Associate Professor of Media Studies Cary Elza is guiding her students at UW-Stevens Point through the rapidly evolving digital landscape, specifically focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in media production.
This semester, Elza launched a new course, “Topics in Media Production: Artificial Intelligence and Creativity” (MSTU 354), designed to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI. The rise of AI tools in filmmaking, including their use in Oscar-nominated films, and the recent Hollywood strikes centered around AI’s role in writing rooms, highlight the growing importance of understanding AI in creative fields. Elza acknowledges these concerns but remains optimistic about the enduring value of human authenticity.
“Media creators are at the front lines of this,” she explained. “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.”
The course aims to equip students with a foundational understanding of AI’s history and its future within media careers. Elza has developed four learning outcomes:
- Defining the parameters of generative AI.
- Examining the nature of human creativity and its relation to technological augmentation.
- Critiquing contemporary uses of AI tools.
- Working to integrate these tools in creative workflows.
“We are aiming to help students figure out where technological augmentation happens, and how to do so while maintaining authentic voice,” Elza stated.
Recognizing that discerning AI-generated content from human-created work is becoming increasingly difficult, Elza seeks to explore methods of utilizing AI to make creative media services accessible while preserving human quality. To provide hands-on experience, she is establishing a local partnership.
“I am working on a partnership with the Green Circle Trail to create an advertising campaign for safe and responsible behavior,” Elza 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.”
Elza’s expertise in AI and media is extensive, encompassing the portrayal of technology in film and television. Her previous work includes publications on the feminization of robots and courses on apocalypse cinema. Though once skeptical of generative AI, she now emphasizes the need to embrace change in a world where technologies once seen in speculative fiction are now a reality.
“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.”
Beyond her teaching and course development, Elza is also actively researching the role of AI in higher education. She is participating in a Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars research project focusing on AI and teaching, specifically examining what constitutes the human voice in writing. She plans to present their findings at the OPID Spring Conference for Wisconsin Educators in April. This initiative is part of a larger effort at UW-Stevens Point to understand and integrate technological advancements in education.
