Thais Rodrigues

Rewriting the Future: AI and Writing Across Borders

As a Latina transnational researcher from Brazil and a PhD student in Rhetoric and
Composition, Thais has spent the last two years exploring the intersections of writing, technology,
and access. Through her current role as a graduate associate with Writing Across the Curriculum
(WAC) in UCATT, and her past roles with the Graduate Center’s Office of Fellowships and
Graduate Writing Lab, Thais has witnessed how AI is changing the way students write, and how
institutions are scrambling to respond. At the same time, her recent Tinker Foundation fieldwork
in Brazil allows Thais to inquire how AI is being appropriated in under-resourced contexts in the
Global South, where writing is a form of survival.

In response to this Grant Call, Thais proposes a four-episode podcast, Rewriting the Future, to explore
how students, faculty, and staff are navigating AI in writing across disciplines and borders. Each
episode will feature a different stakeholder:
1. A Graduate Center Director about how students are (or aren’t) using AI to draft personal
statements and research proposals, and all its dilemmas;
2. WAC/UCATT leadership about how writing instruction across disciplines is adapting to AI, and
what it means for learning and labor;
3. A multilingual graduate student navigating AI as both writer and writing tutor, negotiating
identity, voice, and power;
4. A Brazilian professor exploring how Global South scholars are using AI for translation,
research, and writing access (while also resisting it).

This series offers interdisciplinary insights and practical knowledge for students, faculty, and
administrators seeking more inclusive and ethical writing environments in higher education.

This project builds on Thais academic path as a researcher of digital rhetoric and
multilingual writing and will help her grow as a scholar, interviewer, and public communicator. Thais
will leverage her institutional roles and interests, hopefully transforming her lived experience
into public outreach. For her immediate community, especially international, first-gen, and
multilingual students, Thais' podcast offers validation and concrete strategies for navigating AI in
writing contexts.

The podcast will be shared across affiliated platforms, with the potential to become a
permanent series under the WAC website and reach other units on campus. Thais sees it aligning
with U of A’s strategic goals of supporting student success, integrating new technologies
responsibly, and advancing community engagement.