Can generative AI be used in education to contrast the spread of ideological narratives, instead of favoring it?

To answer this question, Antonio Santangelo, Ilaria Ingrao and Maede Mirsonbol will talk about a study they conducted with two groups of Italian and Iranian teenagers, reflecting with them on the way the last Israeli-Palestinian conflict was visually portrayed by the mass media of their countries on Instagram. After analyzing hundreds of images and reflecting on what was shown and what was not, the most meaningful pictures where displayed to the students, who were asked to recur to generative AI to create new images that expressed their own perspectives on the war. Watching what they produced and analyzing their reflections on this experience, the conclusion is that, with the help of visual semiotic techniques that activate critical thinking, AI can be employed in educational processes to help young people be aware of the cultural context they live in and express themselves. Sometimes it can also be used to say what has not been said by the mass media. But the fear to say something strong and maybe different must be faced and defeated.

Speakers:

• Ilaria Ingrao graduated in Communication and Media Cultures from the University of Turin with a Master’s thesis focused on exploring representations of the human being in Artificial Intelligence narratives. She is currently a second-year PhD student in the Semiotics and Media program at the same university, conducting research on Artificial Intelligence and responsibility.
• Maede Mirsonbol is a PhD student in Semiotics and Media at the University of Turin. Her research is about a multimodal study to understand the impact of Generative AI images on communication skills in a foreign language learning environment with attention to the edusemiotics perspective. She is continuing her research as a visiting student at Lancaster University, England where the quantitative part of her study is collected. She is interested not only in educational research and its connection to the semiotic model of learning, but her goal is to use the innovative approaches in applied practices in teaching and learning contexts.
• Antonio Santangelo is a professor of Semiotics and Philosophy of Language at the University of Turin, where he teaches Semiotics, Semiotics of Digital Cultures, and Multimedia Design and Management for Communication. His main research interests are focused on the development of semiotics as a social science of meaning and on narrative theory, which he applies in various fields: from media and cultural studies to bioethics, from investigations into the significance of digital tools in our society to futures studies.

The event will be held both in-person and online and will last one hour, ending at 2:00 PM.

• Physical location: The Nexa Center for Internet and Society, Via Boggio 65/a, Turin (1st floor).
  To access the room, please ring the bell labeled Portineria and follow the posted signs along the way. Click here for more information on how to reach the location.
• Virtual room: The link is available at this link.

For more information on 120° Nexa Lunch Seminar click here.