Gillian Sinnott
Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor in Writing
Current and upcoming courses
Free Speech in the Digital Age
WRIT123
In the internet's early days, it seemed that this new platform would usher in a golden age of widely accessible speech. Today, however, the web is riddled with vicious harassment and viral falsehoods. In this class, we will examine whether the classic defenses of free speech still make sense in the digital age. When wild conspiracies spread so easily online, should we still trust in the marketplace of ideas? Can we continue to believe that unfettered speech protects democracy when so many online exchanges are racist and misogynistic? Should we still regard speech as a fundamental exercise of human autonomy when generative AI can produce reams of convincing text in moments? Readings will include philosophical work on the nature of free speech, empirical research on harmful speech, and excerpts from First Amendment cases.
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Privacy and Property in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
WRIT132
Generative AI seems poised to change the world, and at the heart of this potential transformation lie the power and value of data. AI models undergo tuning and correction, but algorithms trained on vast amounts of data are the foundation of the technology. The models also allow us to analyze data on an unprecedented scale. AI therefore raises profound questions about the control and ownership of information. Given AI’s capacities, do we need more robust privacy controls on what data the government can collect for national security, or on how corporations can profit from consumers’ data using AI? Does copyright law adequately protect the property rights of creators whose work is used to train AI models, or whose style can now be effortlessly imitated by AI tools? If AI models are trained on data that is the product of humanity’s collective efforts, who is entitled to the enormous profits these models may generate? We’ll explore these larger legal and political questions and also examine how they should influence our own behaviors and community standards here at Wellesley.