When you chat with ChatGPT, it often feels like you’re talking to someone polite, engaged and responsive. It nods in all the right places, mirrors your wording and seems eager to keep the exchange flowing. But is this really what human conversation sounds like? Our new study shows that while ChatGPT plausibly imitates dialogue, it does so in […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
ChatGPT only talks in clichés – here’s why that’s a threat to human creativity
From fear to fluency: what our students learned when they used AI across an entire course
When artificial intelligence (AI) enters the classroom, the focus is often on the risk of plagiarism or shortcuts. But in a postgraduate business analysis course on digital innovation and strategy, taught in early 2025, we tried a different approach. Students were asked to use AI purposefully at every stage of the digital innovation process, reflect […] … learn more→
Uni students are using AI to ‘ask stupid questions’ and get feedback on their work
Imagine a student working on an assignment and they are stuck. Their lecturer or tutor is not available. Or maybe they feel worried about looking silly if they ask for help. So they turn to ChatGPT for feedback instead. In mere moments they will have an answer, which they can prompt for further clarification if […] … learn more→
AI is becoming increasingly present in the creative industries
Advertising, fashion, and design. Theater, film, music, and video games. Visual arts, sculpture, and painting. Heritage management and cultural tourism. The cultural and creative industries (CCI) are undergoing rapid change with the emergence of artificial intelligence. On the one hand, new opportunities for improvement are created. On the other, significant challenges arise for employees. Artificial intelligence can […] … learn more→
AI has passed the aesthetic Turing Test − and it’s changing our relationship with art
Pick up an August 2025 issue of Vogue and you’ll come across an advertisement for the brand Guess featuring a stunning model. Yet tucked away in small print is a startling admission: She isn’t real. She was generated entirely by AI. For decades, fashion images have been retouched. But this isn’t airbrushing a real person; it’s a […] … learn more→
Freud would have called AI a ‘narcissistic insult’ to humanity – here’s how we might overcome it
In 1917, Sigmund Freud described three “narcissistic insults” that had been caused by science. These were moments of scientific breakthrough that showed humans that we are not as special as we once believed. The first came with astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’s discovery%5D) that we are not at the centre of the universe, because the sun rather than the Earth […] … learn more→
Generative AI is not a ‘calculator for words’. 5 reasons why this idea is misleading
Last year I attended a panel on generative AI in education. In a memorable moment, one presenter asked: “What’s the big deal? Generative AI is like a calculator. It’s just a tool.” The analogy is an increasingly common one. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman himself has referred to ChatGPT as “a calculator for words” and compared comments […] … learn more→
At one elite college, over 80% of students now use AI – but it’s not all about outsourcing their work
Over 80% of Middlebury College students use generative AI for coursework, according to a recent survey I conducted with my colleague and fellow economist Zara Contractor. This is one of the fastest technology adoption rates on record, far outpacing the 40% adoption rate among U.S. adults, and it happened in less than two years after ChatGPT’s public […] … learn more→
Four ways to experiment with artificial intelligence in the university classroom
Every day, students arrive in class with summaries compiled by ChatGPT or ideas outlined by a virtual assistant . Given this reality, an awkward question arises: what’s the point of meeting in class? The traditional classroom is losing its meaning as a place where what a machine can generate in seconds is repeated. The challenge , then, is to […] … learn more→
Does ChatGPT make us stupid?
In 2008, The Atlantic magazine shocked the public with a controversial report entitled: Is Google Making Us Stupid ? In a 4,000-word essay that later became a book , the author, Nicholas Carr, answered this poignant question. The short answer is yes: Technologies like search engines impair the ability to think deeply and acquire knowledge. Carr’s core argument is […] … learn more→
