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We’re well into the academic year. Even those of you who had never met a computer before coming to university, know that computers and the digital world are an essential, very rich part of this new journey. Use it. Always try and learn more. As you get used to Excel or Powerpoint, watch youtube videos on how to use it better, how to find the functions, how to make your work better.
You will come across AI more and more. This amazing new tool will be part of many newsletters from now on.
Let’s first understand exactly what it is.
Artificial intelligence simply consists of the computer pulling together enormous amounts of information, more than you and I can even imagine, to find an answer to whatever query or “prompt” it is presented with. This is how an AI bot can beat a chess master. Interactive maps use AI to find the best route depending on traffic and weather patterns. Computer vision, another form of AI, can be used in self-driving cars and facial recognition.
So-called “language processing” is getting better and better. AI has been trained on every possible form of human communication from songs and poems to academic treatises, novels and news articles. It has learnt to understand the language we humans speak and to respond as if it were another human being. This makes it very easy to use, and often fun. It can feel like a friend.
You probably know this already, and have used it in some way. You are studying in a time of great change, as AI becomes part of our world in the same way computers did forty years ago – except that it’s happening much faster. Universities are struggling to adapt, because much of the study process can now be done in your place by AI. Lecturers are hard-pressed to find new ways of teaching and testing. In some American universities they have returned to the use of hand-written, paper-based testing. Everything is fluid.
I want to implore you to use AI to think more, not less. Your time at university should prepare you for the rest of your life, and that means that you have to learn some skills, and also some information. Learn it, internalise it, not just be able to find it on your phone. A person who doesn’t know where South Africa sits on the map of the world, or the basics of how our bodies work, or how international organisations like the UN are put together, is someone who lives a very superficial and quite boring life. Say you start working in a bank. If you understand, in your own mind, not having asked Gemini to give you a summary, where banks fit into the financial system of the country, you will not only be a better worker, but you will enjoy your work more, because it will have more meaning.
Please do not use AI to do as little learning as possible. That will mean wasting your time and your money at university. Use AI to find out more and then to think more.
Now let’s get to the practicalities. As you know by now, every AI platform, from Gemini to Notebook LM to ChatGPT or Claude, will start by asking you for a message, or a prompt. That means the first skill you need in using this new tool is to write good prompts. The better your prompt, the better the result you’ll get.
- In asking questions, give context. If you’re looking for information on labour law, specify in which country – British and American laws are very different from South African. If you want to know how accounting standards should be applied, add “in an international company” or “in an NGO”.
- Be aware of your own biases. AI quickly learns what you like and will always give you more of that, as you have learnt in your music apps. Make a point of asking for information that may contradict your own views. Say, for example, your assignment is on labour law in South Africa. You believe that companies always discriminate against women. If you ask, “Give examples of discrimination against women,” you will get a long list supporting that view. If, however, you ask a more neutral question like, “Give examples of rules governing the employment of women,” the answer will cover a wider range.
- If you want it to write something for you, be clear and specific. Specify who it’s going to, what you want included, and the tone: “Write a formal email to my English professor asking if I can write the test another day. Say my mother is sick.” On a more personal note, you could ask it to write a poem. Once again, be specific: “Write me a poem about love that is both sad and hopeful.” If you have a favourite author, you may want to add “in the style of Maya Angelou.” Don’t simply accept the result. Perhaps that email is too formal. Say that in your next prompt: “I like the content, but the tone is too formal. Lighten up.” AI works with language exactly like we do. Talk to it. Or tweak it yourself. Your name appears at the bottom, not that of the machine who wrote the draft for you.
- This goes specifically for writing study assignments. Remember it is your name on the document you hand in. Make sure that you are ready to “defend” your content, i.e. to explain what you said and why if asked in an oral test. Be ready to explain how you used AI, what it gave you and what you added.
- Your university probably has guidelines for using AI. Make sure you know what they are, and if that particular lecturer or faculty does not allow it, DON’T USE IT. The chances of being found out are too high, and the penalties too harsh.
This is a new ball game. Don’t let it make you dumb. Instead, use it to make you smarter. Use it to think more, not less.
Next week we’ll talk about AI and learning strategies. Stay tuned!
Happy studying!
The GRAD team
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GRAD – your guide to university success is a partnership project of Ruda Landman, StudyTrust, Van Schaik Publishers and Capitec Bank.