 Hello, and welcome to a short video about using AI at University. Today's presentation will introduce you to the basics of AI and how you can use it responsibly and effectively in your studies. Before we begin, on behalf of Charles Darwin University, I would like to acknowledge all First Nations people across the lands on which we live and work, and we pay our respects to elders both past and present. Today I am working on Laracurland, whose land are you on? This presentation has been adopted from the information you can find on the CDU Study Skills page using AI at University. It is highly recommended that you work through the Study Skills page for a more comprehensive understanding. Before using any AI or Gen AI tools in your study, you must check with your lecturer to make sure it is authorised. You may be allowed to use AI for all or only part of certain assignments, and permission may change between units. You could get in serious trouble with your lecturer and the university if you use AI when it is not permitted. You may want to pause here and consider your own understanding of AI. What do we mean by AI or Gen AI? How do you interact with these tools now? And what do you need to know if you want to behave with academic integrity when using these tools at university? The field of artificial intelligence, or AI, aims to create intelligent machines that can learn and perform tasks on par with humans. There are three main types, ANI, AGI, and ASI. ANI, or Artificial Narrow Intelligence, is a type of weak AI that performs specific tasks well but cannot succeed outside its domain. ANI is prevalent in our daily lives and includes content generators, voice assistants, and facial recognition. AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence, would possess intelligence and skills on par with humans. It could perform broad tasks and exhibit reasoning, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. This type of AI is still only a possibility. Lastly, there's ASI, or Artificial Superintelligence. This type of AI would possess abilities far beyond human capacity and understanding. At this time, ASI is only a hypothetical future stage of AI development. As students, you are likely to use Generative AI, or Gen AI. This type of artificial narrow intelligence focuses on the generation of content, such as text, visual works, and music. Because Gen AI is ANI, or weak AI, its abilities are limited. Gen AI models are trained using large amounts of data and the output depends on the size and quality of the data used. In fact, output is often biased, inaccurate, or shows a limited understanding of the topic. If a Gen AI tool doesn't know the answer, it will just make one up. This is known as an AI hallucination. Did you know that? Next time you're using Gen AI tools, ask yourself, can you tell when you're being given fake information? With this type of risk, it is important to know and be able to recognize the ethical concerns that come with using Gen AI tools. There are six main ethical concerns you should remember when using Gen AI tools. They are accuracy, privacy, access, transparency, bias, and plagiarism. Accuracy deals with the reliability of Gen AI output. Models rely on training data to make patterns and Gen AI tools are not capable of reasoning. When they create output, they are relying on examples in the data to guess what should come next. This means the output can be prone to misinformation and limited understanding. Privacy in Gen AI models, as with most online systems, is a significant concern. Because you are sharing data and information, you need to be aware of the model's privacy policies and how your data is used. You should report any concerns or security issues immediately. The ethical concerns surrounding access are all about making sure everyone has fair and equitable access to learning tools. As more Gen AI models move towards subscription and paywall services, these access barriers are an increasing ethical concern. Transparency means accountability. And when Gen AI tools are not transparent, this can pose a serious ethical risk. If you don't know what data was used to train the models and if the collection process respected privacy and consent, how do you know if the tool itself is ethical? Bias is another major ethical concern for Gen AI tools. Tools are trained on datasets, use patterns to generate output and are incapable of reasoning or critical thinking. This means Gen AI tools are limited to the viewpoints, opinions and ideas contained in the original training data. You need to be aware of the potential for bias and be able to evaluate the output you get if you want to behave with academic integrity. The last ethical concern, plagiarism, is a term you'll hear a lot at university. If you submit any Gen AI content including text, images or ideas as if they were your own and without referencing, you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic integrity and can have severe consequences. Take a moment and think about your own experiences with AI or Gen AI tools. Can you think of any ethical concerns you may have encountered? To learn more about the ethical concerns of Gen AI, make sure to visit the study skills page, read through the content and try out the interactive elements and games. Remember, Gen AI tools are not capable of reasoning or critical thinking and it's your responsibility to use them the right way. If you are using Gen AI tools to avoid developing your own skills you are not behaving with academic integrity. Think about how you have or are planning to use Gen AI tools. Are you using them to conduct research for you? If you couldn't use them, would you be able to research on your own? Knowing how to research independently is a key skill at university which helps you develop information literacy and evaluation skills. As students you should engage with the research and form your own opinions and ideas. Gen AI tools can be a great starting point for finding ideas and background you can research further but they should not be the only resource you use. As students you need to be able to conduct independent searches and evaluate resources from a wide range of viewpoints. A similar issue arises if you are using Gen AI tools to plan your assignments. If you no longer had this tool, would you be able to structure and plan your own assignments? If the answer is no, using any AI tools will stop you from learning the