AI offers many possibilities to improve systems and make your work easier. However, there are many things to think about to ensure that you are using AI ethically. In this two-minute overview video from Katie Shilton, Associate Professor in the College of Information Studies and Co-Director of the BS in Social Data Science at University of Maryland, Co-PI of The Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS) will help you think about accuracy, copyright and labor, bias, and security and privacy.
Can you trust the information provided to you by AI tools? Not without double-checking! Generative AI relies on algorithms to predict the word that is most likely to follow another word. Sometimes an AI tool will generate information that is partially true, or it may fully make up content that cannot be verified at all. AI tools are also only as up to date as the datasets they are trained on. Most will not include current events or news and may not have information about recent discoveries or science experiments.
If you are unsure about the accuracy of content or whether a source found in an AI tool exists, a librarian can help you.
AI tools can produce biased results because they are reliant on the data that was used to train them. For example, if the data set is primarily documents written in English by North Americans, the output of the AI tool may be biased toward a North American worldview.
Messiah University's Academic Integrity Policy linked from the Provost's Office and Falconlink addresses artificial intelligence in section A1c.
Your course syllabi will include an AI statement letting you know whether you can use AI tools and how much of that AI tool you can use (if at all). If you are unsure, always ask your professor!
It is also important to cite your use of AI if it is allowed. For example, a professor may allow you to use AI to help you brainstorm or generate keywords for a search of library resources. Or, a professor may allow you to use AI for a significant portion of the assignment. Your professor may provide guidelines for acknowledging your AI use. If you have any questions, ask them!
It is safe to assume that any AI tool may be using any information you put into it, including basic prompts, to train itself. As a result, it is critical to be careful about what you put in your prompts, even if it seems safe. Avoid using personal information, especially information that can be used to identify you. Also, be careful with any proprietary information; if you have a great new idea for an invention, don't share it with an AI tool! This private information could show up in someone else's results.
Additionally, most library resources prohibit the use of their materials with AI tools. Do not upload an article or book chapter PDF downloaded from a library database into an AI tool. This violates the terms of use, but it may also violate copyright.