artificial intelligence (AI):
Resource Library

The NDUS Dakota Digital Academy (DDA) published this web page for NDUS  institutions, their students, faculty, and staff to use as a guideline when using AI for implementing courses, lessons, and research. The DDA recommends consideration regarding information security, data privacy, compliance, copyright, and academic integrity when teaching, learning, and researching AI.  You should refer to your institution’s policies, standards, and procedures regarding AI.

This page will provide information and resources regarding:

Street.com defines Artificial intelligence (AI) as the use of computer science programming to imitate human thought and action by analyzing data and surroundings, solving or anticipating problems, and learning or self-teaching to adapt a variety of tasks.  There are three main areas of AI: neural networks, machine learning, and deep learning. AI technology is used widely throughout industry, government, and science. AI has become ingrained in our daily lives through search engines, online shopping, and apps such as Netflix, YouTube, Siri, Alexa, or Google.  In addition, we may use it when we drive; particularly, if our cars have the technology to parallel park or self-drive.

Generative AI (GenAI) can learn from and imitate data to create content such as text, images, music, videos, audio, code, etc., based on inputs or prompts.

AI is widely available and being used and integrated with and deployed in a variety of sectors such as:

  • Businesses to improve efficiency, save time, and decrease costs. It is used in areas such as customer service, cybersecurity, fraud management, content production, and customer support. Also, it can be used for inventory management, product recommendations, accounts, supply chain operations, recruitment and talent sourcing, and audience segmentation.
  • Government uses AI on a broad basis.
  • Science uses AI for research and development.
  • Finance integrates AI for tasks like fraud detection, investment trading, customer service, and risk management.
  • Health care implements AI for disease identification and diagnosis, personalized treatment recommendations, drug discovery and manufacturing, patient monitoring and care, and health care management.
  • Transportation, i.e., self-driving cars, traffic prediction, route planning, etc.
  • Smart cities use AI to improve the quality of life including utilities usage, improving traffic management, enhancing public safety and security.
  • National security employs AI for surveillance, defense strategy planning, cybersecurity, etc.
  • Individuals use AI for online shopping, media streaming, social networking, etc.

Note The above information was gathered based on a query (How is artificial intelligence used?) provided to Microsoft’s Bing AI feature. Bing gathered the information from Forbes.com, en.wikipedia.org, brookings.edu, and coursera.org.

Positive aspects

  • Efficiency and accuracy. Can process large amounts of data and perform tasks with speed and accuracy.
  • 24/7 availability: Provides constant service.
  • Automation: automates repetitive tasks, freeing up time for humans to focus on more complex issues.
  • Data analysis: Quickly analyzes large sets of data to make informed decisions or predictions.
  • Medical advancements: Used for disease diagnosis, personalized treatment recommendations, drug discovery, patient monitoring, etc.

Negative aspects

  • Lack of creativity: AI bases its decisions on past data; therefore, it may not be best suited to tasks that require imagination and creativity.
  • Job displacement: With the automation of certain tasks, there is the risk of job displacement.
  • Ethical concerns: Issues related to privacy, bias, and decision-making transparency become apparent with the use of AI.
  • Privacy: Protection of personally identifiable information must be considered when using AI.
  • Security risks: There’s a risk of misuse of AI.
  • Costly implementation: Implementation and maintenance of AI systems can be expensive.

The points listed above highlight the need for careful consideration, policy, and regulation as AI continues to be developed and integrated into the various aspects of society.

Serious social, ethical, and political implications can happen when using Generative AI. Some key implications include, but are not limited to

Social implications

AI’s impact on society is widely debated.  Many argue that AI improves the quality of everyday life by doing tasks better than humans can, making life simpler, safer, and efficient.

AI-driven technologies have a pattern of entrenching social divides and intensifies social inequality; however, AI does have the potential to help tackle some of the world’s most challenging social problems.

Ethical implications

AI poses three major areas of ethical concern for society: privacy and surveillance, bias and discrimination, and the role of human judgement. In addition, there are several ethical challenges: Lack of transparency of AI tools: AI decisions are not always comprehensible to humans.

AI is not neutral; therefore, AI decisions are susceptible to inaccuracies, discriminatory outcomes, embedded or inserted bias.

AI provides immense potential benefits and burdens. Those benefits and burdens carry enormous ethical implications.

Political implications

As AI becomes more integrated and accepted into society and everyday life, it is ensured that the technology is used ethically, politics remain democratic and polices created and amended are humane and citizens are accurately informed.

AI has the potential and ability to have a transformative impact on education. Some ways that it may impact education include, but are not limited to

  • Personalized learning: AI could tailor educational content to each student’s needs, which will help them to learn at their own pace and in their own style.
  • Efficient administrative tasks: AI has the potential to automate various administrative tasks such as grading and scheduling, which frees up time for educators to focus on teaching and students.
  • Enhanced student engagement: AI tools can promote students’ critical thinking and foster skills needed to navigate and shape the future.
  • Improved accessibility: AI can help make education more accessible to students with disabilities by providing personalized support and resources such as audio-visual aids, text readers, etc.
  • Teacher assistance: AI can assist teachers by providing valuable insights into student performance, assisting them in identifying areas where students may need additional help.

 

While AI has the potential to enhance education, it’s important to remember it’s a tool to aid teachers and students, not replace them. The human element in education is irreplaceable and essential for fostering creativity, empathy, and other human skills.

Note The above information was gathered based on a query (How will AI affect education?) provided to Microsoft’s Bing AI feature. Bing gathered the information from Forbes.com, weforum.org, aace.org, and thejournal.org.

Gen AI space is exponentially expanding every day with new tools and capabilities. Understanding what to look for and what is required from the tool is key to satisfaction and successful use.  Be aware of the following points when choosing a tool.

  • Privacy risks: Do not share information that is considered private, or sensitive such as credit card information, personally identifiable information, protected health information, etc.
  • Misleading costs: Some tools are free at the beginning, but after a specified period, require a subscription to continue use. Be cautious of tools that require a credit card to sign up for it to start a free trial, as the company may employ tactics that make it harder to cancel the subscription.
  • Read and understand the Terms of Use agreement or EULA (End User License Agreement). Depending on the purpose of the tool, it may not meet institutional standards for contracts and agreements.

Become educated in the ways the tool can be used through resources and research.