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AI basics

We delve into the fascinating realm of GenAI and how you might apply it responsibly to your studies at ACU.

What is GenAI?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subset, Generative AI (GenAI), are reshaping information creation. Here's the breakdown:

  • AI: Broad technology enabling computers to perform tasks without explicit programming, such as data analysis.

  • GenAI: Specialised AI that creates new content (text, images, video, audio, code) based on prompts.

  • How it works: GenAI analyses patterns in existing data to generate new or modified content.

Key points to remember:

  • GenAI tools are advanced assistants, not infallible experts.
  • Their knowledge is limited to their training data.
  • They don't understand factual accuracy, only predict likely patterns.
  • GenAI is useful for brainstorming and routine tasks, but not reliable as a primary information source for academic work.

In summary: GenAI offers innovative possibilities as an academic resource, but it's crucial to approach its use judiciously. Always verify its outputs and employ it as a complementary tool rather than a standalone solution. 

Types of content AI can generate

What can GenAI tools do?

There are many GenAI tools out there to choose from, and they can generate different types of content.
Click on the plus (+) icons below to explore some examples of what AI can generate.

Activity overview: What can GenAI tools do?

An image is displayed of 5 selectable icons, as follows:

  • Text content
  • Images
  • Sound and video
  • Code and 3D models
  • Research discovery.

The interactivity

The user can click on the icons to reveal examples of what GenAI tools can generate.

Revealed information

  • Text content: AI tools that generate text responses are trained on a massive amount of data. The training process involves consuming large amounts of text from books, articles, and websites, then analysing the text to find patterns and relationships in human language. Once it is trained, it can create new text based on an analysis of human language. These tools can translate languages, summarise long passages of text, answer questions, provide data insights, write jokes and more. Text-based GenAI tools can produce a range of content, such as essays, blog posts, reviews, poetry, scripts, reflective statements, news articles, role-playing scenarios and product descriptions.
  • Images: Image based GenAI tools can create novel images from text prompts (, for example, original images for your slide deck, or a cartoon illustrating a complex biological mechanism). You can ask the model to generate images that have never before been drawn or seen. You can also ask for specific styles of imagery (, for example, impressionist, graphic design, art deco, digital images).Not only can they produce diverse images in various styles, they can also generate images of everyday objects, landscapes, abstract art, and mashups combining multiple objects and concepts.
  • Sound and video: Sound and video based GenAI tools can generate content such as music compositions in a range of genres, sound effects for movies and games or human-looking avatars. AI music generators analyse music tracks and metadata (artist name, album name, genre, year song was released, etc.) to identify patterns and features. They can also be trained on lyrics associated with songs and some can produce sheet music. Other sound and video based tools can mimic voices to generate voiceovers, create video content and even edit videos including cutting clips, applying artistic styling and enhancing the resolution.
  • Coding and 3D models: Coding and 3D model based GenAI tools can create software applications and scripts, recommend improvements to code and even find errors and fix bugs. They can assist in designing websites and templates, creating models, characters and animations, architectural designs and interior layouts.
  • Research discovery: Research discovery based GenAI tools can automate parts of the research process and make long, complex texts easier to decipher by extracting key information or summarising a paper. This type of AI often analyses research papers that users upload. They can also help with literature review mapping and citation.

What can I create using AI tools?

  • Quickly learn more about a new subject or topic.
  • Brainstorm ways to start a new project.
  • Stimulate your thinking and develop new ideas.
  • Inspire you to ask questions you might not otherwise consider.
  • Increasing and decreasing complexity of documents so that people can understand them.
  • Conduct research and find key points on a particular subject or topic.
  • Create study guides.
  • Summarise a recorded lecture.
  • Work where you want a second opinion. Give AI access to the data and see if it reaches the same conclusion.
  • Evaluate mathematical problems, lines of computer code and complex formulas.
  • Interact with virtual tutors.
  • Generate practice quizzes or flashcards.
  • Tutor yourself to improve your language skills.
  • Use GenAI to develop and remix your written, visual and audio content to improve its clarity and fit for purpose.

Do's and Don'ts of using AI

Do:

  • Ensure your assessment allows the use of GenAI.
  • Use GenAI with academic integrity in mind (see Academic Integrity information in the student portal).
  • Consult ACU Library Referencing Guide to correctly reference GenAI outputs.
  • Apply critical thinking of GenAI outputs.
  • Use evaluation tools to fact check GenAI outputs.
  • Keep accurate records of the Gen AI tool transcripts.

Don't:

  • Rely on GenAI tools to write your entire assessment.
  • Blindly trust GenAI information outputs.
  • Breach ACU's Academic Integrity guidelines.
Acknowledgement 

Information on this guide is adapted from Deakin University using a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.