We’re delighted to invite you to register to the upcoming Friday Frontiers webinar on Thinking With Machines: How Academics Can Use Generative AI Thoughtfully and Ethically, taking place on Friday, May 2nd at 17:00 CEST. This webinar is organised as part of the Spring/Summer 2025 series.
The Friday Frontiers webinars allow researchers, practitioners and stakeholders from across the broad DARIAH community, and now beyond, to learn about current research, best practice and social impact, and different tools and methods in digital humanities scholarly practice.
The webinar sessions are all free to attend, but registration is required. Presentations are all recorded and published at a later date on DARIAH-Campus.
Information on the upcoming webinar
When: Friday 2nd May, 4pm IST / 5pm CEST / 6pm EEST
Title: Thinking With Machines: How Academics Can Use Generative AI Thoughtfully and Ethically
Speaker: Mark Carrigan (University of Manchester)
Abstract
The emergence of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools presents both opportunities and challenges for academia. While these technologies offer powerful capabilities to support scholarship, their thoughtless adoption could undermine the very foundations of academic work. This talk introduces a framework for incorporating generative AI into academic practice in ways that enhance rather than replace human thought. Drawing on extensive practical experience, it demonstrates how conversational agents can serve as intellectual interlocutors rather than mere productivity tools, while examining the broader implications of these developments for the future of universities.
About the Speaker
Dr Mark Carrigan FRSA FHEA is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Manchester where he is programme director for the MA Digital Technologies, Communication and Education (DTCE) and co-lead of the DTCE Research and Scholarship group. Trained as a philosopher and sociologist, his research aims to bridge fundamental questions of social ontology with practical and policy interventions to support the effective use of emerging technologies within education. He has written or edited eight books, including Social Media for Academics, published by Sage and now in its second edition. His latest book ‘Generative AI for Academics’ was released by Sage in December 2024. He jointly coordinates the Critical Realism Network while being active in the Centre for Social Ontology and a trustee of the Centre for Critical Realism. He is a board member for a range of publications, including Civic Sociology, the Journal of Digital Social Research and Globalisation, Societies and Education.
