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Generative AI

There are many tools and services that use generative artificial intelligence (GAI). These tools offer many opportunities for students, but it is also important to consider how to use them responsibly.

On this page, we have gathered information on how you as a student can use AI as an information search tool. You will get tips on how to craft good prompts (ask the AI a question), how to use the AI to brainstorm ideas to get started and move forward with your information search, and whether to cite the AI tool.

Please note that you always need to get information from your course coordinator about the rules that apply to the use of AI for your course and your examination assignment.  

Prompt tips

Include the following information in your prompt for better results:

  • Content: What do you want? 
    • Example: Describe the basic skills a nurse should have.
  • Context: In what context should it be used?
    • Example: The text is intended to be an introduction to a course book for nursing students.
  • Tone: What is the desired tone and level of your response?
    • Example: It should be informative, pedagogical, and complete.
  • Form: What output/form do you want the answer in?
    • Example: and should have a structure including sub-headings and paragraphs.

If you want to learn more about prompts, you can, for example, take a look at Google's pages on "Prompt engineering".

How can GAI help you when you are searching for information on a topic?

How can GAI help you when you are searching for information on a topic?

Examples of use Prompt examples

Subject orientation and background information

  • What is qualitative research methodology? Can you give examples of some such methods?
  • What are the characteristics of academic texts?
  • Which texts are considered academic and why?

Get inspiration 
  • What are the current research areas related to ethical problems with artificial intelligence in [research field]?
Troubleshoot search strings
  • Does the Boolean search logic work correctly if I search like this? (Sweden OR Norway OR Denmark) AND ("parental leave" OR "family leave" OR "paternity leave") AND fathers
Summarise text
  • What is the main thesis of this piece of text? [place for text].
  • What arguments are given against for-profit schools in this piece of text? [place for text]

Translation

  • Can you translate this abstract into Swedish? [place for English abstract]
  • Is there an equivalent Swedish term for [English term]?
Keyword generation
  • Are there any synonyms for the term "district nurse" used internationally?
  • What Swedish words can be used to describe quality assurance work? Are there any more specific concepts I should know about?

And much more.

Generative AI and source criticism

Being critical of sources is important, and often a challenge, not least in relation to generative AI;

When using Copilot or any other GAI tool to retrieve information, you need to be aware that this information is not always reliable or of high quality. 

This is partly because a GAI-generated text:

  • Does not have a specific sender (author or organisation) - so you don't know who or what is behind the text
  • Created in real-time, based on the instructions you give it, and what you get is a unique text and a likely answer based on algorithms and the GAI tool's previously learned data
  • May be inaccurate, biased, or unethical due to the GAI tool being trained on websites, social media, and other digital platforms that spread false information, hateful, or otherwise harmful messages
  • May be outdated due to the GAI tool not having access to updated data 
  • May be incorrect because the GAI tool is not trained on sufficient amounts of data in the area you are asking about
  • In some cases, presents sources on which the text is based, but these may be irrelevant and the whole text may not be well supported by sources 
  • Can be personalised, i.e. provide customised answers based on your past activities

It is therefore important that you make your own assessment of the credibility and relevance of the information by comparing it with other, credible, sources. 

Citing AI or not?

Have you used GAI when working on an assignment or paper and now you're wondering how to cite this in your work?

The question is rather if you should cite them at all. 

AI-generated information is rarely considered a source that should be included in your reference list. This is because GAI texts are not regarded as written sources in the usual sense. Books, articles, and reports are peer-reviewed, have an author who stands behind the content and can be located and checked by someone else. That is not how GAI works. AI generates responses to your prompts in real time, meaning different people may receive different answers depending on the context and how the question is asked. This is important to consider when evaluating AI-generated text as a source of information—it cannot be equated with information from a book or facts from an encyclopedia. Instead, it is a probable response based on the data the language model has been trained on.

However, if your teacher requests that you describe how you have used generative AI as part of the assignment, you can explain your process and the tools you have used.

Here we will give some examples of different uses of AI and whether or not you should cite sources. If you are still unsure, ask your course coordinator.

