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Universiteitsbibliotheek – LibGuides

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI-Tools

AI-Tools

(Gen)AI applications

You can use AI tools for many different tasks. In addition to generating images, text, video and code, (Gen)AI can for example also assist with (literature) research. And as a student you can use (Gen)AI as a study aid to brainstorm, simplify complex concepts or formulate practice questions. Data and text analysis or data visualization are also possible. If you have recurring tasks, it is possible to create a custom GPT to automate those tasks.

  • General GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT, can support a wide range of purposes. These tools are regularly updated to provide even more functionality.
  • However, there are also GenAI tools that have been developed to support a select number of tasks. The training data from these types of tools are more specialized to the respective purpose of the tool. For example tools that specialize in literature research and are only trained on scientific data. Or tools that focus on help with spelling and grammar or coding.
  • With (Gen)AI you can change the format of various sources. Think of changing text into audio or video or vice versa.
  • In addition, there are tools that originally had no AI purposes or functionalities, but have been given AI functionalities. For example various photo and video editing tools that have been updated with AI functionalities..

NB! Many (Gen)AI tools have a version that is either free of charge or paid for. The free version of a tool often has a limited number of times that you can use the tool or limited functionalities, while the paid version has more options.

Tool advisor

Are you looking for a tool for a specific purpose? On the website of Tilburg University you will find a useful tool advisor for university staff and students. The Hanze Hogeschool also offers an overview of GenAI-tools on her website. 
Please note that none of the tools mentioned in these overviews have yet been approved by the UU!

AI during literature research

Literature research is a process that consists of several phases. AI (not just GenAI) can provide support during those different phases. You can use general tools for this, but also specialized tools (see for example this comparison. Please note that none of the tools mentioned in this overview have yet been approved by the UU!).

  • When you start with literature research, you can conduct an exploratory search to help you formulate a research question.
  • You can use (Gen)AI to orient yourself on different topics in your field or brainstorm about research questions.
  • After you have determined a research question, you can use (Gen)AI tools to support determining your search terms and searching for literature.
  • Some tools help you discover hard-to-find articles or cluster relevant literature for your research question.
  • Once you have found literature, you can use (Gen)AI to help with the analysis and processing of your results. These tools can extract data, summarize literature or reveal connections between literature.
  • There are tools that help you visualize trends in certain research areas.

Tool advisor

Are you looking for a tool for a specific purpose? On the website of Tilburg University you will find a useful tool advisor for university staff and students. The Hanze Hogeschool also offers an overview of GenAI-tools on her website.
Please note that none of the tools mentioned in these overviews have yet been approved by the UU!

Considerations when choosing a tool

Effective use of AI starts with choosing the right tool. Several considerations may play a role in this process:
 

Efficiency

  • What is your goal and is AI/generative AI the most suitable route for your goal?
  • Think in advance what AI support your research needs. There are many AI tools around, and not all tools are equally suitable for all purposes.
     

Quality: evaluate your tool

  • Does the tool meet your expectations?
  • In the chapter "What is AI" we have seen that the quality of the training input may strongly vary. This also applies to the different available tools that make use of those training data. With the help of the acronym ROBOT you could try to check if an AI tool is reliable.
  • As far as possible, compare the output of the tool you used with that of other tools.
  • Think carefully if the use of the tool outweighs the ethical implications and environmental impact.
     

Security and privacy

  • There is no generative AI tool yet in which your data are stored securely (no tool with UU guarantees)
  • When you find an interesting tool always check the privacy guidelines: what information is given about what is done with your registered and uploaded information.
    • Be careful with giving personal data.
    • Do not include privacy-sensitive data in an AI tool.
    • Make sure you do not breach copyright.
       

Using the tool

  • AI tools do not replace your own judgement and expertise. Use an AI tool as an assistant. Make sure it does not stand in the way of your own learning process and stay in charge.
  • Use tools to improve your own work, but do your own research as well and reflect on the results (remain critical of the information you get from AI tools)
  • Ask your lecturer for permission to use GenAI. Be honest about the way in which you have used AI in your work.