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In a few short months, many of us have heard of or tried ChatGPT, the large language model (LLM) that generates coherent texts on demand in a broadly accessible chat interface. Many opinions have been voiced about ChatGPT and other natural language intelligence systems, and crucially, how they may affect education and teaching in practice. Are LLMs an unstoppable force for cheating, a powerful tool for learning, or all or none of the above? In this panel we'll bring together multidisciplinary, research-based perspectives on these topics — UMass professors and an alum who are world-leading experts in the large language models, the impact of technology on education, and social implications of language technologies.  In the question period, we invite community members to share examples of what they've seen from ChatGPT in practice.  What have we learned…

The Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Research & Engagement, in coordination with the Chancellor, have established the Large-Scale Interdisciplinary Research Awards (LIRA) program. LIRA will offer seed funds totaling up to $400,000 to support integrated team efforts to develop large-scale initiatives. The goal of this program is to empower creativity; to promote equitable collaborations, especially those that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion; and to attract substantial external funding. Preference will be given to projects that address large-scale societal problems, with potential for significant impact. The program will provide professional cohort-based training to awarded teams on integrative teaming, equitable collaboration, and budget planning, and research development support for ideation and proposal development. LIRA topic areas should be well aligned with campus strengths, including, but not limited to, strategic emphasis areas, such as Diversity, Equity, and…

Shelly C. Lowe, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will give a public lecture and Q&A on Friday, March 3, in South College Room E470 at 12:30 p.m. The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the College of Humanities & Fine Arts. Registration in advance is required.Following the lecture, Director of Public Interest Technology Francine Berman will moderate a roundtable conversation with HFA faculty on "The Current and Future State of Humanities Research" at 1:30 p.m., also in South College Room W245. Panelists include:Anne Kerth, assistant professor, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American StudiesNed Markosian, professor, Department of PhilosophySarah Patterson, assistant professor, Department of EnglishJoseph Pater, professor and chair, Department of LinguisticsEmiliano Ricciardi, associate professor, Department of Music and DanceMalcolm Sen, associate professor, Department of EnglishAnthony Tuck, professor and chair, Department of…

On Tuesday, February 28, the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing is presenting a talk by Dr. Miriam Bender, Associate Professor at the University of California Irvine’s Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing. Envelope

Google.org Invites Applications for Efforts to Accelerate Progress on UN SDGs using AI.  Google.org Invites Applications for Efforts to Accelerate Progress on UN SDGs using AI.  Building off previous support of AI for Social Good, Google.org has launched a call to find organizations around the world that are using artificial intelligence to create new, innovative solutions to existing problems and to accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goals. The deadline is March 17 and submissions up ~$2M will be accepted. A total of ~$25M in grants will be awarded. Applications must meet the following criteria: Impact: How does the application of AI accelerate progress towards the Global Goals, break through barriers, or reduce inefficiencies? Is the application grounded in research and data? Is there a clear plan to deploy an AI model, and what are the expected outcomes?…

Join the Responsible Technology Coalition on February 27 at 5:30 pm for "A Conversation with Moira Weigel & Ben Tarnoff", cofounders of Logic Magazine & coeditors of Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do-And How They Do It. Envelope