will explore how AI tools are changing the sociolinguistic landscape in various societal domains. The emphasis will be on language use in educational settings and research, but we will also look at the role of AI in other contexts – from intercultural communication in healthcare settings to text production in translation companies.

(For the record: this course description was written without the aid of text-generative AI).