AI Literacy

Why do I need to learn this?

With the rapid development of generative AI, or generative artificial intelligence, since the end of 2022, tools using Large Language Models or generative art have become freely available and offer images and text which students may want to use in their study and their assignments. You may also find they are increasingly used in the workplace and need to be prepared for that.

It is important to grasp how these AI tools work in order to avoid any possibility of plagiarism. It is also important to understand whether it is ethical to use them at all for a variety of reasons.

These pages will help you:

recognize AI in the world around you and have an appreciation of its impact;
recognize different kinds of AIs;
understand how AI works at a basic level and how much intelligence AI has;
understand AIs’ strengths and weaknesses;
better develop your prompt engineering;
consider various ethical issues such as hallucinations, bias, accountability, transparency, and reasonable academic use.

See also our Library Guide on Using Generative AI in coursework or research:

Understanding AI Basics

AI in Practice

Ethical Considerations

Developing AI Literacy

Resources and Further Learning

Referencing work which uses generative AI

Test Your Knowledge

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1. What does AI stand for?

a) Artificial Integration
b) Automated Intelligence
c) Artificial Intelligence
d) Advanced Intelligence

2. True or False: AI systems always make decisions that are unbiased and fair?

3. Which of the following is a common application of AI in everyday life?

a) Predictive text in smartphones
b) Microwave ovens
c) Bicycle gears
d) Mechanical clocks

4. True or False: AI is a new field of study that only began in the 21st Century?

5. What is the Turing Test designed to measure?

a) A machine’s ability to perform calculations quickly
b) A machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from a human
c) Speed of data processing
d) The power consumption of an AI system

6. True or False: The Library holds no books on generative AI in case students use them to plagiarise their contents?

7. What is one of the ethical concerns associated with AI?

a) AI can be used to enhance video game graphics
b) AI might reduce the need for physical textbooks
c) AI could potentially be biased or used for malicious purposes
d) AI will eliminate all manual labour jobs

8. True or False? AI can be used in healthcare to help diagnose diseases?

9. True or false: Reinforcement learning involves training algorithms using rewards and punishments?

10. What is ‘big data’?

a) A large collection of small data sets
b) Data sets that are so large and complex that traditional data-processing software cannot handle them
c) Data stored in large physical locations
b) A type of computer storage device

ANSWERS: 1c. 2F. 3a. 4F. 5b. 6F. 7c. 8T. 9T. 10b.

Example prompts for using AI to help plan your work:

Can you describe the research processes I must go through to submit an assignment?

Suggest a schedule for a week of study arranged around [this class time] and these [part time job hours].

Can you mindmap an undergraduate overview of topic X? (It will not produce an actual mindmap but a text based version of one).

I have a deadline in X weeks, can you recommend the steps I need to take to get the necessary work done in good time, perhaps with achievable milestones along the way?

How can I effectively plan and coordinate a group project?

I often procrastinate when I have to start working on my assignments. What are some strategies I can use to start working on them earlier and stay focused?

Example prompts for using AI to understand a subject:

Imagine you are a university lecturer for an undergraduate course. Can you simply explain topic X which is causing some difficulty? (Further prompts may be needed on particular detail)

I’m writing an assignment in favour of topic Y, can you suggest opposing viewpoints which I can counter?

Can you provide some example problems or case studies related to topic Z for me to solve or study?

Example prompts for using AI for info retrieval:

How can I efficiently use the resources available to me, like the library and online databases, for my assignments?

Can you recommend some key resources for understanding…? (be very careful these are real and not invented)

Can you recommend some key journals for research on…? (be very careful these are real and not invented)

Can you suggest some search terms for finding scholarly information on…?

Can you suggest synonyms for this keyword or phrase…?

Can you create a search string for those terms? (be aware that you may get better results, however, from fully understanding your search strings and being able to tweak them in the way you want).