Department of Linguistics

Sam Altman has zero regrets about letting ChatGPT loose into the world. To the contrary, he believes it was a great public service. This is the story of the OpenAI CEO's ambitious, ingenious, terrifying quest to create a new form of intelligence. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is referenced.

The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly investigating OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed startup that makes the smash hit ChatGPT. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Two weeks after members of Congress questioned OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about the potential for artificial intelligence tools to spread misinformation, disrupt elections and displace jobs, he and others in the industry went public with a much more frightening possibility: an AI apocalypse. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

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."

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.

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.

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.

An open letter signed on Wednesday by over 1,100 notable public figures, including Elon Musk and Apple co-creator Steve Wozniak, implores researchers to institute a six-month moratorium on developing artificial intelligence systems more powerful than GPT-4. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Four University of Washington researchers have been named AAAS Fellows, according to a Jan. 31 announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 506 new fellows from around the world elected in 2022, who are recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements in science and engineering.

University of Washington Provost Mark A. Richards today announced Dianne Harris will become dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, beginning Sept. 1.

Through the study of dialects, Elijah Pasco has combined his love of linguistics and theater. 

Two Yup'ik engineers, Christopher Egalaaq Liu and Lonny Alaskuk Strunk, who recieved his masters in computational linguistics from the UW, have worked on a new advanced Yugtun translation tool.

Two Yup’ik engineers are trying to push the Yugtun language into the future using technology. Their latest project opens the door for Yugtun autocorrect, grammar checkers and automatic subtitles on Yup’ik videos. Lonny Alaskuk Strunk developed the technology for Yugtun.com during his master’s program in computational linguistics at the University of Washington.

Dr. Emily M. Bender, a professor of linguistics, discusses the potential effects of natural language processing technology.