UW-Stevens Point professor prepares students for the future of AI in creative fields

Associate Professor of Media Studies Cary Elza is preparing her students to adapt to a changing landscape of innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) instead of fearing the unknown.  This semester a new topic under the MSTU 354 course at the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point was piloted by Elza, “Topics in Media Production: Artificial Intelligence and Creativity.”
 
“Media creators are at the front lines of this,” she said. “Many of our students go on to create, and I don’t think that these tools can replace their role as producers. However, being able to use AI tools and explain how and why you use them for individual creation and expression is becoming increasingly important.”
 
In this course, she is laying groundwork by teaching the history of this technology to prepare students for the future of AI in media careers. Elza has developed learning outcomes for this course that challenge students to define ethical guidelines for AI usage in creative work and effectively integrate this technology into their everyday work flows as producers.
 
“We are aiming to help students figure out where technological augmentation happens, and how to do so while maintaining authentic voice,” Elza said.
 
Discerning AI generated images and text from the manufactured has become increasingly difficult for the public, leading to concerns of authenticity in creative professions. But what if there was a way to utilize generative AI that retains human quality and makes creative media services more accessible? By cultivating a local partnership and offering creative services, Elza hopes students benefit from gaining hands on experience alongside the Stevens Point community.
 
“I am working on a partnership with the Green Circle Trail to create an advertising campaign for safe and responsible behavior,” she said. “My goal is that by the end of the semester we’ll have used AI to help them create a whole safety campaign complete with videos and animation.”
 
What Elza and other media critics once considered an idea of “end times” speculative fiction has now become a reality. She reminds us that we can either shy away from a changing world or learn to embrace the unknown.
 
“It can be terrifying-- I too have reservations, but changes in media technology have happened before,” Elza said. “By participating in what comes next, you are envisioning the way the world could be instead of the way it was. The people who will be able to get the jobs of the future are the people who embrace the future.”
 
In addition to her work as a historian and critic of media and technology, she has been examining this intersection in academia since the beginning of the summer of 2024. Elza is working on a Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars research project focused on AI and teaching, specifically what constitutes the human voice in writing. She will present their findings at the OPID Spring Conference for Wisconsin Educators in April.