This post was updated March 2 at 11:23 p.m.

A UCLA comparative literature course is expanding access to educational materials with a textbook generated using artificial intelligence.

Zrinka Stahuljak, a professor of comparative literature and French who teaches Comparative Literature 2BW, said large lecture courses could do better in meeting student needs by providing greater structure and activities through a new learning environment.

Unlike traditional course materials, which are often constructed around costly anthologies and books, the digital textbook provides students with equitable and adaptable resources, said Stahuljak, the director of the Center for Early Global Studies.

“Everyone can have access, and it really can enable,” Stahuljak said. “Every single person who wants to give it a try can be enabled to fulfill this requirement, not just as fulfillment, but really as excelling at the skills one is supposed to learn.”

She added the textbook carries the materials and teaching she delivers in the classroom at any time and can be adapted to fit student needs.

Elizabeth Landers, a doctoral student in the Department of History who manages course content for the textbook, said in addition to in-depth chapters on the course material, the textbook also includes features like images, videos and podcasts.

“We’re just super excited that we can do something to help undergraduates enjoy education and be inspired by it,” Landers said.

She added they avoided AI hallucinations – inaccurate information generated by AI – while constructing the textbook through a thorough review process of the course outline, which was then used to generate the textbook’s content.

When addressing the role of AI in humanities education in the future, Stahuljak said she is committed to AI because it advances the dissemination and communication of fact-checked knowledge.

Landers said the textbook was developed through Kudu, a digital learning platform seeking to provide students with access to high-quality, low-cost course materials. Warren Essey, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Kudu, said as he continues to develop the platform, his goal is to provide teachers and students with personalized learning materials through Kudu’s various AI tools.

“What we found in the humanities, and what got us excited about it was, again, the customization needed in the humanities to give a personal feel to the courses,” Essey said.

Alexander Kusenko, another co-founder of Kudu and a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, said Kudu allows students to learn the methodologies behind answers without providing the full solutions, unlike other versions of AI where students receive solutions but not the skills professors are trying to teach them.

“This is a new world of AI, and they should not be shy to take advantage of this and learn how to use it,” Kusenko said.

Essey said using AI tools and becoming familiar with them is the best way to learn more about AI technology.

“My best advice would be to go experiment,” Essey said. “It (AI) is moving very fast, and there are things that I think can be fairly scary and intimidating, but it’s pretty clear that it’s going to be something massive and foundational.”

Contributing reports by Amy Wong, Daily Bruin staff.