organisational and analytical skills you need to succeed at university. When you plan assignments, you engage with the content on a deeper level and grow your understanding of the subject. If you don't develop these skills, would you even be able to tell if the tool was wrong? Moving away from research and planning, once you begin writing you need to be able to paraphrase, summarise and synthesise information. If you do not have these skills you should not be using AI tools to do your work for you. Yes, these tools can quickly generate and rewrite content but they are unable to critically engage with the material in the same way a human can, in the way you should be able to. To learn more about these skills and grow your understanding check out the Study Skills page summarising, generalising, paraphrasing and quoting. You can scan the QR code to go to the page now. There are lots of great resources here for you to develop your academic skills. And while you're there make sure to check out the Using AI University page to learn more because when you use AI University it should not be a shortcut to avoid developing your skills. Ask yourself, why am I using this tool? Are you using it to help you think? Or to think for you? If your answer is the second you must reconsider how you use these tools. Gen AI cannot and should not replace the knowledge and skills you develop as a university student. One of the most important skills you need to develop is the ability to critically evaluate information, ideas and resources. Critical evaluation is when you examine sources in an objective and analytical way. This examination needs to be thorough and unbiased to help you determine whether a source is credible and reliable. Just like any other source of information you need to approach Gen AI Output with this critical mindset. You should never blindly accept any information or ideas without evaluating them yourself. Just because Gen AI is machine generated doesn't mean it's right. You can make well informed judgments and decisions by actively engaging with the output considering its strengths and weaknesses and double checking information. So how do you critically evaluate Gen AI content? First, we need to understand the tool's capabilities. AI systems like Gen AI each have their own limitations that we should be aware of. It's important to know what these tools are good at and where they may fall short so we can properly assess the output they produce. Even though the results generated by Gen AI might seem impressive, it's crucial to remember that these tools don't actually understand or reason like humans do. They work by analyzing patterns and making educated guesses based on the input prompt and their training data. To evaluate Gen AI's output effectively we need to consider its limitations. For example, Gen AI tools struggle to understand context or complex meanings in the information. If they don't understand they'll never admit they don't know the answer and just take their best guess. You may like to pause here and consider the following. Do you know how the tool you're using was trained? Is it transparent and accountable? Can you view the data collection and training process? What challenges does the tool face in providing specific information? How does the tool's limitation affect the reliability of Gen AI output? When we critically evaluate Gen AI we need to consider how these tools are influenced by biases that exist in the training data. It's important to be aware of these biases and actively look out for them when evaluating Gen AI output. When you use Gen AI it's crucial to assess whether the information it provides is balanced and inclusive. This means considering whether it represents different viewpoints fairly and uses language that is inclusive of all individuals. To do this you need to critically evaluate Gen AI output and see if you can spot signs of bias. You can compare the information with other sources and perspectives to get a more complete picture of the topic at hand. Recognizing and addressing biases in Gen AI output is important for promoting fairness and inclusivity. It helps ensure that the information generated by Gen AI doesn't reinforce stereotypes or discriminate against any particular group. Consider the following. Can you see signs of bias such as cultural, gender or racial bias? What details does the tool provide about its training data? How does the tool handle sensitive or controversial topics? What steps is the tool taken to eliminate bias and does it have any disclaimers? You may like to pause here and give yourself more time to think. Analyzing the context is an important step in critically evaluating the output generated by Gen AI. It means assessing how well the Gen AI tool understood your question and deciding if the resulting output is useful for your studies. When reviewing the Gen AI output you need to determine if the tool correctly interpreted the intended meaning and addressed the key elements of your question. If the tool didn't fully grasp the context or missed important elements its response might be incorrect or incomplete. By assessing how well understood the context you can judge how trustworthy and useful the generated output is. Ask yourself does the output address your question and contain specific information? Has it presented the information coherently? Or is it all over the place? Are there any times the tool has been confused and misunderstood your question? Can you see any gaps or identify information the tool has left out? To make sure the information you receive from Gen AI tools is correct it's important to verify it by checking it against reliable sources. By verifying and cross-referencing the information you can better understand the material and avoid relying on inaccurate or biased information. Critical thinking champions the balanced examination of sources. Cross-checking allows you to see different perspectives find supporting evidence and develop a more well rounded understanding. Engaging in this process helps you make well supported arguments and conclusions. Cross-checking the information with trustworthy sources can confirm its accuracy and get a more complete view of the topic. This helps you identify any inconsistencies or differences allowing you to make informed judgments and to avoid relying solely on potentially flawed or biased information. Moreover, by verifying information and cross-checking sources