GAIL 2025: Chasing Fairies: Audio/Visual Literacy in the Age of AI

The proliferation of generative AI (GenAI) has dominated the news cycle for the last two years. Most of this attention has been focused on large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. However, the role of GenAI tools in generating images, music, and video has been overshadowed by LLMs despite their considerable disruptive potential. Audio and visual literacy instruction are necessary to combat the proliferation of GenAI media in the information ecosystem.

This hands-on workshop will briefly explain how GenAI media tools work, give examples of their real-world impact, and discuss the ethical issues inherent in their use. Then participants will be given practical, low-barrier strategies and techniques to identify GenAI media. A curated set of media will be provided to give participants a chance to put these lessons into practice. The session will then conclude with a reflection on the activity, a question and answer segment, and a discussion on strategies for keeping up with a rapidly-evolving medium.

By the end of the session, attendees will leave with a foundational understanding of GenAI audio/visual media. Attendees will feel more confident in discussing GenAI media tools, identifying their output, and leading their own sessions.