Online Study Skills Hub: What is AI?

Generative AI is a type of AI that can create new things, like text or images, based on what it has learned. Some examples of Generative AI tools are ChatGPT, DALL-E 2, CoPilot, Google Gemini, Midjourney, Claude, and Perplexity. These tools can write text that sounds human and create pictures from descriptions.

• They can give feedback, like checking your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• They can write text and create images.
• They can write, fix, or change computer code.
• They can summarise long documents.
• They can ask and answer questions.

Generative AI tools are trained on lots of information, and they can copy different styles and produce artifacts that seem real. But sometimes, they make things up. This is called "hallucinating." They also sometimes make mistakes or show bias (unfairness). That’s why it’s important to check any information they give you by doing your own research, so you can get the full picture. Don’t rely on AI to do all of this for you.

The University's guidelines explain this in more detail.

There are types of assessment for which the use of AI is mandatory. Your Lecturer will provide you with all the details on your assessment and what you need to do.There are also types of assessment for which the use of AI is either not allowed at all, or is impossible or irrelevant. Again, your Lecturer will explain. You mustn't use AI for these assessments. 

Finally, there are assessments that allow some use of AI, usually as a support tool. Please check with your Lecturer if you're not sure what use is allowed. Our  further guides on appropriate uses of AI for these kinds of assessments may also help.

We’re committed to including AI in our teaching and learning in various ways, such as in lectures and seminars, tests, and study support.

• We'll use AI in teaching and assessments to help you learn.
• Everyone will be taught about digital skills, both while you’re at university and after you graduate.
• We’re designing tests that include the use of AI, because you’ll likely need these skills in your job after university.

AI tools are powerful, but they have some important limitations:

• Accuracy: Sometimes, AI can give wrong or confusing information. For example, it can make things up that sound real but aren’t true (this is called a “hallucination”).
• Old Information: Some AI tools are based on old data, so they might use out-of-date facts.
• Bias: AI can sometimes be unfair because it’s trained on data that might favour certain groups of people.
• Understanding: AI doesn’t actually “understand” what it’s saying; it just follows patterns. This means it might struggle with complicated questions or miss things that people would notice.

These limitations show why it’s important to use AI as a helpful tool, but not to rely on it completely. We still need human thinking and judgement.

There are also some ethical (moral) questions to think about as AI continues to develop:

• Be careful not to share personal information about you, fellow students or university staff or any details of placements with AI tools, and understand that these tools may not keep this information safe or private.
• It’s important to keep honesty and integrity when using AI in research.
• Using AI inappropriately (ie not in accordance with the University's guidelines) can cause you to miss out on understanding, or developing skills, that you might need in your future career. It could also affect your marks and/or lead to disciplinary action under the Academic Misconduct regulations.
• There might be issues with copyright when using AI, and we still don’t fully understand all of the rules about this yet.
• We will offer training and support to help you use AI safely and responsibly.