Department of Political Science one-day workshop

Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and its accessibility to a wide audience bring up important challenges to higher education, thus raising questions about the effect of technological innovations on teaching practices in the Social Sciences. Three aspects receive particular attention: on the one hand, debates surrounding "ChatGPT" have inevitably raised questions about the reliability of academic assessment methods. How can we ensure that a paper is not generated by an AI? Should we aim at uncovering AI users and, if so, under which conditions? How can we conceive exercises and activities that allow for a supervised use of AI? On the other hand, it is worth considering the possibility of integrating these tools into our teaching practices. How can we take advantage of this technological development to devise innovative and creative practices, as well as new modes of assessment, rather than repressing its use? Finally, concerns regarding the impact of AI on the public sphere, including on journalism, research and political marketing, are also important to consider. Particular attention is paid to the use of AI and a manipulative device as seen in the development and spread of political discourses, images and videos, and beyond. Such instrumentalization challenges the concept of “truth” in the media space, thus hindering the detection and regulation of AI in a context of expanding digital capitalism, with respect to which our students must learn to reflect and position themselves. Against this background we propose to address this topic from two main perspectives.

1. AI development: ethical and pedagogical challenges

We welcome contributions that tackle several aspects of the ethical and pedagogical challenges concerning the use of AI such as:

- Could AI harm students’ analytical capacity?

- What are the potential effects of AI learning on inequality among students? - Could mastery of AI and its political regulation become a distinctive professional skill? What kind of training should students receive in order to develop such capacity?

2. Pedagogical practices: innovative examples

We are interested in sharing and discussing good practices and concrete pedagogical innovations. This includes – but is not limited to – the following points:

- Using AI to facilitate class discussions

- Designing new evaluation methods by integrating the use of AI

- Utilizing AI to prepare your class

- How to mobilize controversies surrounding AI to engage students in debat - How to draw on examples related to AI to encourage students to ask questions about political economy, political theory, political sociology, comparative politics, public policy, or international relations

- What does the case of AI allow us to say (and therefore teach) about the restructuring of capitalism, the notion of "truth" in the mediatized public sphere, political communication strategies, inequalities within and between societies, and state relations?

Practical information

The RETEX half-day workshop is designed as a time for exchange and reflection on our individual and collective pedagogical practices. We highly value diversity in applications and therefore welcome contributions from PhD candidates and early-stage researchers as well as from adjunct faculty members and senior scholars.

Presentations can be delivered in French or English.

Date and time: Wednesday, 29 May, 2-6pm

Venue: room K008 (Saint-Thomas Campus)

If you wish to present your work, please submit a 300-word abstract to retexsciencespo2024@gmail.com by the 8th of April 2024.