Generative Artificial Intelligence
What is Generative Artificial Intelligence?
Generative AI (or Gen AI) is a dynamic field that has significant impacts on the landscape of research and information. Gen AI is defined by the Directive on Automated Decision-Making as “information technology that performs tasks that would ordinarily require biological brainpower to accomplish, such as making sense of spoken language, learning behaviours or solving problems”.
How Does it Work?
Gen AI models have been trained on large volumes of data to generate statically likely content in response to a prompt. This means that Gen AI tools and platforms does not create new information, rather it uses a compilation of information to predict an answer but is not actually responding to your question itself.
Do you need an example of how this type of reasoning works? See this video below that goes through a sample problem outlining how complex computational models can be!
Caption: “Can AI Think? Debunking AI Limitations” by IBM Technology (2025)
Gen AI Tools
Gen AI tools you might have seen or even used before may be text generators such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity AI, and Microsoft Pilot.
Other types of GenAI tools that are available:
- Image generators (e.g. Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, etc.)
- Video generators (e.g. Invideo)
- Music generators (e.g. AIVA)
- Research discovery or explanation generators (e.g. Research Rabbit, Connected Papers, Consensus, Elicit)
- Publisher-owned products (e.g. ScienceDirect AI)
Ethical Issues and Usage
There is no guarantee of the quality or validity of the sources or information you receive using Gen AI. There can be instances where it may perpetuate or even change how disinformation spreads online. It can also enforce biases and hallucinates information online. Some AI tools are more likely to hallucinate than others, and you may not always be able to identify whether it provides real sources or accurate information.
Rapid advances in this field can create technology that mimics any human (can you tell which audio was made by AI in this quiz?) that even advanced software still has difficulty distinguishing fake from real. Even for seasoned researchers in the technology field, there is evidence that AI models may even learn from each other as they’re trained and feed data, which may pose a risk in a cycle of learning bad behaviours.
The Government of Canada is even exploring issues that Generative AI can pose through its Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, creating guides and recommended approaches for Canadians in using Generative AI tools (but these may change as tools or platforms advance!).
Other ethical issues that could arise from Gen AI use could be:
- Fabrication or Inaccuracy of Information
- Data Privacy and Security
- Limited Transparency or Explainability with Models
- Bias and Discrimination
- Lack or Limited Accessibility
- Ownership, Copyright, and Intellectual Property
- Publishing
- Environmental Impact
Because of the ever-changing but wide berth of ethical issues that can occur, you are responsible for asking yourself whether you should be using Generative AI. AI safety concerns are highlighted here as it is a field that is outpacing our understanding or even consequences of their use, but let this not be a total deterrent in understanding more about Generative AI.
Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Before or While You Use AI
- How do I address biases that shape the content I receive?
- How will I verify the information to ensure it is credible before I use it?
- What type of data is being used to predict responses to my prompt?
- What are the environmental and ecological impacts caused by my usage?
- Are there any copyright issues or implications associated with my purpose of using Gen AI?
- Do I have ownership or licensing rights over the content I submit to AI platforms?
- What am I doing to protect my data and privacy while using Gen AI tools or platforms?
- Am I allowed to use Gen AI in any way for my work, and if so, how should I disclose and document my use?
- Is accessibility limiting the quality of the information I’m receiving?
- Do I have the skills to identify or differentiate between real content and AI-generated sources?
- Can I replicate equivalent or even better-quality results without using Gen AI?
At Western University
Remember: you may not always be granted permission to use AI tools in your coursework. Using AI tools against policy or instruction is an act against academic integrity and could lead to penalization. Please confirm with your instructor or your course syllabus whether you can use any AI tools during your assignments.
Western University has some policy guidance in place to help you navigate using Gen AI while you are here:
- Generative AI Guidance for the University
- Provisional Guidance for the use of Generative AI in Graduate Studies
- Western’s Centre for Teaching and Learning: Domains of AI-Awareness for Education
Resources
- AI Ethics Course: Global Perspectives
- Educator’s FAQ for Academic Integrity and Assignment Design using ChatGPT
- Microsoft Learn: AI Learning Hub
- Navigating AI in Teaching and Learning – U15 Canada – September 2024
- University of Alberta Subject Guide: Using Generative AI
- University of Alberta Subject Guide: Developing Effective Text-Based Prompts
- University of Toronto Research Guide: Framework for AI Literacy
