Above: AI and Ancient Languages by Edward A. S. Ross.
March 2023 – present
Conversational AI models, like ChatGPT and Bard AI, have become an ever-present part of daily life for staff and students in the university sector. These are a ground-breaking tool for translation and creating novel, written works, but they also have significant problems with their training data and outputs. Higher Education groups and governments have released guiding principals for working with these tools, but little has been done to codify and standardise ethical and effective uses of conversational AI models in the classroom. There are clear benefits to using conversational AI models to support ancient language learning, provided that students are guided prior to using them. This project intends to develop ethical guidelines for using conversational AI tools in ancient language teaching and learning. Furthermore, the project team will produce standardized guiding phrase documents and AI model tutorials for teachers at the school and university level.
This project is funded by a Teaching and Learning Enhancement Project (TLEP) Grant from the University of Reading and a Council of University Classical Departments (CUCD) Education Grant.
Project Team
Co-Investigators
Jackie Baines
Edward A. S. Ross
Research Assistants
Jacinta Hunter
Fleur McRitchie Pratt
Nisha Patel
Shona Carter-Griffiths
Team Bios
Co-Investigators
Jackie Baines
She is a Lecturer in Classics at the University of Reading with specialism in Latin language and ancient language pedagogy, including the development of ethical policy for use of AI in language classes.
Edward A. S. Ross
He is a PhD candidate at the University of Reading. Edward is also a Research Officer and Library Evening Attendant. He researches several conversational AI tools and also leads ethical-use workshops.
Research Assistants
Jacinta Hunter
Jacinta is a second year Classical Studies undergraduate at the University of Reading, with a background in education and theatre. She is very excited to be assisting Jackie and Edward with their AI research, and is hoping to discover new and inspiring ways of teaching and learning language.
Fleur McRitchie Pratt
A Classical Studies Undergraduate at the University of Reading, studying both Latin and Ancient Greek. She is highly interested in both modern and ancient languages. She is looking forward to looking into the use of AI in learning ancient languages.
Shona Carter-Griffiths
Shona is a third year Classical Studies Undergraduate at the University of Reading, with a keen interest in ancient Greek mythology, epic and pottery. She is excited to be an assistantin the research of AI-Generated imagery of figures from the ancient world, focusing on the potential influences that these images draw from.
Outputs
Journal Articles
Ross, Edward A. S. “A New Frontier: AI and Ancient Language Pedagogy.” The Journal of Classics Teaching 24, No. 48 (2023). 143-161. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631023000430.
Teaching Resources
Baines, Jackie, Edward A. S. Ross, Jacinta Hunter, Fleur McRitchie Pratt, and Nisha Patel. Digital Tools for Learning Ancient Greek and Latin and Guiding Phrases for Using Generative AI in Ancient Language Study. V2. March 12, 2024. Archived by figshare. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25391782.v2.
Videos
Ross, Edward A. S. “Is AI the New Plato?: Things to Know About AI and Your Studies.” Department of Classics, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. February 28, 2024. [LINK]
Datasets
Ross, Edward A. S., and Jackie Baines. AI and Ancient Language Student Survey – Autumn 2023. V2. December 16, 2023. Archived by figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24835629.v2.
Ross, Edward A. S., and Jackie Baines. Is AI the New Plato?: AI Benefits and Drawbacks for Study Survey – Autumn 2023. V2. December 16, 2023. Archived by figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24842058.v2.
Ross, Edward A. S., and Jackie Baines. University of Reading Classical Languages Teaching Content and Expectations Survey – Summer 2023. V2. December 16, 2023. Archived by figshare. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24829953.v2.
Blog Posts
Ross, Edward A. S. “Classics and Generative AI: New Resources and Opportunities for Staff and Students.” Classics at Reading (blog). University of Reading. March 16, 2024. [LINK].
Baines, Jackie. “Developments in Ancient Language Pedagogy.” Classics at Reading (blog). University of Reading. June 23, 2023. [LINK].
Conference Presentations
Ross, Edward A. S. “A New Frontier: AI and Ancient Language Pedagogy.” Developments in Ancient Language Pedagogy Workshop, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. May 19, 2023.
Public Talks
(Guest Lecture) Ross, Edward A. S. “Ethical Prompt Engineering: Developing Guiding Phrases for Generative AI.” CL3FCC: From Classroom to Courtroom: Mastering the Art of Persuasion in the Ancient World. Department of Classics, University of Reading, United Kingdom. March 15, 2024.
(Guest Lecture) Ross, Edward A. S. “Generative AI and Hieroglyphs: Can ChatGPT be a Conversational Language Study Tool?” CL3AEL: Ancient Egyptian Language & Hieroglyphs. Department of Classics, University of Reading, United Kingdom. March 5, 2024.
(Guest Lecture) Ross, Edward A. S. “Is AI the New Plato?: Things to Know About AI and Your Studies.” LANG1L: Language Skills. Department of Modern Languages, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. November 17, 2023.
(Invited Talk) Baines, Jackie and Edward A. S. Ross. “Conversational AI: Guidelines for New Tools in Ancient Language Study.” Lunchtime Mini-Series: Using AI for Teaching and Learning, Centre for Quality Support and Development (CQSD), University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. November 2, 2023.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Is AI the New Plato?: Things to Know About AI and Your Studies.” University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. October 4, 2023.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Is AI the New Plato?: Things to Know About AI and Your Studies.” University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. September 27, 2023.
Edward A. S. Ross 