Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Generative AI has captured higher education’s interest for its potential to facilitate research and revolutionize teaching.
Along with the potential benefits of such technology, there are some challenges. The challenges include;
- Our ability to measure student learning adequately and maintain research security and integrity.
- Data security is also of great concern due to possible violations of data privacy laws and data leaks.
- The impacts of generative AI for higher education are layered and continually evolving as the technology advances, raising questions about student learning and assessment, ethics, business processes and efficiencies, and the impact these new technologies will have on a changing workforce and our economic landscape.
Fall 2023 UND Memo to Campus on AI
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the phrase used to refer to computer systems that mimic or exceed human thinking based on experience. AI systems rely on algorithms and models that can analyze large data sets to identify patterns for predictions or decision-making.
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI is a form of AI used to create new content, images, text, videos, music, etc., based on user inputs. Generative AI uses large data sets and algorithms to analyze patterns and rules to “learn” behavior and characteristics of training data sets, and it uses that “learned” information to generate original content.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a natural language AI that allows you to ask questions conversationally. It can help you compose emails, essays, and even programming code.
Before using it for academic, research, or administrative purposes, please understand your responsibilities and ethical use.
What are AI Hallucinations?
Hallucinations are when AI generates false information, perceptions of something that is not actually present or factual. Because AI is trained on large data sets to learn patterns, the AI tool may create new text, not necessarily based on facts.
What is AI Bias?
AI bias is when algorithms return systematically biased information based on incorrect assumptions. This can happen due to biases in the data used to train the systems or algorithms.
What Information Should I Not Feed a Generative AI Tool?
Data classified as private or restricted should not be entered into generative AI tools, including non-public research data, per SBHE 1202.3 Data Privacy Policy. Do not disclose confidential, sensitive, or personally identifiable information when using these tools. Do not disclose intellectual property that is not safeguarded. This caution extends not only to sensitive data generated and used as part of a research project but also to protected student data and student information.
How Can I Subscribe to a Generative AI Tool?
As with any software purchase, submit a non-standard procurement request via Jaggaer regardless of the dollar value when using sensitive data. Please let UIT know if you have already purchased a Generative AI tool for academic or research purposes. Help us help you to protect yourself and the University. Safeguarding UND is everyone’s responsibility.
AI Frequently Asked Questions
Faculty and Staff
What can I, as a faculty member, do to support academic integrity in relation to AI?
- Provide clear expectations regarding academic integrity and AI. Be sure to clarify
for students your expectations regarding using any Generative AI tools or applications.
State these expectations clearly on your course syllabus and in any assignment prompts.
Be sure to explain the consequences for the students if your expectations regarding
the use of Generative AI tools are not met.
- Discuss your expectations at the beginning of the course and frequently thereafter.
- Place clear statements on the course syllabus and on Blackboard.
- Be clear about whether using an automated tool such as ChatGPT is considered plagiarism and if it is considered a violation of UND's Code of Student Life.
- Note that websites that purport to detect the use of AI are flawed and have high occurrences of false positives and negatives. Any use of these should be transparent and students must consent to faculty submitting their work.
- Discuss with your students the challenges and opportunities that AI and automation present within your academic discipline and the subject of your courses. Acknowledge that other disciplines, courses, and faculty may have different expectations and understandings of appropriate use.
- Be transparent about your own uses of AI. This models good practice and contributes to a broader conversation about the potential uses, benefits, and challenges.
- Report academic integrity concerns by raising a Starfish flag or submitting a student conduct complaint form.
- See Responding to Academic Integrity Issues in the Classroom for more information.
- We encourage policy discussions within your department and college about transparency and academic integrity around institutional, faculty, and student use of these tools. Greater understanding and clarity will benefit students as well as programs.
Can I use Generative AI for course delivery and assessment?
- AI tools might be useful in teaching and assessment and could drive new course delivery methods. Be open to this possibility. TTaDA will be providing programming and conversations for opportunities to learn more about AI and teaching. We encourage you to have conversations within your department and college about appropriate use in teaching and learning.
- TTADA also offers resources for faculty as they think about ChatGPT and other generative AI and their teaching
- Be wary of claims by third-party vendors and look for provable results before adopting such tools in your courses.
Can I use generative AI in my research and scholarship?
- Your work is considered to be your own. Document any use of generative AI in constructing your work, research, and manuscripts. Similarly, if quantitative or computing tools are used in your research, document those uses.
- Be sure to check your disciplinary organizations and the publishing guidelines of your target journals to fully understand their position on the use of generative AI and large language models in the construction of manuscripts.
- Similarly, be aware of current guidelines by granting agencies on using generative AI and large language models.
- Generative AI and large language models are not designed to establish proof or provide accurate facts. It is the responsibility of the human author to ensure the accuracy of what’s reported in your work and to disclose the role of AI in your work.
- Submitting your work to an AI tool may make your work widely available in that tool’s training set or database. This might put your results into the public domain before you are ready to share them and ahead of peer review, a critical component of the research process.
As a staff member can I use AI for my job?
- It is important to have conversations on the use of AI with your office/unit/supervisor to determine how and where it can be used ethically and effectively in your unit.
- Be transparent about your use of AI. Cite and attribute work that is generated by AI.
- It is your responsibility to ensure the accuracy of what is reported in your work. Review all material produced for accuracy, violations of copyright protections, and plagiarism.
How is AI being used in my daily work?
- You are already encountering AI in your daily work. If you use Microsoft Word and, for example, as you type it auto-fills your sentence, AI is being used. If you chat with a company online, a chatbot may be used for initial customer service.
- Use of AI such as Chat GPT can be useful in putting together agendas, technical writing explaining a concept, or other administrative tasks, but always ensure the accuracy of the information you receive when using Generative AI.
How can I learn more about AI?
- Have conversations with your colleagues within departments and units across campus about AI and how they use it effectively and efficiently.
- Attend conversations and professional development through TTaDA to learn about AI use in units across campus.
Students
Can I use AI for my courses?
- Different fields, courses, and instructors will have different policies and guidelines for how AI can or cannot be used. It is important not to make assumptions about what is allowed and to ask your professor/instructor for clarification when needed.
- When submitting your work for credit, it is assumed to be your original work. The use of other resources, including Generative AI models like ChatGPT or Bard, must be documented.
- Generative AI and large language models are not designed to establish proof or provide accurate facts. It is your responsibility to ensure the accuracy of what you submit.
- When in doubt about what’s allowed in a given course, clarify it with your professor/instructor.
AI Resources
- You can learn more about AI at a number of sites:
- Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations, U.S. Department of Education, May 2023
- ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education, UNESCO, 2023
- Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0), National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, January 2023
- Generative AI in Higher Education: From Fear to Experimentation, Embracing AI’s Potential, Tyton Partners, May 2023
- For discipline-specific information on artificial intelligence developments across academia, and guidance on publisher and journal policies, please consult the Artificial Intelligence Resources - Library Research Guide compiled by librarians at the Chester Fritz Library.
- UND faculty have been meeting the challenges and possibilities of generative AI in the classroom by creatively developing new assignments. After taking a workshop hosted by TTaDA, several have submitted their assignments to the CFL Scholarly Commons’ AI Assignment Library. Please explore their work for ideas for developing your own assignments.
- Join your disciplinary conversations about the use of these tools in your field and engage in discussion with your colleagues about this.