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“Brandeis

Generative AI and Critical Evaluation

Use AI Responsibly and Ethically

Introduction

Now that you've learned to use these AI-based tools responsibly, what are some of your options for using them effectively? By learning more and playing around, you can discover all sorts of ways to craft better prompts for chatbots and use AI-based tools for a variety of exciting purposes.

This page includes links to a few different resources -- feel free to spend as much or as little time exploring them as you'd like! For each of the resources presented below, it's still important for you to evaluate the ethics and responsible uses of any tool you'd like to use.

Write effective prompts

The quality of the prompt you enter into an AI-based tool affects the quality of the product you get back. This field of study is called prompt engineering. Check out these different resources to level-up your prompt-writing skills.

Text and code

Here are some potential things you could ask an AI-based chatbot to do for you -- if you have time, try some of them out!

  • Proofread a document
  • Debug code
  • Check the tone of something you wrote
  • Find information on a topic you know a lot about
  • Find information on a topic you know very little about
  • Generate code for a specific use
  • Compose a Tweet based on a longer paragraph of text
  • Summarize notes from a meeting
  • Simplify a concept (e.g. "explain [concept] to me as if I'm 12 years old")
  • Make a plan (e.g. "recommend a list of roadside attractions where I should stop when driving from College Park, Maryland to New York City")
  • Get coaching or a longer conversation (e.g. "Act as an interviewer for [job]. Please ask me one question at a time and wait for my response each time. Have the questions start easy and get progressively more technical.")

For more inspiration, check out the "Using generative AI" section of this resource from The University of Sydney.

Images

For inspiration about how to refine your visual language to generate a wide range of images from AI-based tools, check out The DALL-E Prompt Book.

Explore different AI-based tools

The list of AI-based tools is rapidly expanding. Check out this resource for a list of interesting tools you might be able to use for different purposes. If you'd like (and if you feel comfortable with the user agreements), check out a few of these tools and think about different purposes each one could be useful for.

Cite Your Use of AI

If you're using AI to generate text or images, you should acknowledge that in your citations, just like you would for a human author, artist, or photographer. If using AI is allowed on an assignment your professor gives you, each time you include something AI-generated, you have to cite it. (Remember that you can only use AI on an assignment if your professor specifically says so, and always double check with your instructor if you have questions about AI usage or citations.) Please review the Brandeis Library guide for additional guidance on citing AI. 

Next steps

Congratulations on completing this module on AI and Information Literacy! We hope you feel comfortable evaluating how to use AI-based tools responsibly in your academic work. As a reminder, here are a few resources for your questions:

  • If you need clarification on whether a specific 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 maintaining academic integrity.
  • If you have research questions, ask a librarian! 
  • 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 earlier pages in this module for additional resources and articles to explore.