Accessing AI Tools

Whereas several years ago, consumer facing AI was relegated to a few distinct domains such as facial recognition Links to an external site., new car features, and personal assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, but since the emergence of easily accessible generative AI like ChatGPT, AI has become ubiquitous, with particularly significant impacts on applications related to writing thanks to large language models, but is also rapidly impacting visual domains as well due to its ability to generate video Links to an external site. and modify images Links to an external site.. Shaw et al. (2023) have found that students are adopting generative AI at a much higher rate than instructors (see the GenAI adoption curve below). Given that many students are frequently using these tools, it's important for educators to understand how to access them and the kinds of content they can generate in order develop course policies and engage in meaningful conversations with students about AI.

Image source: Generative AI in Higher Education: Fall 2023 Update of Time For Class Study (tytonpartners.com) Links to an external site.

Accessing Generative AI

While all Generative AI essentially does the same thing, the way they achieve their end result as well as their degree of success with specific prompts or tasks can vary wildly. Below are some of the more common tools due to their accessibility and ability as of 3/2024.

The following website contains a quickly growing compilation of AI tools that can be filtered by application and cost: AI Tools Directory & List of Best Free AI by Category (Top 10) | Aixploria Links to an external site..

Reflection: A Note About Access

When ChatGPT hit the scene with it's user friendly chat window all in your browser, it helped catalyze the huge jump in usage we see today. But what if you don't have an internet connection? While the AI tools above require an internet connection, that's not the case for all generative AI applications. There are now free, open-source models that you can download to your computer Links to an external site. and run without an internet connection, which has implications for equity, privacy, and the irreversible impact of AI on society. To explore one perspective about this less constrained access: An AI Haunted World - by Ethan Mollick - One Useful Thing Links to an external site..

Getting a Feel for AI

All that being said, the first step if you've never used a generative AI tool is to try it out. By getting a feeling for how these tools work we can be better informed about how students are using them and also if they can help you in your daily tasks as an instructor. For those starting out, ChatGPT may be the obvious choice as it is synonymous with AI at this point, but we will also direct folks to Microsoft Copilot Links to an external site., which we have access to as a Microsoft organization. Use your SCC or SFCC email to sign in to get access to commercial data protection and privacy Links to an external site.. Keep in mind that while Copilot does have stronger privacy and data mining restrictions, it is always a good idea regardless of the tool to avoid putting sensitive information into a generative AI tool, along with student information that might be a FERPA violation.

References

Shaw, C., Yuan, L., Brennan, D., Martin, S., Janson, N., Fox, K., & Bryant, G. (2023, October 23). Tyton Partners. tytonpartners.com/time-for-class-2023/GenAI-Update: https://tytonpartners.com/app/uploads/2023/10/GenAI-IN-HIGHER-EDUCATION-FALL-2023-UPDATE-TIME-FOR-CLASS-STUDY.pdf Links to an external site.

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