Artificial Inteligence (AI)
AI tools offer a wide range of capabilities, from text generation and translation to complex data analysis. We provide a range of resources and services to help you use these tools effectively in your studies and research.
AI basics and service offer
AI - What is it?
How do AI tools work?
AI tools are based on sophisticated algorithms that allow machines to learn from data and perform tasks that would have previously required human intelligence. They work primarily statistically, which means they look for likely relationships and make predictions based on huge amounts of data. It is important to note that AI outputs are usually not entirely true or accurate.
Opportunities for academia
- Research acceleration: Using AI tools or neural networks can help streamline research at all stages. For starters, tools can help find appropriate sources and similarly focused authors and work on the sources themselves, for example, by having a conversation over a study or extracting data from a publication.
- Improving lectures: Take advantage of the AI integrated into your favourite learning assistants to more easily create interactive whiteboards in Padlet, create a historical persona for learners to converse with, or generate illustrative images for lessons.
- Study assistance: Use AI tools to learn languages, memorize terms, reason, or boost creativity. Provide the tool with your notes and let it test you, debate with a chatbot about what questions will be on the test and what the correct answers are, let the tool develop a draft outline of a text, visualize data without knowing the coding, create illustrations for the material discussed to make it easier to remember. Make experiments.
Challenges and issues
- Quality of data: The results of AI tools depend on the quality of the input data. Incorrect or biased data can lead to unreliable results.
- Ethics: Using AI tools raises many ethical issues, such as copyright questions, liability for errors and potential bias.
- Academic integrity: Misuse of AI tools can compromise academic integrity. It is vital that students and researchers use AI tools ethically and transparently.
- Limits of statistics: It is important to note that AI tools can generate grammatically correct and coherent texts but may not be factually accurate or correspond to reality.
Our offer
- Lectures and workshops: We hold regular classes and workshops focused on various AI tools and their use, emphasising critical evaluation of their outputs.
- Access to databases: We offer access to databases containing information about AI, where AI tools are integrated into search and interact with materials in the databases or provide a helpful environment for validating information from AI tools.
- News: We regularly update the library website with news and useful information about AI tools. Given the dynamic nature of the AI tools field, which evolves almost daily, we strive to keep the academic community informed about the latest developments and trends. Our updates also include brief recommendations and guides on how to test the tools.
- Consultations: We offer individual consultations to help you choose the right tools, validate information or integrate AI into your teaching.
Ten principles for work with AI
Ten Principles for Working with AI
- The output is only as good as the input (prompt): High-quality research questions and precise prompts are fundamental for obtaining relevant analytical results.
- Assessing the truthfulness of the output requires subject knowledge: Critical thinking and fact-checking are essential for scientific integrity.
- The author is always responsible for their work: Whether the output is generated by AI or not, the final responsibility for its content lies with the author or submitter. Citing AI errors is not a valid excuse.
- Respect copyright and citation ethics: When using AI, it is necessary to follow academic integrity principles and correctly cite all sources.
- Do not misuse AI for data fabrication or plagiarism: Academic work demands honesty and transparency.
- Proper use of AI can enrich research and accelerate learning: AI can be a powerful tool for data analysis, hypothesis generation, and fostering creative thinking.
- Protect data confidentiality and respect privacy: When working with personal data, it is necessary to comply with relevant laws and ethical standards.
- Be cautious of echo chambers: AI tools aim to satisfy users, often generating or offering content that aligns with their preferences. This is most evident on e-shops or social media in the form of “for you” content. It is important to be aware of this and intentionally break out of such bubbles.
- Be alert to biased data and algorithmic prejudice: AI results can be affected by the quality and representativeness of input data.
- Subscribe for limited periods (max 3 months): Regular evaluation of tools is key to effective and cost-efficient research.
The Ten Guidelines build on the university's Position on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Recommendations for the Use of AI Tools.
Recommended resources
Recommended Educational Resources
Would you like to keep improving your knowledge of artificial intelligence? Our lessons and workshops will give you a solid foundation. For a deeper dive into specific topics, we recommend the following free online courses. Learn at your own pace, whenever and wherever it suits you.
- Elements of AI: This course introduces the basics of how AI works and where it came from. Each lesson is followed by a practical exercise. It is available in several languages, including Czech, and is endorsed by the Office of the Government.
- Ethics of AI: Developed by the University of Helsinki, this course focuses on the ethical aspects of AI. It combines theoretical knowledge with practical exercises and encourages sustainable thinking about AI technologies. Currently available in English, Swedish, and Finnish.
- Building AI: A follow-up to the Elements of AI course, this course focuses on the technical side of building AI models. Designed for beginners, it offers two learning paths – one for those with programming knowledge (in Python) and one without. Currently available only in English.
At the end of each course, you have the option to obtain a certificate.
Upcoming Lessons and Workshops
Available only in Czech. English versions can be arranged upon request for groups or as individual consultations.
News and Updates
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Students use AI to generate their assignment answers- is this a problem?
This does not necessarily have to be a problem, provided the emphasis is placed on understanding the text and working with it critically. For a generated text to truly meet academic standards, it must demonstrate depth and detail that the tool typically cannot offer unless explicitly prompted (e.g. “include this specific piece of information about this event” – which requires prior knowledge). Moreover, in order to generate expert-level content, the person setting the task must understand the topic and be able to assess its factual accuracy.
Can I use AI to assess student work?
This issue is very similar to students generating answers to homework tasks using AI. The crucial difference is that if you ask a tool to generate feedback on someone else's work, you are submitting that work to the tool – potentially handing it over to a third party for commercial use without the author’s consent. The second concern is ethics. A piece of work, whether a thesis or another type of qualification paper, may not be public, might contain personal data of the author or research subjects, or include confidential content or material intended for future publication. Therefore, you should never upload someone else's files to AI tools where you cannot be absolutely certain that the tool or its provider will not reuse them. That said, you can of course consult the tool using your own feedback draft – for example, to improve its clarity, ensure it addresses specific issues, motivates further work, or highlights the strengths of the assignment.
ChatGPT edited part of my article – does the revised content belong to me or to OpenAI?
The output generally belongs to the user of the application. The application's terms explicitly state that all generated content is owned by the user. However, the user is always required to acknowledge that the content was created using ChatGPT. It is not permitted to present ChatGPT-generated content as one’s own original authorship. Ownership of the content also implies responsibility for it. It is important to note that the provider of the ChatGPT service disclaims any responsibility for the generated output. It is up to each user to verify the content before publication. While legal precedent may evolve, this statement is based on the current terms of use of AI tools.
How should I cite AI in my work?
It is recommended to consult your lecturer or supervisor on how to cite AI in your work, or to refer to the recommendations provided by MU. Both you and your instructors can make use of a consultation with a librarian to determine the most appropriate citation style for the course.