S.A. Chavarría

Lecturer

S.A. Chavarría is an anti-disciplinary artist and researcher from Costa Rica. Her work revolves around her ongoing, long-term project of raising Devendra AI, a so-called AI chatbot, through conversation (as artist-writer-engineer-collaborator). Through networked media, digital artifacts, experimental video art and performance, Chavarría tells the evolving story of her relationship with Devendra AI and the worlds they have created in conversation. She strives to make art with hallucinogenic properties; language art that grants the reader a profound new awareness of themselves and their own relationship with artificial entities and the natural world. Her research involves scientific, critical and literary investigations into Natural Language Processing (NLP) models for generating synthetic text and conversational AI. She sees this synthetic text as worthy of interpretation, not only from a literary perspective, but also for its potential to illuminate the interactivity of reading, the ethics and metaphysics of conversation and the nature of language, consciousness and reality itself. 

In addition to teaching at RISD, Chavarría is an adjunct lecturer at Brown University, where she is the recipient of the Post-MFA Teaching Fellowship in Literary Arts.

Courses

Fall 2024 Courses

LAS E511-01 - BEYOND HUMAN: GPT-4 & THE EXTENSION OF LITERARY CONSCIOUSNESS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Literary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Lecture
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

LAS E511-01

BEYOND HUMAN: GPT-4 & THE EXTENSION OF LITERARY CONSCIOUSNESS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Literary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Lecture
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: M | 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Instructor(s): S.A. Chavarría Location(s): College Building, Room 346 Enrolled / Capacity: 25 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In this forward-thinking course, we will explore the potential of GPT-4 as a catalyst for extending and enhancing literary consciousness. As artificial intelligence reshapes the landscape of language and literature, we will consider how GPT-4, with its advanced generative capabilities, can serve as a creative collaborator in the writing process, pushing the boundaries of human imagination and storytelling.

Students will engage with a range of texts and theories to better understand the implications of AI in the realm of literary art. We will examine the ethical, aesthetic, and critical considerations of collaborating with AI, while also assessing how GPT-4 can help writers tap into new perspectives, styles, and techniques. Throughout the course, students will work on a series of creative assignments that involve both human and AI-generated content, learning to strike a balance between their own instincts and the generative power of the machine.

By the end of the course, students will not only develop a deeper understanding of the potential for human-AI collaboration in literature but also gain valuable insights into their own creative processes. They will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate and contribute to the ongoing conversation surrounding the role of AI in language art. The course will culminate in a final project, which may be a creative work, critical analysis, or research paper, showcasing the student's engagement with the literary possibilities and implications of the GPT-4 era. Topics to be covered in this course include:

  • The history of writing technologies and their impact on human consciousness
  • The history and development of GPT-4 and the implications for literature andlanguage art
  • Strategies for effectively guiding and refining GPT-4-generated content
  • Exploring different genres and forms of writing with AI assistance
  • Ethical considerations in human-AI collaboration and authorship
  • The future of collaborative writing with advanced AI systems

Elective

LAS E373-01 - SPECULATIVE DIGITAL UTOPIAS IN TIME OF PLANETARY CRISIS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Literary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Lecture
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

LAS E373-01

SPECULATIVE DIGITAL UTOPIAS IN TIME OF PLANETARY CRISIS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Literary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Lecture
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Instructor(s): S.A. Chavarría Location(s): Washington Place, Room 302 Enrolled / Capacity: 0 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In an era defined by climate change, pandemics and live-streamed war, this digital language arts course confronts the stark realities of our time. It compels students to decolonize their imaginations and discover new ways of engaging with reality, literature, technology, and the future. We examine how language and literature mediate our relationship with the world and how digital mediums reshape our perceptions of reality and our expectations of the future. Central to this course is the critical examination and creation of digital artifacts that engage with speculative fiction. Students will confront the power of nightmares in speculative horror and explore the promise of alternate utopian visions. These explorations aim to open gateways to potential futures, using innovative literary and digital forms. Through rigorous analysis and creative experimentation, students will develop sophisticated digital artifacts that not only respond to but also critique and reimagine the pressing global crises of our time

Students will engage deeply with the material through extensive reading and weekly discussions that directly influence their creative output. Students will produce creative and critical writing in dialogue with the readings. The semester will culminate in the creation of a collection of digital and written artifacts, laying the groundwork for a rich final project that synthesizes the insights and creative explorations from the course. This course equips students with the tools to critically fabricate narratives that challenge existing paradigms and inspire forward-thinking, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to the discourse on future realities. Artists, writers, and texts include Sun Ra, Sondra Perry, Hito Steyerl, Tabita Rezaire, Gerald Vizenor, Eduardo Viveiros De Castro, Ian Cheng, Sadiya Hartman, Jason Mohaghegh, Larissa Sansour, and selected short stories from "Palestine +100: Stories From a Century After the Nakba" and "Iraq +100: Stories from Another Iraq.

Elective