10 Days of AI, 2-13 December
Each day there will be a 30 minute online activity to support development of digital capability and explore effective use of AI in our work, life and studies. Throughout the ten days there are also live online sessions and optional activities to assess your learning and share ideas with others.
There are also a selection of further learning resources and activities for each topic to reflect the varied starting points and individual learning goals for everyone studying and working at Herts.
Complete both end of week quizzes by 12:00 on Friday 20 December and you will be entered into prize draw to win a pair of Bluetooth headphones with mic.
Submit a piece of creative work to demonstrate your skills by 12:00 on Friday 20 December, for a chance to win a £100 Love2Shop voucher.
Go to go.herts.ac.uk/10-days-AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have had lots of coverage in the news recently including how they can be used in workplaces and universities. You may have heard of tools such as Chat GPT, DALLE-2, Co-Pilot, and Google Bard although there are many more available for different purposes, and some are embedded into software that we use every day like Microsoft Office or Google Apps.
While such tools may seem like time-savers, their potential and limitations are still not fully explored, so it’s even more important that we learn to use them appropriately, safely and ethically.
AI tools may produce materials/information that is out of date or incorrect, and some of the information may be fictitious or contain false references and quotes. We also know that since AI models are trained on the data that they are exposed to, this can result in biases. So, responses or information you pull out of such tools may reflect these biases and demonstrate discriminatory attitudes and beliefs.
Our stance on the use of AI tools
Here at Herts, we want to help you to understand the significance, benefits and challenges of AI for society, employment, and for your own studies. We know that when you graduate you are likely to need to use AI tools, and your future employers will expect you to use them skilfully and responsibly.
When it comes to your course, inappropriate use of these tools can negatively impact your learning as well as affecting your own confidence in your qualification and ability.
AI and assessments (Proof Reading)
Increasingly, proofreading tools are being embedded into standard packages e.g. Word, Grammarly, and becoming more sophisticated.
The University’s position on proofreading and use of genAI for wider purposes is set out below - academic integrity policy (UPR AS14 Appendix III)
Assessments fall into one of the following three categories. Each assessment brief will state clearly which one of the categories applies:
- In this assessment you are expressly permitted to use AI tools in the creation of content for your work and also to proofread your work. Alternatively, you can use a proofreader or non-genAI proofreading service.
- In this assessment you are permitted to use genAI tools (or a proofreader or proofreading service) to proofread your work but not permitted to use AI tools in the creation of your work. This category will apply irrespective of the fact that the grading criteria include credit for English and grammar.
- In this assessment you are expressly prohibited from (i) using genAI tools for the creation of content and (ii) genAI tools or a proofreader or a proofreading service for proofreading. This category will only apply where all, or the majority of marks, are allocated for the proficiency of the use of langauge, including spelling punctuation, and grammar.
To what extent can you use genAI tools or a proofreader or a proofreading service to help you with your assessment?
Neither a proof-reader nor a proof-reading tool (whether genAI or not) can ever be used to make changes to your work directly; the proof-reader or proof reading tool must only identify and draw attention to changes which you can then choose to accept or reject; this will ensure that you remain the author of your work.
For clarity, where a proofreader, proofreading service or genAI tool is used, they/it may only:
- Identify spelling and typographical errors
- Identify poor grammar
- Highlight formatting errors or inconsistencies
- Identify errors in labelling of diagrams, charts or figures
- Identify areas for possible improvement
- Highlight a sentence or paragraph where the meaning is not clear; or draw attention to repeated phrases or omitted words
Additionally, you are required to reference the proofreader, proofreading service or genAI proofreading tool you have used.
Need extra support?
If you need support with your academic research, writing and assignment preparation, you should use the University’s support service Herts Academic Skills, so you can build your confidence without worrying that you might risk your academic integrity. Be wary of online tutoring systems or chat bots which use AI as they can be expensive, biased and inaccurate.