Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that is changing the way we live, work and learn. The impact of AI is already being felt across a wide range of industries, and it is becoming increasingly important for educators and students to have a basic understanding of these tools. It is also important to stay informed about the latest developments in AI and how they can be applied to your research and teaching. With the wide range of AI tools available, there are many opportunities to explore and create new applications in this exciting field.
What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with the creation of machines that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. AI has the ability to analyze and process vast amounts of data, and automate tasks that were previously performed by humans.
What can I do with AI?
With the currently available tools, you can use AI to create digital artwork, write text, edit and improve audio, find topic-based articles for research, and more.
LIFT AI
The Learning Initiative For Teaching and Artificial Intelligence (LIFT AI) community is a collaborative virtual space where faculty, staff, and the Academic Technology team explore and learn together about the benefits and challenges of AI in teaching and learning.
LIFT AI embraces a wide spectrum of interests and experience, from AI novices to seasoned practitioners. It's the perfect place to bring your questions and ideas about AI and its potential impact on education and research. Connect with faculty and staff at CSUN and share your experiences with AI implementation in your courses or projects, offer feedback, expand your knowledge of AI platforms, and get access to curated AI resources.
Learn more and join the community on the LIFT AI page.
CSUN Guidance on Artificial Intelligence
CSUN is happy to announce a collaborative effort to provide guidance to faculty as it pertains to academic integrity and artificial intelligence. A collaboration of colleagues from multiple offices generated an FAQ guiding document to support deans, chairs, and faculty with the new technology and the challenges it presents in the classroom.
The FAQ contains guidance on the following topics:
- What can faculty do to prepare ahead of the upcoming semester with AI in mind?
- If I do not permit the use of AI in my class, what should I do if I suspect a student used AI?
- Are third party detection tools acceptable to use?
- How accurate are AI detection scores?
- What is flagged in AI detection tools?
- What mitigation strategies can faculty employ?
In addition, please feel free to access Faculty Development’s Teaching Toolkit on Canvas, where you can find suggestions for syllabus language related to Artificial Intelligence. That document can be found here: https://canvas.csun.edu/courses/93131/pages/academic-integrity-section-overview.
AI Tools
From data analysis to Natural Language Processing (NPL), there is a wide range of AI tools that can help automate tasks, uncover new insights, and make more informed decisions. Some of the most innovative and exciting AI tools available today include ChatGPT, Chat BA, Elicit.org, and ExplainPaper. There is also a site that helps you find the right AI tool for you.
Multipurpose AI Tools
- ChatGPT: ChatGPT is an advanced conversational AI tool developed by OpenAI. This tool can generate natural language responses to text inputs, making it possible to create virtual assistants, chatbots, and other conversational interfaces. To sign up, watch the Sign Up for a ChatGPT Account video.
- Copilot: Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered tool that assists users in various tasks, making work more efficient and productive34. You can explore its features and plans on the Microsoft Copilot website.
- Gemini: Google Gemini is an AI-powered assistant designed to live within your Google Workspace tools and help you be more productive and creative. It can summarize information, draft content, and even generate new ideas, all while keeping your data secure.
- Claude: Claude AI is an advanced, versatile AI assistant developed by Anthropic that excels in tasks such as summarization, code generation, creative writing, and multilingual processing, offering performance, safety, security, and user-friendly features.
- Perplexity: Perplexity.ai is an AI-powered free answer engine that provides real-time, trusted, and accurate answers to any question, along with the ability to perform real-time web searches, generate reports, and create content, offering high productivity and advanced AI capabilities.
Creative Image Generation
- Firefly: Adobe Firefly is a suite of generative AI tools integrated within Adobe's creative apps, designed to inspire creativity, boost productivity, and enable responsible and safe commercial use through features like generative fill, text to image, generative shape fill, and generative remove.
- DALL·E: Developed by OpenAI, DALL·E is an artificial intelligence program that generates images from textual descriptions, allowing for the creation of diverse and imaginative visual content through its innovative and versatile capabilities.
Research & Study
- Consensus: This tool is an innovative academic search engine powered by AI, offering instant insights and synthesis from research papers, supporting various search queries, copilot interactions, and providing features such as study snapshots, paper-level insights, and quality indicators for efficient and effective research.
- Elicit.org: This paid tool can be used for evaluating academic references such as authors, titles, abstracts, and citation data. Elicit currently works best for answering questions with empirical research (e.g. randomized controlled trials). These tend to be questions in biomedicine, social science, and economics. Questions like "What are the effects of ____ on ____?" tend to work best.
