City University of Seattle Library: Using Artificial Intelligence: Student Resources

Recommended Uses

How to Use AI

Here are a few examples to leverage AI in your coursework.

Time Management

Use generative AI and AI assistants to help you manage your time wisely. Provide genAI with a list of tasks you need to accomplish within a specific timeframe and have it generate a schedule or study plan for you. If you are using an AI assistance, have it create personalized reminders for your tasks.

Generate Search Terms

Give AI your research idea or question and have it generate a list of keywords that you can use when searching in the library collection. Do NOT ask it to generate a bibliography. Generative AI is just a text predictor, so it will often generate fake citations.

Remember:

Generative AI lacks nuance. It's important to critically evaluate what it generates and tailor them to your specific context and audience. Always combine AI-generated suggestions with your expertise and experience as an learner.
Generative AI does NOT have the ability to fact-check or verify the accuracy of the information it generates, so it may generate false or misleading information. Do not ask it questions or have it generate answers on topics which you have no prior knowledge or background. We do NOT recommend using it to generate practice tests or exams.
Generative AI IS biased. It is trained on a large dataset of text from the internet and books, but this data is not comprehensive or unbiased, and it often reflects the inherent biases already present in our society.

Learn More

These are some resources that we've found useful when learning about generative AI, how it works, and ways in which is can either hinder or enhance learning.

Read

AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking
This study contributes to the growing discourse on AI’s cognitive implications, offering practical recommendations for mitigating its adverse effects on critical thinking. The findings underscore the importance of fostering critical thinking in an AI-driven world, making this research essential reading for educators, policymakers, and technologists.
ChatGPT and Fake Citations
A brief discussion of the limitations of ChatGPT as a "research assistant".
The CLEAR path: A framework for enhancing information literacy through prompt engineering
This article introduces the CLEAR Framework for Prompt Engineering, designed to optimize interactions with AI language models like ChatGPT. The framework encompasses five core principles—Concise, Logical, Explicit, Adaptive, and Reflective—that facilitate more effective AI-generated content evaluation and creation.

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Lo, L. S. (2023). The CLEAR path: A framework for enhancing information literacy through prompt engineering. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(4), 102720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102720
Coursera: Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT
A free online course offered by Vanderbilt University. This course introduces students to the patterns and approaches for writing effective prompts for large language models. Anyone can take the course and the only required knowledge is basic computer usage skills, such as using a browser and accessing ChatGPT.

Ethical Concerns

Ethical Concerns in Education and Generative AI Tools

The use of ChatGPT and similar AI technologies in research presents several ethical concerns that need to be carefully considered. Some of these concerns include:

Bias and Fairness: Large language learning models and generative AI, like ChatGPT, can inadvertently learn biases present in the data they are trained on. If the training data contains biased or discriminatory content, the AI's responses could also be biased or perpetuate stereotypes. Researchers must take steps to identify and mitigate such biases to ensure fairness and inclusivity.
Educational Value: Ensure that the use of generative AI contributes positively to your educational experience. It should complement learning goals, enhance understanding, and encourage active engagement rather than replace traditional teaching and learning methods. Be wary of "cognitive offloading," or using generative AI to delegate cognitive tasks. Overreliance or uncritical use of AI, like ChatGPT, can prevent students from developing critical thinking, research, and writing skills, which are essential for their personal and professional growth.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else's work, ideas, or words as your own without proper attribution. AI models like ChatGPT, can generate text that closely resembles existing content, leading to unintentional plagiarism if the AI is not properly guided or if its responses are not thoroughly reviewed. Not only this, but using AI heavily can lead to a misrepresentation of knowledge or a student's actual understanding of the subject matter.
Environmental Impacts: We are becoming more and more aware of the extreme environmental and societal impacts AI chat models have, especially in the marginalized communities in which they are often built. These facilities require massive amounts of energy demand and water consumption to run, making them detrimental to the communities in which they are built. The more we rely on using generative AI, the more complicit we are in the long-term impacts created by the continued expansion and operation of these facilities.

Students using generative AI in research should prioritize ethical principles, engage in ongoing dialogue, and seek guidance from experts in AI ethics to address these concerns effectively. Openness, transparency, and a commitment to responsible AI usage are key to navigating these ethical challenges.