Generative AI and Critical Evaluation

Welcome to this online module on artificial intelligence (AI) and information literacy! Watch this short introductory video to get started. (Video will open in new window; please return to this module when you are done.)

One important note about communication, academic integrity, and your learning journey: Brandeis holds us all to standards of truth and academic honesty and prohibits you from receiving unauthorized assistance on assignments. Especially since the field of AI is changing so quickly, it is your responsibility to double-check the expectations of your instructors on all your assignments to make sure you are not using these AI-based tools in a prohibited way -- every instructor will have different expectations about the use of these tools in their classrooms, and even within different assignments. As you use AI-based tools, we encourage you to make sure you use them to help you learn better and not to shortcut skills that are important for you to practice on your own. Please refer to Brandeis' Department of Student Rights and Community Standards for additional information about maintenance of academic integrity. 

 What to expect from this module

Once you're done, you will be able to evaluate how to use AI-based tools responsibly in your academic work. Specifically, you'll be able to:

1. Explain generally how AI-based tools work as well as their benefits and risks
2. Recognize when AI gives inaccurate or misleading answers, and fact-check AI output
3. Begin exploring ways to use these tools effectively

 Questions?

• If you are unsure if a certain use of an AI-based tool is an academic integrity violation, please talk to your course instructor. Every instructor will have different expectations about AI-based tools in their classroom, so it is your responsibility to double-check if you are uncertain to ensure you are not committing an academic integrity violation.
• If you have questions about information literacy or citations, please ask a librarian for assistance! 
• If you have questions about how AI tools work or the ethics of AI, check out the "learn more" links on the bottom of the pages in this module for additional resources and articles to explore.

Get started

To begin, step through the sections for each topic below. For your reference, you can find each topic below as well.

1. How AI-Based Tools Work (start here!)
2. Assess AI Based Tools for Accuracy
3. Level Up: Use AI Responsibly and Ethically

Acknowledgements

This module was developed by the University Libraries and the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center (TLTC) at the University of Maryland, and has been shared under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license. 

The University of Maryland thanks The Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS) for their collaboration. The work of other educational organizations was also instrumental in the creation of this content: Stanford CRAFT's AI literacy resources, reports and presentations from the Department of Education Office of Educational Technology, ISTE's Hands-On AI Projects for the Classroom guides, and Kathryn Conrad and Sean Kamperman's Critical AI Literacy for Educators curated links.