I have used AI to find simple factual information NO. Commonly accepted simple facts generally do not need to be referenced. This includes years, names of heads of state, geographical information, and similar data. However, it may be a good idea to double-check the facts against other sources, as AI can sometimes be incorrect.
I have used AI for research, inspiration, testing ideas, and similar purposes NO. If you have used AI tools as part of your process rather than a source for arguments and material for your text, you do not need to cite AI as a source.
I have used AI for administrative purposes, such as sorting, transcribing, calculating, or translating
NO. In this situation, AI is a tool and not a source.
I have used AI to better understand the course literature NO. Using generative AI to check your understanding is more like discussing with a study partner, which does not require a citation. You do not need to cite AI, but you should reference the course literature to show that you have read and understood it.
I have used AI to correct language and grammar or to rephrase and restructure text that I have written myself

NO. This means you have used AI as a tool rather than as a source of information, so you do not need to cite your use of AI.

Note! This type of AI use may be prohibited—what do the instructions for your assignment say? Is it allowed to use generative AI to improve the text you submit?

Using AI to structure and write an entire assignment is almost certainly not allowed and could lead to disciplinary actions, such as suspension from your studies. Always check how AI can be used in your course assignments!

I have used AI to create images, figures, or tables that I have included in my work YES. In this case, it is appropriate to describe the origin of the image in the caption, but no reference in the bibliography is needed, as your AI-generated images are not copyrighted.
I have used AI to examine the functionality or to compare responses from different tools, and want to discuss and analyze the results in my work

YES. In this case, it is necessary to reference AI. Since your prompts influence the responses you receive, it is important to include your conversations in full. You also need to specify which service you used and the date of the conversation.

This can be done in one of the following ways:


i. By providing permanent links to the conversation, either in a separate list, a footnote, or as part of a standard reference in your bibliography.
ii. By including exact transcripts of the conversations in your text or as an appendix.
iii. By using screenshots of the exact conversations in your text or as an appendix

AI-generated images

AI-generated images are copyright-free if you created them yourself. This means that you can use the images you created with GAI freely, unless the terms of use say otherwise.

If you need images to illustrate or clarify something in your work and you can't find images that are free to use, don’t want to go to the trouble of asking permission to use copyrighted works, or can’t make your own illustrations, you can try creating something with the help of GAI.

However, successfully generating an image that looks the way you want it to can be a challenge, and clear and well-formulated prompts are needed to get the right style and content of the image. Pictures of people can be particularly difficult to get right.

Here we have prompted Microsoft Copilot/DALL-E as follows to create an image that can be used to illustrate photosynthesis:

"a green sprout is in the middle of the image, roots going down in the soil, above the sprout is the sun and a raincloud"

Keep in mind that: Even if the images are free to use, you should indicate where they come from and that they are created with AI.

Energy use of AI

Did you know that it takes as much energy to create a single image with GAI as it does to charge a mobile phone?

Text generation is energy-efficient in comparison, but the electricity consumption of AI companies is still something to consider, not least from a global perspective. Read more about electricity consumption and GAI in this article from MIT Technology Review.

Elements of AI: open web-based course on artificial intelligence

Do you want to deepen your understanding of how artificial intelligence works and how you can use it?

You can take this open web-based course at https://www.elementsofai.se
It is also possible to apply for the course as a distance course at Linköping University and receive 2 higher education credits (HE) for completing the course.

AI-based search services with academic focus

There are many niche services where you can search for academic material using AI and more are emerging all the time.

At the moment, the University of Borås library has subscriptions to the following:

If you're curious and want to try it out for yourself, here are some suggestions for services that are more or less free to use. Often the tools can be used for free with limited functionality or with a limited number of prompts.

Please note that the University Library does not provide support for tools not included in our subscriptions.

General purpose AI tools

These are some tools that can generate both text and images.

Creating an account often grants extended functionality.

Using GAI in your writing process - Guide from ChatGPT

This guide provides good ideas on how you can use generative AI (GAI) to improve your writing and learning and deepen your understanding of the subjects you study: