Artificial Intelligence

Using AI at Work

Before using AI software (or any other software), it must be approved by Information Technology Services (ITS). ITS provides a Software Request Guide that walks you through the request process.

ITS reviews the software to comply with our policies and ensure the safety and security of our campus and its data (including yours!). Additionally, for AI software, the University's recording policies also play a role in the evaluation. 

The University Policies and Resources page of this guide provides further information.

Possible Uses of AI to Help You at Work

There may be scenarios in which it is appropriate to use generative artificial intelligence tools in the workplace. The suggestions below assume that you are following relevant University policies. If you are unsure about your use, Contact ITS. 

The suggestions below are not meant to be an endorsement of any specific tool or workflow.

  • Brainstorming: Generating ideas for an event, scenarios for a workshop or lesson, suggested topics for a speaker series, etc.
  • Citations: AI can do a pretty good job of citing sources in specific formats. Just be sure to double check your work. (Note that AI is not good at finding sources at this time, but you can ask it to cite a source you have found. 
  • Generate or Revise Instructions for you or someone else:
    • Ask AI a specific question like "How do I copy a survey in Qualtrics" or "Can Excel tell me which cells have numbers in them?" and then tell it the format in which you want those instructions.
    • "Provide step by step written instructions for a college student to search for an article in an EBSCO database."
    • Share existing instructions and ask it "what might be unclear about these instruction to (insert audience)". (from Jose Antonio Bowen)
    • Do not input any proprietary information as a part of this request!
    • If you are generating any code, make sure that you review it line by line and understand how it works. Don't become a cautionary tale like this Disney employee. He downloaded an AI tool, but it turned out to be malware, the Wall Street Journal reports. The employee was fired, and all of his personal data was exposed. They suggest ways to keep your digital life safe from hackers.
  • Generate keywords or synonyms: ask it for suggested keywords or subjects for searching library databases or synonyms for another word.
  • Generate a meeting summary with Zoom AI: if recorded using an MU Zoom account and all parties have consented to recording. 
  • Revise your content for a specific audience: ask the AI to explain X as if you were a first year college student. (Remember not to input any proprietary information!)
  • Create a video script: for a promotional, explanatory, or informational video. Example: write a script for an onboarding video welcoming new employees and explaining the following guidelines. (Remember not to input any proprietary information!)
  • Space layout: upload a photo of a space and ask it for suggestions to rearrange, etc. 
  • Pre-research: tools like Perplexity may be useful for pre-research. The AI Tools page of this guide offers more suggestions.
  • Study partner: ask it to quiz you on a topic or to explain a topic.
  • Generate a summary of a book or article: do not upload copyrighted materials, especially library materials, which would violate our license agreements. However, you can provide a link on the open web, or if the work is well known, the tool may be able to summarize it from its knowledgebase. 
  • Workshop or course planning: ask it to generate:
    • a (insert length) workshop on (insert topic) for (insert audience) 
    • scenarios for a workshop
    • 10 innovative ideas to introduce college students to topic X in class Y using examples or analogies they will find relevant (from Jose Antonio Bowen)
  • Enhance collaboration: ask it to generate a list of ways x department can collaborate with x department on a university campus.
  • Design help: Canva has AI built in to help you with wording and design.
  • Edit for tone: emails, newsletter articles, etc. can be improved with edits. AI can help you reword a request to be clearer, kinder, firmer, etc.