Professor: Lizzy LeRud
4 credits
In this class, we will take up generative AI as a socio-cultural artifact in order to think critically about the intersection of computers and writing, with a special focus on poetry. We’ll begin with the premise that computers can write poems. In fact, poetry holds a special place in the canon of electronic literature, and some of the earliest digital systems taught computers how to produce simple rhymes and rhythms. Many poetic forms are highly predictable, after all. The fact that poems are programmable doesn’t necessarily spell disaster for the art form; poets have been collaborating with computers for decades. However, recent changes in the availability of generative AI have sparked new questions about the future of poetry and writing in general. What is our responsibility toward these new technologies—as writers, readers, students, citizens, humans? How might changes in writing technology change us and our world? And what does it mean to resist?
To think about how we got here and how to move forward, we will consider the long history of computational composition—and the even longer history of traditional literary forms and genres—drawing on a range of texts written by humans and machines. No prior knowledge of digital technologies is required, but you should be prepared to assess your own use of technology, especially as it pertains to writing.