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EdLabSeminar-May2024

Photograph of a Child's hand touching an interactive art light installation as part of the Lumiere festival.

EdLab Seminar:

W(h)ither universities in the era of Generative AI?

Speaker: Prof. Sun Sun Lim, Singapore Management University

This event has now taken place

Event details

  • Thursday 2nd May 2024
  • 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm (UK time)
  • Hybrid event: In person (Dept. of Computer Science, Durham University) and online.

Open to all.

The seminar will be followed by refreshments and an opportunity for networking.

EdLab invites you to join Prof Sun Sun Lim who will be leading our next seminar focusing on the potential and perils of Generative Artificial Intelligence and how these can be addressed.

Abstract

With the democratization of generative AI via the likes of chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini, along with image generators such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, knowledge production seems to have been trivialized. Where does this leave universities which have always served to nurture intellect and drive scholarship? Higher education institutions worldwide have struggled to cope with the disruptions wrought by generative AI. Some have sought to ban generative AI tools outright, while others have reverted to more traditional forms of assessment and yet another group seeks to encourage students to leverage AI creatively. Indeed, as comfort levels with digital learning platforms have risen, these groundbreaking innovations have unleashed fresh possibilities in education. Notably, the emergence of generative AI tools allows for the generation of highly customized content that can be used to power personalized learning. At the same time however, the inherent issues with generative AI such as hallucinations and content provenance are a stern test of digital literacy. Educators across all levels are confronting the challenge of incorporating generative AI into their teaching and assessment, while equipping students with the competencies for effectively using yet critiquing such tools. This presentation will cover the potential and perils that generative AI presents and how these can be addressed.


Speaker biography: Professor Sun Sun LIM

Sun Sun Lim is Vice President, Partnerships & Engagement and Professor of Communication and Technology at Singapore Management University. She has extensively researched the social impact of technology, focusing on technology domestication, future of work and AI ethics. She has over 100 academic publications including Transcendent Parenting: Raising Children in the Digital Age (Oxford University Press, 2020) and articles in top journals like Nature, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication and Big Data & Society. She is a Fellow of the International Communication Association and Singapore Computer Society. From 2018-2020, she was Nominated Member of the 13th Parliament of Singapore, raising issues such as governance of big data, priorities in digital literacy education, and digital rights for children. She is an honoree of the inaugural 2024 Top 50 Asia Women Tech Leaders Award and 2020 Singapore 100 Women in Tech list. She frequently offers her expert commentary in international outlets including Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg, Guardian, Scientific American, South China Morning Post and writes a monthly technology column in Singapore’s largest circulation broadsheet The Straits Times. She has won eight awards for excellent teaching.

See www.sunsunlim.com