Dr. Lynne Bowker is the 2026 Allen Smith Visiting Scholar. She will moderate this panel discussion “Ethics and Large Language Models: Multidisciplinary Perspectives” to explore the ethical challenges surrounding Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI chatbots, including issues of data use and consent, algorithmic bias, environmental impact, misinformation, and extractive practices within the AI supply chain.
Large language models (LLMs) and associated chatbots emerged less than five years ago, but they have been widely adopted across many disciplines. Upon initial release, the tools were accompanied with little guidance and no regulations, leaving most users to learn by trial and error. As we gain more experience with these tools, conversations are moving beyond “how to” use them to address a broad range of ethical questions associated with their use. These issues include questions about data dispossession and permission for data reuse, various types of data and algorithmic bias (e.g. linguistic, gender, racial), extractivism in the AI supply chain, environmental concerns, misinformation, the effects of AI slop, and more.
This talk will provide a brief overview of some key ethical concerns related to LLMs, drawing on research and personal experience from the discipline of translation. Panel members will then weigh in with information and experiences from their own disciplines.
In addition to this panel discussion, Dr. Bowker will be presenting the Allen Smith Keynote Lecture “Scholarly Communication in a Multilingual World: Challenges and Possibilities” on March 23.
