Artificial Intelligence

As AI keeps improving, it's important for us to develop AI literacy. That is, developing the skills needed to understand and use AI in a world where it's becoming more common. 

Research the AI tool you are using.

• Does this tool have access to current information? Or does it have a knowledge cutoff date?
• What kind of data was it trained on? How might this impact its responses? 
• What are its data policies? Are there any privacy risks to consider?
• What can (and can't) this tool do? What are its capabilities and limitations? 
• How often is this AI tool updated?

Evaluate its responses.

Just because AI can generate answers that sound good doesn't mean it's generating answers that are accurate or truthful. Take time to evaluate and fact-check the responses generated by AI. While AI can serve as a helpful tool, it doesn't compare to or replace human intelligence and critical thinking skills.  

The ROBOT test (created by and shared with the permission of McGill University librarians) can be used when reading about AI applications to help you assess the credibility of the technology.

Reliability

Objective

Bias

Ownership

Type

Reliability 

How reliable is the information available about the AI technology?

• If it’s not produced by the party responsible for the AI, what are the author’s credentials? Bias?
• If it is produced by the party responsible for the AI, how much information are they making available? 
  • Is information only partially available due to trade secrets?
  • How biased is they information that they produce?

Objective

• What is the goal or objective of the use of AI?
• What is the goal of sharing information about it?
  • To inform?
  • To convince?
  • To find financial support?

Bias

• What could create bias in the AI technology?
• Are there ethical issues associated with this?
• Are bias or ethical issues acknowledged?
  • By the source of information?
  • By the party responsible for the AI?
  • By its users?

Owner

• Who is the owner or developer of the AI technology?
• Who is responsible for it?
  • Is it a private company?
  • The government?
  • A think tank or research group?
• Who has access to it?
• Who can use it?

Type

• Which subtype of AI is it?
• Is the technology theoretical or applied?
• What kind of information system does it rely on?
• Does it rely on human intervention? 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Sources:

Hervieux, S. & Wheatley, A. (2020). The ROBOT test [Evaluation tool]. The LibrAIry. https://thelibrairy.wordpress.com/2020/03/11/the-robot-test

The CLEAR framework (created by Leo S. Lo, Librarian and Professor at the University of New Mexico) offers guidelines for creating effective prompts with generative AI tools. The framework highlights five components for optimizing AI interactions:

Concise: Keep your prompt short and clear. Be specific and do not include irrelevant details.

Logical: Organize your ideas in a clear, logical order. There should be a natural flow between concepts. 

Explicit: Give the AI tool clear instructions on what you want. Specify your preferred output format, content, and/or scope.

Adaptive: Experiment with different ways of structuring and phrasing your prompts to get more varied responses.

Reflective: Evaluate your prompts and the responses you received. Is there any room for improvement? Consider what can be done differently for future interactions.

Sources:

Lo, L. S. (2023). The clear path: A framework for enhancing information literacy through prompt engineering. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(4), 102720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102720

Learn AI at your own pace with these free courses and guides: