Artificial intelligence brings history to life for modern language students at Newbury College

Modern language students at Newbury College have spoken with a historical figure from almost 500 years ago, through artificial intelligence.

The adult students on the online Spanish study and conversation course conversed with Nahua woman La Malinche, from 1500s Mexico.

La Malinche was an interpreter, advisor, and intermediary for the Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521).

The students’ conversation with her was made possible through cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology, specifically, OpenAI’s language model ChatGPT.

They leveraged ChatGPT to ask questions and gain insights about the historical period from La Malinche’s perspective, under the guidance of Spanish tutor Shaun Daubney.

Mr Daubney said: “It’s not every day that you invite a 500-year-old guest speaker into your lesson.

“The students had a positive learning experience using AI as an innovative research tool.

“This type of interaction marks a significant shift in the approach towards learning and research, offering an engaging, direct, and conversational method for understanding topics.”

ChatGPT was programmed to respond to students’ questions in the guise of La Malinche.

The college said it provided answers with impressive historical accuracy and was an immersive way to engage with history and deepen understandings of Aztec life during the Spanish Conquest.

While the AI offered an engaging learning experience, it reminded students that its simulation was strictly based on the historical data available.

It emphasised that it could not make assumptions about La Malinche’s personal opinions or hypothetical situations beyond its training data.