Artificial Intelligence (AI): Usage, Policies, and Resources
Contents of this page
What is Generative AI (GenAI)?
What is Google Gemini?
What else should I know about AI as I get started?
AI Workshops
Data Privacy
Responsible Use
Additional Resources
What is Generative AI (GenAI)?
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can create new content, such as text, images, music, and videos. It uses machine learning models to analyze large amounts of data and learn patterns to generate new content.
In the College of Arts & Letters, we have access to multiple GenAI tools.
- Google Gemini – currently available to all ND faculty, staff and students. Google Gemini is partially integrated into the existing Google Workspace suite, and access is available through the existing Notre Dame single sign-on.
- Magai – currently available to all A&L faculty by requesting a license from the Office of Digital Strategy via this Google Form. Magai provides access to 26 GenAI models, including multiple versions of Claude, Gemini, GPT, Grok, Llama, and others.
What is Google Gemini?
Like ChatGPT, Google Gemini App is an AI assistant that can help you with a variety of tasks, such as answering questions, writing, planning, and even creating images. It's designed to understand and respond to different types of information, like text, images, and audio, making it a versatile tool for both personal and professional use. Think of it as a smart helper that can assist you with many of your daily activities, making them easier and more efficient. Some may think of it as the Google version of ChatGPT.
You may use the following data in Google Gemini:
- Public data
- Sensitive data, including FERPA data
You may not use highly-sensitive date in Google Gemini, such as:
- HIPAA information
- Banking information (credit cards, back account numbers)
- Social Security numbers
- Driver's License numbers
What else should I know about AI as I get started?
- GenAI continues to evolve in quality and appropriateness of responses. However, how it responds to any individual prompt is difficult to predict and needs to be checked through experimentation. The quality of the output depends on the type of work requested and how it is requested. THESE SYSTEMS MAKE MISTAKES.
- Because the systems are based on statistical patterns and cannot be perfectly predicted, the outputs must always be evaluated and accepted or modified by appropriately proficient humans.
- Even the AI experts who created these GenAI models continue to be surprised by some of their behaviors.
- Content generated primarily by these systems cannot currently be copyrighted since a machine cannot be given a copyright.
- Different AI-based products vary on how they use and share your data. Make sure you understand the data use agreement for any version of any product you use. Free products often default to using your data to train future models with possible very negative privacy issues.
AI Workshops
Fall events are being planned, check back here for updates.
Data Privacy
Our ND-licensed version of Google Gemini includes a protected environment for our data. This means that data that we use in Gemini will not be used to train or further enhance AI tools or algorithms. Our data remains protected and kept safe using the same safeguards used for GMail and Google Drive.
Our license with Magai does not offer the same data protections. You may use only public data in Magai; you may not use sensitive data in Magai. We have had no negative incidents with Magai, and it has passed ND IT security approval but it is best practice to avoid sensitive and personal information in a third party application such as Magai.
Responsible Use
Notre Dame encourages safe exploration and use of generative AI tools to further our teaching, learning, research, and other pursuits. Keep these guidelines in mind:
- Work within current University policies.
- Protect confidential, copyrighted, and personal data.
- Any AI tool used with institutional data must follow approval processes.
- Routinely revisit specific usage policies.
- Act ethically with AI.
- You are 100% responsible for the output you use.
- Be transparent and document usage of AI.
- When in doubt, reach out.
Full AI Policies and Guidelines
Additional Resources
AI@ND (ai.nd.edu)
AI@ND is the central hub for AI information at ND. You can learn about upcoming Get to Know AI sessions, the ND AI Forum, and other events. You can find ways to participate in the AI Community of Practice Group or the AI Developer Interest Group. You can also learn more about the Generative AI Task Force (GAIT) and the AI Innovation Council, and find many other AI-related resources.
AI@ND also provides a great Google Gemini App page to help you get started.
A&L Office of Digital Strategy
The Office of Digital Strategy supports the evolution of the College's use of digital technologies, including generative AI. The office provides workshops and consultations on generative AI for departments, small groups, or individuals. The office coordinates communication and planning across the Office of Information Technology, ND Learning, and the Office of Academic Standards. Please email John Behrens (jbehrens@nd.edu) if you have any requests or suggestions about addressing the challenges or opportunities of generative AI, increasing communication and collaboration, or want to join an affinity group.
Notre Dame Learning (learning.nd.edu)
In collaboration with faculty from around the University (including Nathaniel Myers and Whitney James from the Writing Center and Katie Walden from American Studies), Notre Dame Learning is sponsoring a series of workshops and presentations throughout the semester. They also have a web page of instructionally related resources including links within and outside of Notre Dame. The resource page gives some examples of how you might word your syllabus to address working with generative AI.
Office of Academic Standards
During the Spring of 2023, the Director of the Office of Academic Standards, Ardea Russo, convened a group of technologists, learning specialists, and faculty from across campus to discuss the implications of generative AI (primarily ChatGPT) which produced an Official Statement Regarding Generative AI as well as AI Recommendations for Instructors. We recommend you read these two documents. The committee included a broad range of inputs from our faculty and from across the University.
The Office of Academic Standards has released a statement to students about generative AI on https://honorcode.nd.edu/ that includes the following text:
"With this in mind, remember that representing work that you did not produce as your own, including work generated or materially modified by AI, constitutes academic dishonesty. Use of generative AI in a way that violates an instructor’s articulated policy, or using it to complete coursework in a way not expressly permitted by the faculty member, will be considered a violation of the Honor Code."
Please remember that Ardea (Ardea.C.Russo.23@nd.edu
We want to emphasize that the honor code is based on the idea of violating "an instructor's articulated policy, or using it to complete coursework in a way not expressly permitted by the faculty member". This means it is important for faculty to think about the range of possible uses of the technologies in completing class assignments. Text-based generative AI such as ChatGPT, Bing, Claude, Gemini, Llamma2, and others are used for a wide range of activities such as web search, summarization of text, evaluation and editing of text, and brainstorming or background research. The more clearly you delineate what is acceptable and not, the easier it will be to agree on what is appropriate and what is not.
Miscellaneous Resources
- Video: Intro to Generative AI
- Gemini for Google Workspace
- ND Learning Resource Library
- NEW Recent Gemini Improvements (AI@ND)
- NEW Gemini & Prompt Engineering Udemy Learning Path (ND Udemy)
Related Links
Google Gemini App - Overview (ServiceNow)
Google Gemini App (AI@ND)
Policy Related Resources
Official Statement Regarding Generative AI