Humanities Division

You've probably heard chatbots like ChatGPT described as "artificial intelligence." Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, wants you to call it a "text synthesis machine" or "stochastic parrot."

A 2,000-year-old collection of medical tools, recently unearthed in Hungary, offer insight into the practices of undaunted, much-maligned Roman doctors. Lawrence J. Bliquez, professor emeritus of classics and art history at the UW, is quoted.

Big Tech's warnings about an AI apocalypse are distracting us from years of actual harms their products have caused. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

As UW student Kenna Fojas (Cinema & Media Studies, Psychology) prepares to graduate, she's set to direct a film she wrote with guidance from a screenwriting idol. 

Nazry Bahrawi, Assistant Professor of Southeast Asian literature and culture, inaugurates Asian Languages & Literature's quarterly column in the Northwest Asian Weekly.

In KUOW's new program, "Words in Review," host Bill Radke and Sarah Stroup, professor of classics at the UW, take a virtual trip to the rocky Mediterranean to learn why we say "governor," but also, "gubernatorial."

Many Spanish speakers have been discouraged from using Spanglish — a dialect of Spanish influenced by English — at some point in their lives. Because of these experiences, the Spanish Language Heritage Program was formed in 2000 by María Gillman, who saw the program as a necessity for students with different linguistic abilities. Writer McKenna Sweet highlights the program and its impact on student. 

Congratulations to Brian Reed, Milliman Endowed Chair of Humanities, who has been reappointed for an additional three-year term as Divisional Dean of Humanities.

Is AI going to kill us? Or take our jobs? Or is the whole thing overhyped? Depends on who you ask. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Earlier this month, poets Javier Zamora and Ricardo Ruiz met at the sixth annual Lee Scheingold Lecture in Poetry & Poetics to discuss their work, immigration, and the importance of representation in all forms of media, including poetry and prose. In their latest, writer McKenna Sweet recaps the event and reiterates the key takeaways from the poets’ works

Stephanie Kerschbaum, associate professor of English at the UW and author of the new book "Signs of Disability," will discuss her latest work at Edmonds Bookshop on May 18.

The Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students who are making the most of their time at the UW.

This week, attend the annual Schiedel Lecture, learn about the transactional relationship between mental health research and care, enjoy the Improvised Music Project Festival held by UW students and faculty and more.

A lot of people have been using ChatGPT out of curiosity or for entertainment. But students can also use it to cheat. ChatGPT marks the beginning of a new wave of AI, a wave that's poised to disrupt education. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Thousands of experts are sounding alarms about a potential dark future created by artificial intelligence. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, however, says we should be more concerned about the harm the technology is already causing.