you demonstrate academic integrity. It shows that you are dedicated to conducting thorough research and using reliable information. This commitment not only strengthens your own work but also contributes to the overall credibility and trustworthiness of the academic community. Consider your own learning and reflect on these questions. You may want to pause to give yourself more time. What are the issues with relying on Gen AI for information or cross-checking with reliable sources? Have you found biased or false information in Gen AI output before? If yes, did you look for other viewpoints and verify information? What academic sources do you know of that you can use to cross-check Gen AI output? If the information does not match what steps will you take to address the issue? Now that you have a solid understanding of critically evaluating Gen AI output let's move into the next step. Mastering Gen AI prompts By refining your skills and crafting strong prompts you can unlock the full potential of Gen AI. These strategies will empower you to use Gen AI tools effectively and ensure the output generated is useful for your research needs. Writing a good prompt is essential to get the best results from Gen AI tools. The prompt you provide is a Gen AI tool and has a direct impact on the type and quality of the content it generates. Writing effective prompts can be challenging and requires practice. The first step is to know the capabilities of the Gen AI tool you're using. When writing a prompt it's important to consider the type of Gen AI tool and how it works. Different tools have different abilities and require certain prompts. It is crucial to understand that each tool is designed for a specific task and expecting one tool to perform a task outside of its design will not turn out well. For example, you wouldn't ask a text-based Gen AI tool to draw a picture or an audio-based Gen AI tool to write a paragraph. By tailoring your prompts to match the capabilities of the Gen AI tool you increase the chances of getting accurate and meaningful responses. It's all about understanding the tool's strengths and limitations and adapting your prompts accordingly. The next time you use a Gen AI tool make sure to do some research first. Have a look at the Gen AI tool's website and see what the developers have to say. You can also search for tutorials and guides that other users have created. Once you know the capabilities you must consider exactly what information you want the tool to provide. When creating prompts for Gen AI think of yourself as giving instructions to a small child. Your prompt provides guidance for the Gen AI tool to perform a specific task. To get the output you want it's important to provide clear and specific instructions in your prompt. The more precise and detailed your prompt is the more useful your output will be. Instead of asking a general question try to include relevant background information, examples and specific details to guide the Gen AI tool. This extra context helps the tool understand your requirements and generates output that is more tailored to your request. Imagine that you're programming the Gen AI tool by writing a prompt. Like how a programmer writes code to make a machine do a specific task your prompt instructs the Gen AI tool on what to produce. The more specific and comprehensive your prompt the better the Gen AI tool can understand and deliver the information you're looking for. Having a strong prompt is key to getting great results from Gen AI. However, if you're not familiar with the topic or need some ideas it's okay to start with a weak prompt and work your way up. A weak prompt will give you general information and very few details. It can be helpful because it allows you to gather initial ideas in search terms to refine your prompt. To turn a weak prompt into a strong one you need to identify key terms and themes from the initial information you gathered. By adjusting your prompt and including these important elements you can obtain more specific and targeted results from Gen AI. Refining your prompt involves narrowing down your focus and being more specific about the information you're seeking. Remember that the strength of your prompt improves as you refine it based on the initial information you receive. Gradually transforming a weak prompt into a strong one allows you to make the most of Gen AI and obtain better quality results. Developing your skills is vital but if you decide to use Gen AI tools to complement your learning you need to acknowledge their use. As mentioned earlier if you use the output in your assignment you must cite and reference all words, images, ideas and content that you did not create. Certain tools may have guidelines to follow regarding appropriate acknowledgement and attribution. Make sure to check with all tools that you use to make sure you meet these requirements. The CDU referencing styles for APA and Harvard both have examples for Gen AI citations and referencing. These examples can be found in the full guides available on the library website. However, individual units, courses or faculties may have their own style and requirements for citing and referencing Gen AI content. Please check with your lecturer before submitting any referenced AI material to make sure you're doing the right thing. It is academic misconduct if you do not cite and reference Gen AI output and content. You could be committing plagiarism, fraud and contract cheating. To behave with academic integrity, you need to acknowledge all work that isn't your own, even if a machine made it. Make sure to reflect on what you've learned in this presentation and think about how you can apply the knowledge and skills in your future practice. Remember, before using any AI and Gen AI tools for your studies, check with your lecturers or course coordinators and make sure that it's allowed. This presentation was an overview of the study skills page. You can scan the QR code on the screen to go there now. Take your time and work through the page at your own pace to gain a deeper understanding of this topic. The CDU Library has a huge range of services and resources to help you on your study journey. If you have any questions, you can get in contact with the library. Give us a call, send an email or drop in if you live near campus to chat in person. Thank you for your attention today and I hope you've learned a lot about using Gen AI at university.