Researchers at Fudan, Harvard, and Stony Brook University recently explored the evolution of 22 languages using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, statistical methods, and a massive cache of real linguistics data. Their paper, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, identifies a common statistical structure for all the languages they examined and the patterns underpinning their evolution.

For generations, the doctoral dissertation has been more than a scholarly document. It is a rite of passage that transforms students into scholars and is characterized by the defining quality of original thought. In dissertation defenses across the country, however, many faculty now grapple quietly with whether, and how much of, the work was produced with the help of generative AI.

The Center for Fiction on Lafayette Avenue hosted a lecture on artificial intelligence and literature on Thursday. The event featured author and visiting researcher at Columbia University Dashiel Carrera, English professor at the University of Virginia Bruce Holsinger, and Tuhin Chakrabarty, assistant professor of computer science at Stony Brook University. The lecture was moderated by guest Maris Kreizman, author of “I Want to Burn This Place Down” and columnist for Literary Hub.

Five of the major AI chatbots were tested. All of them regularly proposed dietary plans akin to skipping an entire meal each day.