Woven Together

“I am grateful for my eyes because I can read books.” “I am grateful for my mouth because I can taste blueberries.” “I am grateful for my legs because I can jump.” In the morning, early, before I leave for BYU campus to start my day of classes and writing and thinking, I spend time …

Humanists as Activists: Rewriting the Narratives that Lurk Beneath Technological Tools

Artificial Intelligence has been a topic of special interest for the BYU Humanities Center during the Winter semester of 2023. With masterful blog posts and colloquium presentations by Brian Jackson from the English Department, Earl Brown from Linguistics, and Steve Richardson from Computer Science, we have been enlightened, challenged, and (somewhat) reassured about our abilities …

Paintings of Rocks

Rain drummed a steady symphony against our umbrella as my husband and I trekked through the sidewalk puddles in front of BYU’s Museum of Art. Couples and excited family home evening groups rushed past us, clutching donuts and flyers to their chests. Gold light streamed through the MOA’s glass doors. Dancing reflections rippled across the …

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Why I’m not too worried about generative-AI making our students less skilled

In recent years, the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning has revolutionized the way we interact with technology. One of the most impressive developments in this field is the creation of language models such as ChatGPT, a tool that is changing the way students of computer programming learn and study. In this blog post, …

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The Existential Crisis as Ensemble: Text, Context, and the Role of Choice in the Making of Meaning

I’m just out to find / the better part of me. —Five for Fighting, “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” I have an existential crisis about once a week. Upon writing that sentence, I’m realizing I don’t know precisely what an existential crisis is—that’s just what my wife and I call these episodes. Fortunately, the initial Google …