There’s always something to learn…about everything, all the time, and A.I. is the latest thing we are expected to master. But how? Who has time? Do we just jump right in, or take our time? In either case, here are few things I’ve come across just in the past couple of weeks that have been helpful to me – someone who is only just beginning to stick their toes into the vast ocean of AI “stuff.”
What do college students need to know about AI?
Read the Student Guide to Artificial Intelligence by Elon Univ. and the AAC&U. It’s brief and to the point, which makes it very manageable for all types of learners. It has a CC BY license, which means you can use it all day long for your classes!
StudentguidetoAI.org (web version)
If you only have time to read one section of this guide…
The Essential AI “How-To” Manual should be required reading for all– students and instructors alike. There is a lot of good advice here on how to use generative AI for various things, but most importantly, it briefly outlines Generative AI Cautions – all from an academic perspective.
And on that note... if you don’t know how to fact-check, that is now an essential skill.
What is A.I. trained on?
This interactive article from The Washington Post helped me wrap my head around this in that it provides very concrete examples:
Inside the Secret List of Websites that Make AI like ChatGPT Sound Smart by Kevin Schaul, Szu Yu Chen, and Nitasha Tiku (April 2024).
How do I distinguish AI hype vs. what it can actually do?
Aspen Digital has launched an open educational resource (OER) designed to teach students (and the rest of us) how the media portrays AI-related technologies. There’s a detailed lesson plan along with educational primers:
This section on How to Talk About A.I. was very enlightening!
AI Snake Oil is an online newsletter (with a book on the way) by two Princeton guys who are passionate about debunking AI hype. They have a checklist of Eighteen Pitfalls to Beware of in AI Journalism.
What AI tools should I try first?
There are so many AI tools it’s hard to know where to start, but this librarian has decided to play around with these for right now:
Perplexity: Free tool that can be described as a cross between an internet search engine and generative AI. There is a pro version too, but the free version does plenty. It’s highly recommended by library-folk.
Semantic Scholar: Free, AI-driven search and discovery tools, and open resources for the global research community. It’s not for general searching, but if you create an account, you have some neat research tools.
MagicSchool – A high school teacher told me about this one and it’s great for all kinds of education things. You must have a .edu email to sign up, but it has a lot of built-in prompts that are specifically useful for teachers (K-12 and College) and students.
Copilot: PCC provides access to Copilot 365.
To use it… Open the Copilot homepage (https://copilot.microsoft.com).
Click "Sign In" and choose "school or work account."
Log in using your myPittCC credentials.
Important Info from PCC IT:
This version of Copilot DOES use your data to train the LLM for this tenant (and the OpenAI LLM too due to their business connections). So, if you log in and utilize Copilot AI, it should have access to the same data YOU have access to.
Why log in? Logging in with your PCC credentials gives you access to everything that comes with a paid subscription to ChatGPT4o (audio generators, visual generators, agents, etc.).
Well, that’s probably more than you wanted to know. I went on an AI bender earlier this year and created an Artificial Intelligence Library Guide, but things change so fast it could literally be updated every day of the week.
Have fun discovering new things! If you find something cool, let us know about it.
Angela Davis
Instruction & Web Services Librarian, PCC
AI tools are not library databases. AI tools lack the curated precision of traditional databases but can provide quick answers and facilitate exploratory research. Some AI tools can assist in locating sources, but library databases remain the most reliable repositories of authoritative and scholarly information. A number of AI tools are paired with databases, or there are other forms of overlap, so it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms and content available through a tool or database. To ensure you are using the right tools and resources, ask a librarian.
Databases
Databases, such as library catalogs and scholarly databases provided by EBSCO, ProQuest, and Gale, are structured collections of information designed for precise retrieval and accountability. They are built with indexing, categorization, and metadata to ensure that users can locate specific resources, such as peer-reviewed articles, books, or data sets. Their reliability stems from the curation of content by experts and the use of standardized search mechanisms. Database users benefit from gaining specific knowledge of search techniques, such as Boolean logic and subject headings, which can be supported by consultations with librarians.
AI Tools
AI tools, such as natural language processing models and machine learning algorithms, are dynamic systems designed for a multitude of purposes. For the tools designed to locate sources of information, their methods for locating those materials or ensuring quality may not be readily transparent. Their strength lies in their adaptability and power to interpret natural language, making them accessible to users without specialized search expertise. However, most AI tools cannot guarantee the accuracy or source of their output.
AI Tools Integrated into Databases
Several library databases are now incorporating AI tools, which essentially act as a research companion with AI-powered suggestions and insights. They enhance the user experience by combining the precision of traditional database systems with the dynamic capabilities of artificial intelligence. Their services range and may include:
Examples include:
Learn more about AI by exploring these research guides: Artificial Intelligence and Student Guide to Generative AI
Attribution: The content used in this post is from Artificial Intelligence: AI Tools vs. Databases and has been used with permission from Mary Rubin, Lily Dubach, and Lauren Kehoe, librarians at UCF Libraries. It has been modified to incorporate information specific to Pitt Community College.