Generative AI: Understanding
Understanding AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we interact with information. It is a powerful tool, but its effectiveness depends on how it is used. Developing AI literacy means understanding its strengths and weaknesses, questioning its outputs, and recognising ethical considerations, such as bias, misinformation, and academic integrity.
How AI Works
AI refers to a set of computational techniques that allow machines to perform tasks that in the past has required human intelligence. It includes rule-based systems, machine learning, and deep learning, where models are trained on vast amounts of data to recognize patterns and generate responses.
Generative AI is a subset of this which is designed to generate content based on prompts. It uses models like neural networks to predict and generate human-like responses. While these tools are powerful, they often produce misleading, biased, or inaccurate information, requiring users to critically assess their outputs.
AI and Human Intelligence: Are you smarter than ChatGPT?
AI excels at processing huge amounts of information, and identifying patterns, however, it lacks qualities such as intuition, common sense, ethical judgment, and creativity - all essential qualities in successful academic studies. AI does not “understand” information as we do; it operates based on mathematical probabilities rather than genuine comprehension. This distinction is crucial when using AI in research and decision-making.
AI-generated content should be evaluated thoroughly by cross-referencing sources, questioning biases, and recognising its limitations. Ethical considerations, such as data privacy and responsible AI use, should also guide interactions with these technologies.
Academic Integrity: Is using AI cheating?
The University of Otago has policies on AI-assisted work, as will your schools, departments and lecturers. It is crucial to understand what is permitted in your context. Misuse—such as submitting AI-generated content as your own or failing to acknowledge its role—can be considered a breach of academic integrity. Academic Misconduct has serious consequences so always follow any guidelines provided by your lectures or tutors.
Explore Further
This guide contains several sections to deepen your understanding and application of AI:
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Discovering – Learn about the different AI tools out there, their strengths, weaknesses and more.
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Questioning – Explore critical perspectives, biases in AI, and ethical concerns.
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Using – Practical guidance on integrating AI tools effectively in academic work.
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Policies and Governance – Understand institutional and global AI policies, including ethical frameworks and regulations.
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Keeping Up to Date – Stay informed on the latest AI advancements, trends, and debates.
AI is an evolving field, and engaging with it critically ensures responsible and informed use in academic and professional contexts.
Thompson, Kate. (2025). Know Your AI [infographic]. Generative AI. https://otago.libguides.com/Generative_AI.
Further Reading
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Digital Skills: Artificial Intelligence
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Publication Date: 2024“Artificial intelligence” contains 2 modules focussed on assisting students in developing skills around using AI tools in their studies. Including guidance on responsible use of AI tools, encompassing information on benefits, risks, and ethical considerations for students. -
The Alignment Problem
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ISBN: 9780393868333Publication Date: 2021-10-05Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A jaw-dropping exploration of everything that goes wrong when we build AI systems and the movement to fix them. Today's "machine-learning" systems, trained by data, are so effective that we've invited them to see and hear for us--and to make decisions on our behalf. But alarm bells are ringing. The Alignment Problem offers an unflinching reckoning with humanity's biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. A dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, it takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture--and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful. -
Atlas of AI : power, politics, and the planetary costs of artificial intelligence
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ISBN: 9780300252392Publication Date: 2021In this book Kate Crawford reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased inequality. Drawing on more than a decade of research, award-winning science, and technology, Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the energy and minerals needed to build and sustain its infrastructure, to the exploited workers behind 'automated' services, to the data AI collects from us. -
A Citizen's Guide to Artificial Intelligence
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ISBN: 9780262044813Publication Date: 2021-02-23A concise but informative overview of AI ethics and policy. Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, has generated a staggering amount of hype in the past several years. Is it the game-changer it's been cracked up to be? If so, how is it changing the game? How is it likely to affect us as customers, tenants, aspiring home-owners, students, educators, patients, clients, prison inmates, members of ethnic and sexual minorities, voters in liberal democracies? This book offers a concise overview of moral, political, legal and economic implications of AI. It covers the basics of AI's latest permutation, machine learning, and considers issues including transparency, bias, liability, privacy, and regulation. -
Machine learning and artificial intelligence
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ISBN: 3031122828Publication Date: 2023The new edition of this popular professional book on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has been revised for classroom or training use. The new edition provides comprehensive coverage of combined AI and ML theory and applications. Rather than looking at the field from only a theoretical or only a practical perspective, this book unifies both perspectives to give holistic understanding.
