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Digital foundations and emerging technologies

This guide explores foundational and emerging digital technology, provides insights into their applications, and outlines strategies for staying up to date with technological trends. 

"Recent advances in AI have transformed the educational and professional landscape, opening up many new exciting opportunities. Like any new frontier, however, there are associated risks as well as benefits. Students should remember three things when using AI assistance: 

Firstly, they should not rely on it too heavily - double-checking what it says is key. If we use it unquestioningly, its mistakes become ours. AI can also make you think it’s generating original ideas, but research finds that AI-assisted writing often leads to more similar outputs. To truly stand out, investing time and effort into your own unique ideas is key—AI can assist, but originality comes from you.

Secondly, we should not share sensitive or confidential information with it - treat it like you would another human. 

Finally, it is important that we as individuals develop and nurture our own critical thinking skills, our own voices, and our own approaches. Humans are rich in complexity and are utterly unique. We can use AI to assist us, but the human should remain the driving force in our interactions with it.  

It is also important to keep in mind that, with the fast pace of AI developments, any guidance on its use may quickly become outdated. Staying informed and adaptable is key."  
Professor Aline Villavicencio, Director of the Institute for Data Science and AI (IDSAI) at the University of Exeter, Professor Mark Kelson, Associate Director for IDSAI and Professor Oliver Hauser, Deputy Director for IDSAI

Using GenAI tools responsibly

In order to use GenAI tools responsibly, it is important to be aware of the challenges they pose. Awareness means we can act appropriately when using GenAI in life, studies, and beyond.

 

To view some of the key challenges, click on the lightbulb icons on the image below.

Understanding the challenges of GenAI

Checklist: Should I use this AI tool?

Before using an AI tool, ask yourself the following questions to ensure responsible use:

  • Purpose: What am I using AI for? Do I have the right contextual and subject knowledge to check the output?
  • Data privacy: Does the tool provide easy-to-find information on their privacy policy, the terms & conditions of use, and their data protection regulations? Does the tool give information on how copyrighted data is used to train the model, or which copyright legislation it complies with? Can I avoid putting personal, confidential, or sensitive data into the tool? Can I get permission from anyone whose contributions will be inputted into the tool (e.g. in a recorded seminar)? Am I happy with how this tool is going to use the information I enter?
  • Ethics: Does the tool cite sources? Will I check the outputs for false information? Am I equipped to be aware of biases and stereotypes in the tool's outputs?
  • Transparency: Have I checked with the University policy and my assessment brief that I can use AI for this purpose? Am I prepared to keep a log of how and when I'm using AI if using it for an assessment? Have I checked the University's AI catalogue to see what it says about this tool?
  • Sustainability: Am I aware of the energy efficiency concerns there may be in relation to this tool? Is the outcome of using this tool worth the environmental impact?
  • Accessibility: Is the tool interface inclusive and easy to use?
  • Output: Is the tool known to generate helpful, relevant content that suits my purpose?
  • Cost: Is the tool free?

If you answer 'no' to any of them, reconsider whether it's necessary to use AI for your intended purpose.

Enabling AI at the University of Exeter

Find out more about the University of Exeter's vision to embed AI responsibly and sustainably across education, research and professional services, and principles for using AI so, by viewing the Enabling AI Strategy and Policy webpages.

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University of Exeter LibGuide is licensed under CC BY 4.0