Register here
Organizers:
Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI), UBC
Centre for Computational Social Sciences (CCSS), UBC
Partners:
Language Science Institute, UBC
Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-Making and Action (CAIDA), UBC
Digital Democracies Institute (DDI), SFU
Pre-Workshop Training
Working with AI for Humanities and Social Science Research: Python and R for Word Embeddings and Language Models
11:00AM – 12:45PM
ANSO 134
This hands-on workshop will walk participants through using Python and R to train and explore word embeddings, one of the technologies behind large language models and generative AI. The goal of this workshop is to demystify some of the technical aspects of language models and to invite learners to start thinking about how these important tools are used in research and how they function in society. The primary corpus we will use consists of the 150 English-language novels made available by the .txtLab at McGill University, with a supplemental model trained on the ECCO-TCP corpus of 2,350 eighteenth-century literary texts made available by Ryan Heuser. Participants will learn the conceptual basics of word embeddings, natural language processing, and language models, and will learn how to implement a basic word embedding model to analyze gender stereotypes in 18th and 19th century literature. Some familiarity in R and/or Python is necessary to actively follow the tutorial, though participants who do not know R or Python will be able to follow along conceptually if desired.
Facilitator
- Jonathan Graves (Assistant Professor at the Vancouver School of Economics)
Workshop
Session 1: How Can Humanities and Social Science Researchers Use Generative AI?
1:30PM – 2:30 PM
The xʷθəθiqətəm or Place of Many Trees, Liu Institute for Global issues
The recent popularity of Generative AI is new, but the technologies behind these methods have been around for decades, and have long been used by social scientists and humanists for research and scholarship. This panel will briefly introduce three perspectives on using language models in social science and humanities research: a sociological perspective on measuring shared stereotypes in language, a political science perspective on using language models to simulate human samples, and a computer science perspective on how computers can improve our own scholarly productivity. We will then invite participants to share how they’re using these methods (or want to use them!) in their own research and what they would need (e.g., skills, infrastructure) to achieve their goals. No prior knowledge is required to join this discussion; we only ask participants to come with an open, curious mind and with their probing questions.
Panelists:
- Ethan Busby (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young)
- Dongwook Yoon (Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, UBC)
- Laura Nelson (Assistant Professor of Sociology, Director of the Centre for Computational Social Science, UBC).
Session 2: Dilemmas of Using Generative AI in the Academy
3:00PM – 4:00PM
The xʷθəθiqətəm or Place of Many Trees, Liu Institute for Global issues
Generative AI introduces both opportunities and dilemmas for researchers and universities. What legal issues arise from using AI models trained on data that is often acquired without permission or compensation, possibly violating intellectual property rights? Can universities and scholars help push back the current political economy of AI, which advances private interests over public goods? How can AI systems be developed or critiqued in order to redress systemic marginalization and promote equity, inclusion and human rights? This session will tackle these and other questions, informed by insights from panelists with backgrounds in intellectual property law, creating large language models for African languages, and the use of digital technologies in literature and teaching.
Panelists:
- Ife Adebara (PhD candidate, Department of Linguistics)
- Laurie McNeill (Associate Dean, Students; Professor of Teaching, Department of English Language and Literatures)
- Graham Reynolds (Associate Dean, Research and International; Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law)
- Chris Tenove (Interim Director, Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions; Research Associate and Instructor, School of Public Policy & Global Affairs)
Keynote Public Event
Can Democracy Survive AI?
4:30PM – 6:00 PM (Followed by Reception)
The xʷθəθiqətəm or Place of Many Trees, Liu Institute for Global issues
Recent progress in artificial intelligence has provoked fascination but also panic. There are serious concerns that AI systems will greatly exacerbate the toxicity of our information systems, inequity of our economies, surveillance of our private lives, and polarization of our societies. How might we understand and address these risks? Join Wendy Hui Kyong Chun and Fenwick McKelvey, two of Canada’s leading scholars of digital technology and politics, to discuss what researchers, policymakers and citizens can do to help ensure that democracy survives AI.
Panelists:
- Wendy Hui Kyong Chun (Canada 150 Research Chair in New Media, Professor in the School of Communication, and Director of the Digital Democracies Institute, Simon Fraser University)
- Fenwick McKelvey (Associate Professor in Information and Communication Technology Policy, Concordia University; co-director of the Applied AI Institute.)
- Moderator: Chris Tenove (Interim Director, Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions, University of British Columbia)