Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been in the news a great deal recently, particularly Chat GPT. We explore here the possibilities and limitations of such tools and considers how to use them responsibly and ethically.
Whilst we provide here the basic information, all students at Oxford Brookes are strongly encouraged to complete the 'Use of Artificial Intelligence' section of the Academic Integrity Moodle course, which will give you more detailed insight into how AI can be used appropriately.
Large Language Model Tools (such as ChatGPT and QuillBot) are a range of artificial intelligence tools that can enhance learning if used cautiously, critically and reflectively. If you provide clear and accurate prompts to ChatGPT, you are more likely to get responses that are relevant and appropriate for your needs. When used responsibly in this way, ChatGPT can support your learning, your research and your writing, and ensure that the ideas and arguments presented in your assignments reflect your own understanding of the subject.
Be mindful that ChatGPT merely searches for the quickest answers to your questions and collates them for you. By searching for quick (and potentially unreliable or false) answers, you may miss out on the opportunity to develop the critical research and thinking skills that are key to learning at university and making informed decisions generally.
Make sure that you understand the limitations of ChatGPT and take steps to verify any information before using it in your work. Output from ChatGPT may contain falsified or misrepresented references, which should not be used in your work. Use genuine, traceable data and sources of information to verify its responses. Take the time to review and critically evaluate the responses generated by ChatGPT, and only use information that is accurate, relevant and well-supported. Be aware of the potential for bias in texts produced by AI models, including ChatGPT, and take steps to mitigate this in your work.
A crucial part of writing at university is learning to develop your own authorial voice. Using AI tools to generate text can take this opportunity away and remove ‘you’ from your work.
Remember that AI tools should not be used to replace you as the author of your work. If you gain an unfair advantage using AI tools, you may breach the Oxford Brookes academic conduct regulations.
Oxford Brookes students are required to use the form in Moodle to declare which AI tools you have used and how you have used them. You will be emailed a receipt copy of your completed declaration which you must then paste into an appendix at the end of your assignment.
Seek guidance from your lecturers on the ethical use of AI tools in your particular assignments and research. Some subject areas, such as arts, languages, creative writing and others, may have specific requirements, which means using AI tools is inappropriate.
Check your prompts. The information you get out is only as good as the requests you put in.
Approach any information the AI tool produces cautiously (be a critical reader).
Understand that Large Language Models (including ChatGPT) are designed only to summarise, predict and generate texts. They won’t do the thinking for you.
Take the time to verify any claims made and check the reliability of any sources.
Identify any use of AI tools (including large language models such as Chat GPT) in the student declaration form (below). Always declare your use of AI tools and explain how you used them.
Observe the principles of Good Academic Practice at all times.
Never submit chunks of text produced by AI as your own work. You may be in breach of the academic conduct regulations.
AI models and software tools might save you time and help you to think differently but they might also store, use or distribute data uploaded to them. This means they are not necessarily safe and secure. Therefore, when using AI tools, beware of uploading any sensitive, confidential or protected data and ask yourself these guiding questions:
If you are unsure about the data security of any AI tool you would like to use for Oxford Brookes academic practice or professional service, contact info.sec@brookes.ac.uk
Navigate through the accordion menu below for guidance on safe use of software at Oxford Brookes.
Oxford Brookes students and staff have access to the data-secure Microsoft Co-pilot AI chatbot, available through a Microsoft academic institutional licence.
When using Microsoft Co-pilot, signing in with your Oxford Brookes log-in ensures your data is protected in accordance with Microsoft’s privacy notice. However, we do not recommend you upload any confidential or protected data or information because Co-pilot does not comply with Brookes’ expectations of good practice with regard to information security.
You can use Co-pilot to create images, learn about new topics, compare and contrast text in documents, summarise content and generate ideas or problem solve.
The guidance below explains how to access Oxford Brookes Microsoft Co-pilot. You must first register with Microsoft, using your Oxford Brookes email address, which you can do by visiting Office 365 Education. Then, to access Co-pilot:
Google Gemini is a useful information-search, production and reasoning tool, which you can sign into using your Oxford Brookes log-in.
However, Google’s own privacy notice tells the user not to share anything personal as it has human reviewers and also retains your data for three-years. Thus, Google’s approach may not adhere to general data protection regulations (GDPR) and so not be GDPR compliant. Do not upload any confidential or protected data or information to Gemini.
With so many AI tools emerging it is impossible for Oxford Brookes to review them all. We must all develop AI literacy so that we know what AI to use, as well as how and when it is appropriate to use it. This will help us all be safe and secure in this evolving AI landscape.
We recommend only using AI models or software tools that are considered safe and secure in how they handle your information.
Your privacy and the security of our Oxford Brookes network matter to us all. If you are not confident that an AI tool is safe and secure then stop, choose a recommended application or do some of your own research: you can ask yourself the guiding questions above, you can check the privacy statement, or ask the web. If you are still unsure, contact info.sec@brookes.ac.uk
With all Gen AI tools, if you are not fully confident they are safe and secure, and so GDPR compliant, don't enter anything you wouldn't want a human reviewer to see, or the AI model or software tool to store, use, or distribute.
When we discuss AI in an academic context, we often talk about using it to explain concepts or to generate text. However, there are many other ways that you can use AI to support your learning, for example helping you to organise, structure and synthesise your research process. The Library has produced a guide which explores the benefits and risks of using AI for research, and suggests some current AI research tools and how to use them: