Round table “How to do linguistics with AI; how to do AI with linguistics” will take place on the second day of the conference, 27 August 2025. You are invited to submit your questions in advance to the Conference Manager (sle.cmATkuleuven.be).
Everybody talks about it, everybody uses it: the topic of this years’ SLE round table is artificial intelligence. This polysemic expression refers to 1) a scientific field that aims at creating tools that can execute cognitive-like functions normally assigned to humans; 2) methodologies, systems and techniques these tools are based on (probabilistic computing, creating and analyzing large sets of data, human-machine interfaces, etc.); 3) the specific tools built upon these methodologies that can be commercialized as products or services. And the field of linguistics is concerned with the spectacular development and spread of the AI technology in many different ways!
Firstly, the development of the AI-powered tools is greatly due to the application and combining computational linguistic analysis techniques, like Natural Language Processing (Information Extraction, Automatic Translation, Classification and Clustering), Speech Recognition (Speech to Text, Text to Speech) and Machine Learning (Deep Learning, Predictive Analysis). Although AI tools are designed to imitate human languages, they lack human-specific capacities such as embodiment, sociality, joint attention. AI errors reveal interesting aspects on the distinctively human nature of language that AI cannot reproduce.
Secondly, the spread of the AI linguistic tools in our everyday lives, such as Large Language Models (LLMs), has also created new conditions on how people use language (language learning, translation, text/speech generation, interaction with a chatbot, etc.). It has never been so easy “to do things with words” without interacting directly with other humans, provided that you have access to appropriate technology and that you speak the right language.
Thirdly, AI-based tools are also more and more used in language analysis and it would be logical to expect that the continuous progress of the computing techniques would also enhance research in the field of linguistics. This raises the question of linguists’ training, access to the “black box” of AI computing and to the contents of large sets of corpora the AI tools are built upon.
The aim of this round table is to raise methodological, ethical, and theoretical issues related to AI in the field of linguistics. Here are some of the topics and issues that we would like to address:
- What are the opportunities and challenges that AI brings to linguistics?
- Linguistic diversity and unequal treatment of languages in AI
- AI and translation
- AI in Language Acquisition and New Modes of Language Production and Language Learning
- How plausible are Large Language Models as a theoretical representation of the cognitive system and language faculty?
Invited speakers:
Emily Bender, University of Washington
As a professor of linguistics and director of the Computational Linguistics Laboratory, Emily Bender is a recognized expert in the field of AI applied to natural language processing. Her work on the ethical and technical limitations of language models makes her an important voice in this discussion, particularly regarding the implications of AI in linguistics. She has been a member of the faculty at the University of Washington since 2003. She is currently the Thomas L. and Margo G. Wyckoff Endowed Professor in the Department of Linguistics and the faculty director of the CLMS program and the director of the Computational Linguistics Laboratory. She is an Adjunct Professor in both the School of Computer Science and Engineering and the Information School at UW, and a member of the Tech Policy Lab, Value Sensitive Design Lab, and RAISE.
Claire Larsonneur, Université Paris 8
Claire Larsonneur is Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies and Digital Humanities at University Paris 8, within the research unit TransCrit. Her research focuses on the economics and the sociology of translation, more specifically the impact of technology on the translator community: pricing, trust-building, multilingualism, governance issues, language AI. S For several years now, she has been working more specifically on translation technologies and linguistic AI, a subject on which she has carried out several expert missions (Europe Créative, Operas, the French Ministry for Higher Education). She has recently co-edited with Renée Desjardins and Philippe Lacour When Translation Goes Digital Palgrave-Macmillan, 2020. She has co-organised the international Tralogy conference, “Human translation and natural language processing: forging a new consensus” held in Paris in 2022.
Benoit Leblanc, École Nationale Supérieure de Cognitique – Bordeaux INP
Professor of artificial intelligence at the Institut polytechnique de Bordeaux, Benoit Le Blanc is director of the National School of Engineering in Applied Cognitive Sciences (ENSC – Bordeaux INP) and president of the French academic society of artificial intelligence (AFIA). He was for five years the mission officer for AI at the French Ministry of Research. His research work focuses on knowledge management and human trust in artificial intelligence systems.
Christian Ludwig, Freie Universität Berlin
Christian Ludwig is currently a Visiting Professor in the English Department at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. His research and teaching primarily focus on the intersection of English language teaching and learning with digital technology and artificial intelligence. Additionally, he explores the integration of positive psychology and positive education with foreign language pedagogy. Professor Ludwig is also keen on bridging cultural and literary studies, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) methodology, and digital media/AI studies, seeking innovative ways to enhance language education in the digital age. His work has been widely published in the field of English language education, contributing to both theoretical and practical discussions surrounding the future of language teaching. He has also been a visiting researcher at numerous universities across Europe and internationally, where he has collaborated on interdisciplinary projects.