Artificial Intelligence Literacy: AI Generators and Teaching

• Add a statement about the preferred use of AI tools to the syllabus. For examples of statements see Update Your Course Syllabus for ChatGPT or review the Sentient Syllabus Project Syllabus Resources

• Add a statement about the use of any AI generative detection tools

• Talk to students about academic integrity/plagiarism and artificial intelligence generation tools. Discuss the value of learning to write and conduct research even though an AI tool can do it for them

• Consider redesigning assignments that incorporate the use of AI tools. They can be a useful learning tool to build information literacy skills and critical thinking

• Invite a librarian to class to instruct students on information evaluation, finding reliable sources and appropriately citing sources

• To discourage the use of AI, consider assigning writing prompts that AI is not good at. See the Critical AI blog by Rutgers University for suggestions

Artificial Intelligence Literacy is the ability to use, monitor and critically evaluate AI output. AI literacy is also the ability to use AI tools but does not require the ability to create AI tools. Artificial intelligence should be viewed as a tool that can aid learning and should be used in an ethical way. The ability to use and evaluate AI applications and content will be a vital skill for life and the workplace as AI use increases. 

Adapted from Long, D. & Magerko, B. (2020). "What is AI literacy? Competencies and design considerations. CHI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376727

Why is AI literacy important?

• AI is being incorporated into tools and services we use every day.

• AI use will become a vital workplace skill.

• It is closely connected to other literacies like media and information literacies.

Librarians can answer questions on AI literacy and help navigate the world of AI. Request a librarian to come to your class to present on AI literacy. 

How do you become AI literate?

1. You have a basic understanding of how Generative AI (GenAI) technologies work.
2. You are aware of policies or guidelines your college and/or workplace has put in place to guide you in the ethical use of GenAI.
3. You know how to prompt GenAI for effective output.
4. You know how to evaluate GenAI outputs for accuracy, relevance, and usefulness. 
5. You disclose the use of GenAI tools and can explain how they contributed to your work.
6. You understand the potential harms of GenAI both inherent to the technology and from their misuse. 

Adapted from Student Guide to AI Literacy by participants of the Critical AI Literacy for Reading, Writing, and Languages Workshop,
an initiative of the MLA-CCCC Task Force on Writing and AI.