Critical Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) Literacy

As many users have been discovering, generative AI tools make many tasks such as brainstorming ideas, organizing information, creating images, and composing written material easier and less time-consuming. 

Individuals should approach their use of AI tools with an understanding of how LLMs work in gathering content from the open internet and make choices about that usage based upon a clear understanding of what AI tools can and cannot do as a result.  Drawing upon internet content to make language pattern predictions, AI tools will often generate inaccurate and biased information, so an individual should have some previous knowledge of the subject matter concerned in order to recognize it.  It is difficult to fact-check the inaccurate information generated by AI because the source of that information is not known and the information exists out of context.  And although AI tools have been trained on internet content to predict language patterns, they are not search engines.  AI tools do not search websites for content and return the results to the user along with the name of the website.  The content they create is based on predictions of word connections and patterns they have learned from the internet.

Many faculty are addressing the presence of generative AI by writing course policies and syllabi statements that demonstrate their awareness of the technology and set clear expectations for students about how it should and should not be used in the class.

View over 100 sample syllabi policies here:

AI Detector tools vary a great deal in terms of accuracy and consistency and have generated many 'false positives' flagging students' original writing as being produced by generative AI.  While traditional plagiarism detector tools scan student writing for copied and uncited sections of text, AI detector tools cannot do the same because of the way LLMs work.  Generative AI creates new patterns of language in each writing sample that are devoid of context and source and, therefore, cannot easily be detected by a tool.

The Technology and Instructional Resources Committee (TIRC) at Widener University issued an advisory statement regarding the potential use of software to detect AI-generated content.  The committee states that "this advisory statement does not alter Widener’s academic integrity standards; rather, it advises against using unreliable technology to enforce these standards."

TIRC Statement on AI detection software (September 18, 2024)

To the best of our knowledge there exists no software that is capable of consistent and reliable detection of AI generated content.  The level of confidence in the AI detection software outcomes does not meet the high bar of proving that someone committed an academic integrity violation.  As a result, Widener University does not employ AI detection tools to monitor or evaluate student work at this time.

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There are many generative AI tools designed to increase productivity in academic research.  When considering whether to use these tools, researchers should always question the source of the information being produced and understand how the tools function. 

Gen AI research tools do not function like traditional search engines.  They train on data from open access internet sources and cannot access peer-reviewed research articles located behind paywalls.  Gen AI tools are designed to recognize language patterns and produce answers to prompts, even if that means that the answers provided are inaccurate or false.  As a result, for a research project like a literature review, for example, generative AI research tools may miss important research articles and produce inaccurate references.   In a recent study by Gwon et al. (2024), when AI was used for a literature review, "up to 70 percent of the references cited were inaccurate, extensive time was needed for fact checking, current articles were missing, and the draft included plagiarism." 

Some generative AI research tools will allow you to upload research articles that you have found elsewhere and then assist with summarizing, outlining, etc., which mitigates concerns about fake references and sources.  Other Gen AI research tools allow you to upload data and will perform analysis and create visualizations.  Such tools should be used with caution, however, since the privacy and copyright of uploaded data may not be protected by the company that created the tool.

Educators are creating and sharing lessons that build students' critical AI literacy skills.  These lessons offer students and faculty the opportunity to engage with the technology, think critically about its advantages and disadvantages, and develop and apply information literacy skills. 

Librarians have been teaching information literacy skills and addressing the promises and challenges of new technology and its impact on information and research for many years.  In our instruction, we follow the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education of the Association of College and Research Libraries.  These guidelines, adopted in 2016, define the lifelong information literacy skills students need to flourish in an ever-changing technological environment.

Wolfgram Library Faculty welcome the opportunity to work with you and your students to develop critical thinking and information literacy skills in the use of generative AI.   Please fill out this Information Literacy Class Request Form or contact your liaison librarian directly to collaborate on a instructional session about critical AI literacy.

The Daily - "Suspicion, Cheating, and Bans: AI Hits America's Schools"

NY Times Podcasts.  (2023, June 28).  Suspicion, cheating and bans: A.I. hits America's schools.  [Video].  YouTube.  https://youtu.be/a65K1S6S-v0?si=Ax2Vi6dwQetdb_gE