AI 101 - Campus Edition

AI 101 is the first installment of a 3-part series on Generative AI in the UCSB teaching context. Parts 2 and 3 of the series focus on the Ethics of AI in Teaching and Learning and AI Literacy. This series explores both the potential benefits and the challenges posed by Gen AI. The goal is to help you critically evaluate your own use of AI, for learning, teaching and other academic work.

What is Generative AI?

The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around since the 1950s. AI aims to simulate human intelligence by using computer algorithms, and is embedded in many of the technologies we use daily. Academia is currently focused on AI because of rapid advancements in generative AI (Gen AI), which is a “Subset of AI that focuses on creating new data or content rather than analysing and interpreting existing data” (Chan, 2023). This technology works by using predictive models that learn patterns from vast amounts of training data, allowing it to generate new, original content that follows those patterns. As of 2024, Gen AI can produce text, images, video and audio from a user’s prompt.

Popular generative Gen AI platforms include OpenAI’s ChatGPT (text generation) and Dall-E (image generation), Google’s Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity. These platforms are rapidly influencing various fields, including education, with both opportunities and new challenges. Navigating this complex and evolving field may seem daunting, but it's an important journey for instructors and students alike.

What is AI?

Gen AI in Teaching and Learning at UCSB

UCSB students and faculty are finding that Gen AI provides innovative and effective ways to approach the learning process, but that it requires thoughtful and responsible engagement with the technology. We invite you to watch recordings of the presentations and student digital submissions to the AI Symposium in Spring 2024, which illustrate how faculty, staff and students use AI for improving students’ critical thinking skills, integrating creativity, and making teaching and studying more efficient and effective. Note that these presentations also highlight issues of academic integrity, bias, and inequities.

Join the AI Community of Practice

Results from the UC Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) in Spring 2024 gives us another snapshot into how UCSB students are using Gen AI for their studies. Of 6277 survey respondents:

• 38% used Gen AI at least several times per month.
• 48% used Gen AI to brainstorm ideas for a writing project or presentation.
• 43% used it to research a topic.
• 33% used Gen AI to study for exams.
• 25% use it for coding purposes.
• Over 60% report that their professors discussed AI use in classes.
• Over 85% believe their professors’ policies about AI were reasonable.

Learn more about students’ perspectives on AI from UCUES and other data at our upcoming workshop: "Students' Perspectives on Using AI" on Dec 9, 2024 from 2-3pm.

UCSB students use Artificial Intelligence for their learning

Instructors: Policies and Guidance for Gen AI in Classes

Creating policies around AI use is complicated because AI is rapidly evolving. The University of California has developed UC Responsible AI Principles and UCSB’s Office of Teaching and Learning has shared Guidance on AI Writing Assistance Technologies, and there is more information for instructors on the AI in Classes webpage. If you’re not sure how to start creating an AI policy, consider what you would do if the following scenarios occurred in your course. Then look at the policy examples linked after the scenarios. (Note that only some of these scenarios will be relevant to each course.)

1. A non-native English speaking student writes part of their report in their native language, and then uses AI to translate it into English and do some copy editing.
2. A student asks AI to summarize an assigned journal article and to define the jargon from the results section.
3. Based on your assignment instructions and rubric, a student group creates several outlines and thesis statements for their final presentation.
4. A student inputs your practice quiz questions into AI and asks it to create 10 more questions similar in topic and level of difficulty so they can practice for the exam.
5. You ask students to use Gen AI to produce a creative media product. One student has a paid subscription to a Gen AI, while another student does not. The quality of the respective products they produce is noticeably different.
6. A student uploads your course slides, readings and their own notes into an AI bot that they created as a tutor to help them with homework and prepare for exams.
7. Students ask an AI to help them create and debug programming code for their homework.

The Office of Teaching and Learning has compiled sample Generative AI policies that you can adapt for your course and assignments.
Please meet with an Instructional Consultant at OTL for feedback on your policy or if you'd like to think through more nuanced scenarios related to your course. 

How to cite AI

Departments have also offered guidance for professors and students, as follows:

• The UCSB Office of Student Conduct has added artificial intelligence use to their existing standards regarding academic integrity. The academic integrity standards state that academic dishonesty includes, 'Taking credit for any work you did not create, including but not limited to, books, articles, methodology, results, compositions, images, lectures, computer programs, internet postings, or utilizing artificial intelligence programs without prior approval from the instructor.' and 'Unauthorized use of artificial intelligence programs to complete coursework.' The Student Code of Conduct for more information about academic integrity.
• The UCSB Writing Program suggests that instructors: “Communicate clear guidelines and expectations regarding the use of AI writing technology in the classroom, and transparency on which assignments and which parts of the writing process the use of AI writing tools may or may not be included, and the need for proper, clear, and continual attribution of any use of AI writing tools.”

Instructors: Talk to your TAs and Students about Gen AI

As suggested by the UCSB Writing Program, it is very important that you talk about your Gen AI policies in class and with your teaching assistants. Have conversations with students about how they study, how to gain expertise, and the future of working with AI in your careers related to your discipline. Also consider making some common ground rules with students about what is and isn’t acceptable, and how students should disclose their use of AI to study. 

Instructors and TAs, as you meet together, be prepared to talk through any of the scenarios previously listed that are relevant to your course, and to discuss guidance on the following points:

1. What is the AI policy in your course?
2. How will you be communicating this policy to students?
3. Does the TA need to discuss the AI policy with students in lab/section?
4. Are there activities involving AI that you would like the TA to facilitate in lab or section this quarter?
5. Do you have any stipulations about the TA using AI for tasks related to their role as TA?
6. If a TA should encounter work with blatant cheating or plagiarism, what should they do?