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Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub (MUKSRH) presents:

 

Monash Beyond Borders Korean Studies Seminar Series 2026

''What Can Artificial Intelligence Tell Us About Korean Language and Culture?

Dr Benoit Berthelier (University of Sydney)

 

via ZOOM

Thursday 13th August 2026, 3-4pm (Melbourne time)

Bio: 

Dr Benoit Berthelier is Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on North Korea, digital methods and the interaction between science, technology and politics. 

Abstract: 

Artificial intelligence, and large language models in particular, are increasingly used as question answering tools, raising concerns about the reliability of their outputs. Rather than take them as authoritative or try to discern their level of truth, this talk considers what these answers - either right or wrong - can reveal about a society and its culture. Because language models are probabilistic systems trained to identify and reproduce patterns in language, they are useful artefacts to study in order to trace changes in representation, language, and stereotypes across time and across different social and linguistic contexts.

Drawing on research on North and South Korea, the talk shows how computational methods can reveal patterns that are difficult to identify or substantiate through qualitative analysis alone. It argues that AI is most useful not as an oracle, but as an analytical instrument, one whose errors and biases can themselves tell us something about Korean language and culture. The talk shows how AI can help us understand the different conceptions of art between North and South Korea, the different ways in which readers from North and South might read the same text, and the finer semantic differences between North and South Korean languages.