The emergence of Open AI's ChatGPT and other large-language artificial intelligence models will impact nearly every industry on the planet and the very way we approach questions, Northwestern University experts say.
Faculty are available to discuss many facets of this changing paradigm. Connect with them directly using the contact information below, or reach out to media relations for assistance.
Human/computer interaction
Professor in Communication Studies
Birnholtz’s research focuses on human-computer interaction issues such as attention, online identity, and collaboration through the use of technology. He runs the Social Media Lab and investigates how people develop “folk theories,” or simplified explanations of system function that guide their behavior. Even when technically incorrect, folk theories can be a valuable guide in navigating the complexities of AI.
Journalism, ethics and AI
Associate Professor in Communication Studies and Computer Science (by courtesy)
Diakopoulos' research is oriented around computational journalism, including projects on AI, automation and algorithms in news production and distribution. He also studies AI, ethics and society and can speak to algorithmic accountability, transparency and impact. He is the author of Automating the News: How Algorithms are Rewriting the Media from Harvard University Press, and he recently participated in a webinar about ChatGPT's impact on journalism and how the technology might change the field.
Using ChatGPT to write scientific research
Instructor of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care)
In a study available as a preprint on bioRxiv and currently undergoing peer review, Gao and her team found that ChatGPT could successfully produce realistic and convincing scientific abstracts. Gao says this could be used in exciting ways but that additional discussion and exploration from the scientific community is needed to decide its acceptable and optimal use. (Listen to a Feinberg Breakthroughs podcast about their findings.) Gao also is interested in how this technology can be used responsibly in healthcare to assist physicians.
Technology and journalism
Knight Professor in Digital Media Strategy
Gilbert explores the intersection of technology and media to understand how new tools and techniques, including content generated through artificial intelligence, will affect the creation, consumption and distribution of media.
AI natural language writing
Bill and Cathy Osborn Professor of Computer Science
Director, Center for Advancing Safety for Machine Intelligence
Director, Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence
As a pioneer in AI and generative language systems, Hammond co-founded Narrative Science, a tech startup that generates stories (told in natural language) from big data. He is an expert in AI safety and ethics, developing human capabilities into machines and integrating AI into all aspects of life. His lab works on AI projects for the judicial system, education and human health and safety.
AI and information literacy
Director, Galter Health Sciences Library; Professor, Preventive Medicine (Health and Biomedical Informatics); Chief of Knowledge Management, Institute for Augmented Intelligence in Medicine (i.AIM)
As the chief of Knowledge Management for Feinberg's Institute for Augmented Intelligence in Medicine (I.AIM), Holmes believes that, in addition to accessibility, it’s important to determine how ChatGPT will impact larger ecosystems complicated by issues related to information literacy.
Ethics of AI In research
Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Preventive Medicine and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Accountability in Research
Hosseini believes banning the use of large language models (LLMs) in research is controversial and unenforceable. He is the author of a recent editorial that suggests ethical guidelines for using LLMs in research, a preprint about using LLMs in scholarly peer reviews and an opinion piece about using LLMs in education.
Ethical impact on medicine
Director of the Institute for Augmented Intelligence in Medicine (I.AIM) and the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM)’s Center for Health Information Partnerships
Kho says he believes having discussions right now about ChatGPT can help inform new regulations that also ensure the tool remains both accessible and equitable.
AI in clinical medicine
Co-Director, Institute for Augmented Intelligence in Medicine's Center for Medical Education in Data Science and Digital Health; Associate Vice Chair, Clinical Informatics; Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine, Health and Biomedical Informatics
Liebovitz has been teaching clinical informatics for several decades, incorporating new methods for education and applications of AI within clinical patient care. He has been a chief medical information officer at two organizations where he actively implemented AI in clinical medicine. Liebovitz has contributed to publications applying AI methods and data science to analysis of electronic health records data (a recent example is this August 2022 study in the New England Journal of Medicine). He also has served on conference planning committees and presented sessions related to application of AI to healthcare.
AI and the law
Director of Law and Technology Initiatives
Linna's teaching and research focus on innovation and technology, including computational law and artificial intelligence. He currently is experimenting with ChatGPT and other large-language models on a chatbot platform that aims to support tenants in rental housing.
Human/AI interaction
Assistant Professor in Communication Studies
Long is a human-centered AI researcher interested in issues surrounding AI literacy and human-AI interaction. She studies how humans interact and learn as a way of informing the design of public AI literacy interventions as well as the development of AI that can interact naturally and improvise creatively with people in complex social environments.
AI automation, bias and misinformation
Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine (Health and Biomedical Informatics)
As chief AI officer for the Northwestern Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute and the Institute for Augmented Intelligence in Medicine (I.AIM) at Feinberg, Luo can discuss ChatGPT and other AI bots’ possible increased risk of spreading misinformation and promoting bias. But ChatGPT can also be used for good, Luo says, helping automate the writing process, which is the speed bottleneck in knowledge generation and dissemination. Ethical and practical gaps still need to be bridged, he says.
AI impact on law and legal services
George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law
McGinnis has recently written about AI and the law and can discuss how technologies like ChatGPT are likely to impact law and legal services delivery.
Predictive AI models
Walter P. Murphy Professor of Computer Science
Buffett Faculty Fellow, Buffett Institute for Global Affairs
Subrahmanian is an expert on the intersection between AI and security. He develops AI models to forecast actions and influence outcomes. His AI models have been used to forecast terror attacks and terror network evolution, to reduce poaching, to identify bad actors on social media, to forecast systemic banking crises, to maximize airline profits, to predict if apps are malware or not and to analyze and identify deepfakes.
AI in education
Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Chicago Field Studies Program
Wieda is trained in analyzing daily behaviors through the prism of values and ideas that affect them and can discuss how to use ChatGPT in the classroom, how to get students to engage critically with AI and why it’s best to thoughtfully embrace new technologies rather than rejecting them.