- ExplainPaper: This platform utilizes machine learning to condense scientific papers into a simplified and comprehensible format. It employs Natural Language Processing techniques to extract the insights and advancements outlined in the paper.
- Futuretools.io: This site collects and organizes many of the AI tools available. You can search by categories for different AI tasks.
CSU GenAI Systemwide Generative AI Resources
The Systemwide Generative AI Resources website by the California State University (CSU) provides valuable information and resources related to generative AI. Here are some key features:
- Webinars: CSU hosts webinars on generative AI, covering various topics and applications.
- Online Courses: Members of the CSU community can self-enroll in online courses related to generative AI. One such course is the Academic Applications of AI (AAAI) Faculty Micro-Credential, designed by SDSU to enhance understanding of generative AI1.
- Recent Publications: The website features publications related to generative AI.
AI in Higher Education Articles
This list of articles from Educause, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and others further define and discuss AI in Higher Education.
- "Opinion: I’m co-teaching my college class with ChatGPT. Will it upstage me?" by Dr. Elizabeth Blakey, Associate Professor, Dept. of Journalism
- Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges with Generative AI
- Will Our Educational System Keep Pace with AI? A Student's Perspective on AI and Learning
- A Framework for AI Literacy
- Personalized AI Tutoring as a Social Activity: Paradox or Possibility?
- Framing Generative AI in Education with the GenAI Intent and Orientation Model
- Creating a Culture Around AI: Thoughts and Decision-Making
- At the Crossroads of Innovation: Embracing AI to Foster Deep Learning in the College Classroom
- Augmented Course Design: Using AI to Boost Efficiency and Expand Capacity
- AI and Copyright: 3 Key Issues (Video)
- 10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Instructional Design
- How AI Is Shaping the Future of Higher Ed
- Leveraging Generative AI for Inclusive Excellence in Higher Education
- The Impact of AI in Advancing Accessibility for Learners with Disabilities
- Must-Have Competencies and Skills in Our New AI World: A Synthesis for Educational Reform
- Using Student Data to Bridge the AI Divide
AI Trainings & Workshops
Join CSUN Academic Technology for these AI-related workshops:
- Generative AI in Adobe Express: Anyone can explore the generative powers of AI to create eye-catching images. Adobe Express has integrated AI generation in an easy-to-use web application.
- 5 Ways to Integrate AI Into Your Assignments: Join us to explore five approaches for integrating generative AI into your assignments. We will discuss a range of strategies that help promote AI literacy and fluency among students while supporting their overall learning experience.
- Save Time with Generative AI: Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT have revolutionized the teaching and learning process, offering new possibilities. As educators, there is no need to fear these advancements; instead, we can embrace them to enhance our teaching practices.
- AI Prompt Engineering Essentials: This hands-on workshop focuses on Prompt Engineering for Generative AI, equipping participants with the essential skills to craft effective prompts from AI models like ChatGPT. Attendees will learn the significance of prompt engineering in enhancing AI interactions and explore the CARE system (Context, Action, Results, Example) as a framework for creating effective prompts. Through collaborative exercises, faculty will gain practical experience in generating AI prompts tailored to their disciplines.
Visit the CSUN Academic Technology AI Workshops collection in Eventbrite to sign up for an AI workshop.
This collection of recorded workshops give an overview of generative AI in higher education, as well as tools and resources for how to approach AI in the classroom.
- ChatGPT and AI in Education - ChatGPT workshop to learn about the latest developments and how they can challenge and enhance your teaching practices
- TurnItIn New AI Detection Capabilities - As awareness of these tools grows so does the likelihood that students will use them for their assignments. As a response to this, one of the most frequent questions we have received in the past few months is “what can we do to find out if our students have used AI”? Our partners at TurnItIn released their new AI writing detecting tool in TurnItIn in April 2023.
- ChatGPT and Plagiarism Detection Tools - In this ChatGPT workshop you will learn about the latest developments and the tools and techniques for detecting ChatGPT-created content
Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools
The Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools was created to facilitate the sharing of policies developed by other educators world-wide for navigating AI-generative tools like ChatGPT, MidJourney, Dall-E, and more, in order to assist fellow instructors in developing their own policies.
AI Resources for Faculty
Faculty Development has included AI-related resources to their Teaching Toolkit in the Academic Integrity section:
AI and Privacy
As with any online service, there are privacy concerns to consider when signing up for any AI tool. It's important to carefully review the terms of service and privacy policy of any AI tool you are considering using to ensure that you are comfortable with the data collection and usage practices.
