The subject of artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere, which at times can be quite controversial but nonetheless good, bad or otherwise it is here to stay.
As with most subjects, there is no shortage of “subjectivity” when it comes to A.I. which this past year I had some notable experiences that helped to inform my perspective on this subject.
The first was a lecture presentation at The University of Wisconsin-River Falls by award winning Creative Director and Motion Design Educator Elizabeth Steinberg, who has done notable work for Nat Geo, NFL Films, Starz, The Emmy Foundation, and other top shows and companies.
When it was announced that Elizabeth would be presenting a lecture on the subject of artificial intelligence on campus, it was initially met with a good amount of skepticism by students and faculty with the main objection being that “artificial intelligence is stealing creative jobs,” which in my classrooms sparked some spirited discussion on the subject but added to the intrigue to see where this expert stood on that subject, which coincidentally began with that very point.
Steinberg shared examples of how she used A.I. in her work for the purposes of saving time and resources for the creation of “pitches” or “spec projects” that in the past took countless hours of tedious technical work for animations that were done in hopes of winning a contract to be hired for the actual job. But with the use of A.I. she was able to produce quality results with considerably less effort and time, which allowed her to put more time into creative work that helped her focus on mastering her craft, which seemed like a positive use of the technology but with the important human component to create the actual original content.
Artificial intelligence also played a major role in an online course that I taught during spring semester for the UWX AAS degree statewide program called “Fake News, Social Media and You.” The course was redesigned from a previous media literacy course with the help of an instructional design team that helped me update content that reflected current trends found in the media with “fake news” and A.I. being a major focus.
A lesson exercise assignment that initially was met with a degree of skepticism (much like the campus lecture) titled “A.I. Generated Fake Content” had the students create “fake content” such as a news article, social media post or manipulated “deepfake” meme using A.I. tools of their choice such as Chat GPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot or others, but with the clear instructions of labeling it as “fake” before sharing it with other students. Students then compared their reactions to the fakes using the concepts of media literacy to apply and identify the ethical implications of the content, with the takeaway of being able to more clearly identity and apply the same standards in the “real” (fake) world.
Overall, both experiences ended with positive outcomes, that while they are considered “controversial” it did lead to thought provoking skepticism and critical analysis that contained an ethical component, which seems to be more relevant and important than ever.
By Erik L. Johnson
Professor
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
