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Mimicry versus meaning: why context is important for AI tools episode artwork

Mar 26, 2025 22 min

Mimicry versus meaning: why context is important for AI tools

from EdTechnical

Another live Ed-Technical episode! In this short, Owen does a deep dive on AI and discourse analysis (the study of how meaning is constructed through language) with three experts. The conversation explores the intersection between AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), and the study of discourse. This is a topical conversation as LLM capabilities continue to evolve. LLMs have mastered sentence level communication. However we know less about their ability to be useful over the course of a full conversation and complex and interactive processes (like learning) that require deeper appreciation of context. Featuring: Pani Kendeu: Professor at the University of Minnesota, researching learning, cognition, and technology, and a former elementary school teacher. Alyssa Wise: Professor of Technology and Education at Vanderbilt University, directing the Live Learning Innovation Incubator which bridges technology with real-world classroom challenges. Art Graesser: Professor at the University of Memphis, co-founder of the Institute for Intelligent Systems and the Society for Text and Discourse. Join us on social media: BOLD (@BOLD_insights), Libby Hills (@Libbylhhills) and Owen Henkel (@owen_henkel) Listen to all episodes of EdTechnical here: https://boldscience.org/podcasts/edtechnical/ Subscribe to BOLD’s newsletter: https://bold.expert/newsletter Stay up to date with all the latest research on child development and learning: https://bold.expert Credits: Sarah Myles for production support; Josie Hills for graphic design; Pia Schmoeckel for content production.

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Another live Ed-Technical episode! In this short, Owen does a deep dive on AI and discourse analysis (the study of how meaning is constructed through language) with three experts. The conversation explores the intersection between AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), and the study of discourse. This is a topical conversation as LLM capabilities continue to evolve. LLMs have mastered sentence level communication. However we know less about their ability to be useful over the co...

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Mimicry versus meaning: why context is important for AI tools

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