Who or what defines “proper grammar” in the English language? 

In developing artificial intelligence tools to address grammar and clarity in writing, Google may influence how the public writes and ultimately thinks, a step that Paulo Blikstein — Associate Professor of Communications, Media and Learning Technology Design at Teachers College — says carries potential impacts for cultural and linguistic diversity in a new story from The Washington Post

Paulo Bilkstein

Paulo Blikstein, Associate Professor of Communication, Media & Learning Technologies Design (Photo courtesy of Paulo Blikstein) 

“Language is part of your heritage and identity, and if you’re using a tool that is constantly telling you, ‘You’re wrong,’ that is not a good thing,” says Blikstein, founder of TC’s Transformative Learning Technologies Lab and a featured panelist at TC’s upcoming conference on artificial intelligence in education on Sept. 20. “There is not one mythical, monolithical (English)…And every time we have tried to curtail the evolution of a language, it has never gone well.”