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AI Student Guide: Critical Use of Generative AI Tools

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a complex set of technologies. AI tools are rapidly developing, and their applications are expanding. This guide aims to provide students with an introduction to some basic concepts concerning generative AI.

 

 

Picture in profile of a human head with a green plant shoot growing within the brain

 

The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think...

-- Albert Einstein

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Your ability to think, reason, and be creative is a vital part of your humanity. Thinking and generating ideas are among the most crucial skills you will develop. And, like all skills, thinking, reasoning, and creativity require practice. 

Be cautious about relying on a computer to do all the thinking, reasoning, and creating for you. By relying too much on AI in order to complete tasks, you will miss opportunities to develop your own abilities. Here are a few ways to incorporate Generative AI into your writing, and thinking, process.

Ethical use of AI

You should always discuss your plans to use AI with your instructor and cite it in any submitted work. Here are some examples of how AI could be used in academic work:

  • To brainstorm ideas
  • To generate keywords for searches
  • To summarize a longer document
  • To refine the style or composition of writing. This can be helpful for work or professional contexts such as social media posts or sending email

Evaluating AI: ROBOT Test

Being AI Literate does not mean you need to understand the advanced mechanics of AI. It means that you are actively learning about the technologies involved and that you critically approach any texts you read that concern AI, especially news articles. 

You can use this tool when reading about AI applications to help consider the legitimacy of the technology.

RELIABILITY

  • How reliable is the information available about the AI technology?
  • If it’s not produced by the party responsible for the AI, what are the author’s credentials? Bias?
  • If it is produced by the party responsible for the AI, how much information are they making available? 
    • Is information only partially available due to trade secrets?
    • How biased is they information that they produce?

OBJECTIVE

  • What is the goal or objective of the use of AI?
  • What is the goal of sharing information about it?
    • To inform? Convince? Find financial support?

BIAS

  • What could create bias in the AI technology?
  • Are there ethical issues associated with this?
  • Are bias or ethical issues acknowledged?
    • By the source of information?
    • By the party responsible for the AI?
    • By its users?

OWNERSHIP

  • Who is the owner or developer of the AI technology?
  • Who is responsible for it? (A private company, the government, a think tank or research group?)
  • Who has access to it?
  • Who can use it?

TYPE

  • Which subtype of AI is it?
  • Is the technology theoretical or applied?
  • What kind of information system does it rely on?
  • Does it rely on human intervention?

 

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