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Artificial Intelligence (A.I.): Generative AI Tools

Subject Guide on Artificial Intelligence research and resources.

Linkedin Graphic: Top AI Tools of 2024 - Generative AI in Business

Linkin - Best Generative AI Tools for Business 2024

AI - Fact Checking

AI "hallucination"

The official term in the field of AI is "hallucination." This refers to the fact that 'AI' sometimes "makes stuff up." This is because these systems are probabilistic, not deterministic. In other words, generative AI is programmed to guess what will probably come next in the sentence, and not as a point of fact based upon evidence. 

Which models are less prone to this?

GPT-4 (the more capable model behind ChatGPT Plus and Bing Chat) has improved and is less prone to hallucination. According to OpenAI, it's "40% more likely to produce factual responses than GPT-3.5 on our internal evaluations." But it's still not perfect. So verification of the output is still needed.

ChatGPT often makes up fictional sources

One area where ChatGPT usually gives fictional answers is when asked to create a list of sources. Read Techopedia's definition of "AI Hallucination" in their TechDictionary. You can also ask a librarian for help in finding actual sources.

There is progress in making these models more truthful

However, there is progress in making these systems more truthful by grounding them in external sources of knowledge. Some examples are Bing Chat and Perplexity AI, which use internet search results to ground answers. However, the Internet sources used could also contain misinformation or disinformation. But at least with Bing Chat and Perplexity, you can link to the sources used to begin verification.

MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies:

Article: This article provides an introduction to crafting effective prompts so that you maximize your benefits from AI.

Learn about OCC Library Resources - Videos: AI and Library Research

Generative A.I. Tools/Models

Text generators 

Trained on large amounts of text from books, articles, and websites which is analyzed to find patterns and relationships and create new texts by predicting the word or sentence most likely to follow another in a sequence. Text generators can be used to produce a wide variety of content including essays, memos, brochures, poems, songs, and screenplays.

General AI Chatbots

 

Image generators 

Learn by analyzing sets of images with captions or text descriptions. Once they learn which images are associated with which concepts, they can combine them to create new images in a range of styles from photorealistic to abstract.

Examples:

  • Dall-E 2
  • Midjourney - Generates images and video in Discord and on the Web (Requires a paid subscription).
  • Stable Diffusion - Generates images, video and audio (Free and paid versions).
  • Meta - Generates text, code and images.
  • Firefly. Adobe
  • Deep Dream Generator - AI technology to transform your imagination into breathtaking visuals.
  • StableDiffusion -  Text-to-image diffusion model capable of generating photo-realistic images.
  • Leonardo - Leverage generative AI with a unique suite of tools to convey your ideas to the world.

Video generators 

Learn by analyzing large sets of annotated video and generating new video in response to a text prompt. Alternatively, users can upload existing videos and edit them using text prompts or by applying canned filters and effects.

Examples:

Music generators

Analyze music tracks and metadata (artist, album, genre, release date, etc.) to identify patterns and features in particular music genres and generate similar sounding compositions.

Examples:

Text-to-audio

Code generators

Use algorithms trained on existing source code—typically produced by open source projects for public use—and generate new code based on those examples. Some tools can also analyze and debug existing code or offer suggestions for improvement.

Examples: 

AI Research Tools:

AI Literature Search, Synthesis and Visualization Tools

Generative AI Product Listings

Generative AI Product Tracker

The Generative AI Product Tracker lists generative AI products that are either marketed specifically towards postsecondary faculty or students or appear to be actively in use by postsecondary faculty or students for teaching, learning, or research activities. The Tracker is a living document, which we update regularly as new products enter the market or new information about existing products becomes available. For more information, see our issue brief, Generative AI in Higher Ed: The Product Landscape. Thanks to Gary Price of Library Journal’s infoDOCKET for invaluable help keeping track of new product releases. (Source: Generative AI Product Tracker - Ithaka S+R).

You can also access the tracker as a Google Doc.

Generative AI Tools: A Petting Zoo

Compilation of AI related resources (Extensive list to review)

AI Tools Landscape - Current Landscape of AI Tools

Compiled by Carlos Lizarraga-Celaya.

AI - Original Work or Cheating?

Does OCC have a policy on using ChatGPT?

Each instructor should have policies on how generative AI may or may not be used in classroom assignments. If your instructor doesn't have a written policy or hasn't stated whether generative AI can be used for assignments, ask.

The default course policy is that using ChatGPT and other Generative AI may not be used unless the instructor allows it in their course policies. Violating the campus Student Code of Conduct may be the result of improper use of tools such as generative AI (see Academic integrity information below).

Tips for talking about generative AI with your instructors

The best time to talk with your instructor is before you begin your assignment to avoid needing to start over if generative AI isn't allowed.

  • Be specific in how you plan to use generative AI, which is included in more tools, such as Grammarly and Google Docs. Would you like to use ChatGPT to help brainstorm ideas or come up with a topic for your assignment? Are you using it to summarize or explain complex concepts? Or do you plan to use it for writing and editing? Be prepared that your instructor may approve some use cases but not others.
  • Have a plan for giving credit. APA Style, MLA Style, and Chicago Style all have guidelines for citing generative AI. Your instructor may also ask for an appendix that includes the prompts that you provided to ChatGPT or the full transcript of your interaction.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity refers to maintaining a standard of honest and ethical behavior in all types of academic work.

This includes things like not cheating on exams or turning in a term paper that you didn't write yourself. It also includes plagiarism, or not giving proper credit to other people's ideas or work. All students are subject to OCC's Student Code of Conduct. 

To learn more, review student academic integrity resources:

Do not present AI-generated material as your own original work.

While certain assignments might allow you to use AI to enhance your creative capabilities, it should not replace genuine creative thinking, especially in an educational setting. Whenever you incorporate content generated by AI, remember to include proper citations. This way, instructors can easily trace the sources of the AI-generated content.