From ChatGPT to DALL-E: What is Generative AI and How Does it Affect Us?

Generative AI tools such as DALLE-2 and ChatGPT allow us to create realistic images and write human-like text. These tools have become popular, reaching millions of users across the globe. The diverse range of capabilities of generative AI, from conversing and crafting fluent essays, through creating and editing photos, to coding and composing poetry, holds great promise for a variety of fields, including education, research, healthcare, industry and society at large. At the same time, it also raises concerns. In this talk, Vered Shwartz will debunk the magic behind generative AI tools and explain how they work. We will discuss their applications, limitations and potential risks.

Vered Shwartz is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at UBC and a CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute. Her research is concerned with natural language processing, with the fundamental goal of building computer programs that can interact with people in natural languages. In her work, she is teaching machines to apply human-like common-sense reasoning which is required to resolve ambiguities and interpret underspecified language. Before joining UBC, Vered completed her PhD in Computer Science at Bar-Ilan University and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Allen Institute for AI and the University of Washington.

This Leading Scholars series brings together leading experts from diverse fields to explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the context of education at UBC. Through a multidisciplinary lens, this series aims to delve into the promises and challenges that AI presents, beginning with an introduction to generative models for text and images. Then, through a series of panels, organizers will probe into the incorporation of AI in future workflow, on how recent generative models have changed the concept of lifelong learning, the impact of AI on our interactions with images across disciplines, and AI’s potential for language learning, revitalization and reclamation from an Indigenous perspective.

Series Conveners: Anwar Ahmed, Language and Literacy Education; Tamara Etmannski, Civil Engineering; Christopher Hammerly, Linguistics; Giulia Toti, Computer Science; Lily Wenya Zhou, Neurology; Ignacio Barbeito, Forest Resources Management; Katherine Wagner, Economics; Shoufu Yin, History; Thomas Pasquier, Computer Science