Generative AI
This guide walks you through the considerations of using generative artificial intelligence (gen AI): selecting gen AI tools, best practices for using them, ethical considerations, and more.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI, or generative AI) is a term used to describe a type of artificial intelligence that creates information (textual, visual, code, etc.) based on the training data and algorithms that have been programmed into it. It relies on a massive amount of textual, or visual data to identify patterns and predict logical responses to questions or prompts.
Below are terms and definitions for concepts and processes often associated with Generative Artificial Intelligence. Adapted from Northwestern's "Guide to Using AI Tools in Your Research":
Artificial Intelligence (AI) a subfield of computer science, is the simulation of human intelligence processes or tasks by machines or computer systems.
Algorithm is a sequence of rules given to an AI machine to perform a task or solve a problem.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI or GAI) is a type of artificial intelligence used to create content, including text, images, video, audio and code. A generative AI system is trained using large amounts of data so that it can find patterns for generating new content based on a prompt or question.
Hallucination refers to false, inaccurate or imaginary output or responses generated by the AI tool or LLM.
Large Language Models (LLMs) are AI systems or models trained on large quantities of text in order to interpret prompts and generate human-like text-based outputs. GAI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot are some well-known examples.
Machine Learning is the process by which AI systems learn from data and improve their performance over time. Instead of programming a machine with rules or algorithms, the machine learns from patterns and data that help it predict trends and behaviors without human assistance.
Training Data is the data used to train the model, in other words, to enable it to find patterns and create new content. It is sometimes referred to as the "corpus" or information universe that a GAI tool or model relies on to generate new output or content in response to your prompt.
