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Basics of Generative AI

Guide uses elements created by the US Military Academy, used with USMA permission.

Practicing with Generative AI and Chatbots

This page provides cadets, faculty, and users with hands-on experience using AI tools to enhance academic workflows.

  • Hands-on Practice:  Learn how to interact effectively with AI tools.
  • Practical Applications:  Explore real-world uses of GenAI and chatbots in academic work.
  • Enhance Productivity:  Use AI to streamline tasks like brainstorming, writing, research, studying, and communication.

Interactive Practice and Experimentation

This section helps you explore Generative AI, understand its strengths and limits, and practice evaluating GenAI-generated sources. Let's dive into common academic tasks you can try with GenAI and AI chatbots.

Brainstorming Ideas for Research Projects

  • Task:  Use ChatGPT or other AI chatbot to brainstorm ideas and generate research topics.
    • Instructions:
      • Open the AI chatbot (e.g. ChatGPT)
      • Type a prompt like:  "Give me 5 research topics related to [your subject area]" (e.g. Space Warfare).
      • Alternative Prompt:  "What are the latest studies on [topic]?"
      • Review and refine (or expand) on the ideas that interest you.
      • Tip:  Add constraints for more specific ideas, e.g. "focus on emerging technology" or "include ethical concerns".
    • Why it's useful:  Helps you overcome creative or mental blocks and find inspiration for your research.

Summarizing Academic Articles

  • Task:  Use Perplexity AI or other AI chatbot to summarize an academic article.
    • Instructions:
      • Copy a section of an academic article.
      • Paste it into the AI chatbot and ask:  "Can you summarize this section for me?"
      • Review the summary to ensure you understand the key points.
      • Tip:  For long articles, summarize in smaller sections.
    • Why it's useful:  Quickly condenses complex content, saving you time while maintaining focus on key concepts.

Writing Assistance and Drafting

  • Task:  Use Claude or another AI tool to help write an introduction for your research paper.
    • Instructions:
      • Start a simple prompt:  "Write a 100 word introduction on [your research topic]."
      • Provide feedback if prompt needs adjustment:
      • Examples:  "Focus more on [aspect]" or "Make it more formal."
      • Review to ensure it reflects your ideas and is plagiarism-free.
      • Tip:  Ask the AI to break the introduction into sections (e.g., background, problem statement).
    • Why it's useful:  AI helps quickly draft content, allowing you to focus on refining ideas.
    • Attribution Reminder:  Always credit the AI tool (e.g., "This introduction was generated with ChatGPT") and ensure the final work is your own.
    • Remember -- AI should assist, not replace, your creativity and critical thinking.

Evaluating AI-Generated Text

  • Task:  Assess the quality of AI-generated content.
    • Instructions:
      • Ask your AI tool to generate content (e.g., an essay introduction or a paragraph).
      • Evaluate its clarity, accuracy, and relevance to your research.
      • Important: Always verify AI-generated content. Chatbots may produce references that sound real but don’t exist ("hallucination"). Cross-check cited sources using the Library's Publication Finder.
      • Tip:  Ask the AI, "Is this information accurate?" or "Can you add more references to support this?"
    • Why it's useful:  This exercise builds your ability to critically evaluate AI content for academic rigor and relevance.

 

Getting Started with Generative AI and AI Tools

Before practicing, it's important to understand the basic functions of GenAI and chatbots. These tools use advanced machine learning models to generate responses, assist with tasks, and offer insights based on your input. While each tool has its unique strengths, all share the ability to interact with users and provide helpful responses.

Popular AI Chatbots and Tools

Research-Focused AI Tools: These tools help organize research and discover new studies.

  • Consensus: Summarizes key insights from academic papers to answer research questions.
  • Elicit:  Conducts research, summarizes papers, extracts data, and synthesizes findings.
  • Litmaps: Visualizes and connects research papers to track references and trends.
  • ResearchRabbit: Recommends relevant papers based on your interests.
  • Semantic Scholar: Uses AI to recommend papers and summarize key findings.

More Practical Applications in Academic Work

Tools for Writing and Editing

  • ChatGPT:  Use AI chatbots to check grammar and rephrase sentences.
    • Prompt:  "Can you make this paragraph more concise?"
  • LanguageTool: A free, open-source tool for grammar and style checking. 
  • QuillBot: Offers a free AI writing tools for writing, editing, reviewing, and researching.

Tool for Citing and Managing Citations

  • Zotero:  A free tool to collect, organize, cite, and share research sources (available for USAFA users, linked on Self Service Client)
    • Zotero Setup: Step-by-step instructions for setting up your Zotero account and managing your sources.
    • Zotero Tutorials: Access a variety of video tutorials to help you use Zotero effectively.

Refining Prompts and Customizing Responses

Now that you've covered the basics, it's time to refine your prompts and customize responses.

Effective Prompting -- How to Craft Prompts for Tailored GenAI Responses

  • Be Specific:  The more specific your prompt, the better the response.
    • Example:  Instead of asking, "Tell me about climate change," ask, "What are the main causes of climate change and its effects on coastal cities?
    • Example:  "What are the latest trends and unresolved challenges in [topic] since 2020?
  • Refine and Follow Up:  If the response isn't quite right, ask for clarification or more detail.
    • Example:  "Can you focus more on the impact of AI on writing skills?"
    • Example:  "Expand on the ethical concerns related to bias in AI."

Customizing Outputs -- some AI tools, like ChatGPT, let you adjust the tone and style of responses

  • Ask for a Specific Style:  Request content in a particular tone (e.g., formal, informal, academic).
    • Example: "Can you write this in a formal academic tone?"
    • Example: "Write this as if explaining it to a fellow student in simple terms."

Use Direct Resources to Master AI Chatbot Prompts

Additional Resources and Support