GenAI & Inquiry Research

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has recently become a major discussion point in research, teaching, and learning due in large part to the emergence of tools like ChatGPT, Meta AI, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Midjourney, and more. In the simplest terms, GenAI "refers to algorithms and models that can generate new data, be it text, images, music, or even complex designs" (University of British Columbia: Generative AI, 2024).                                                                                                                                                                           

AI is not new and has been integrated into software, websites, and social media platforms for many years; however, the development of tools like ChatGPT, which generate large amounts of content very quickly based on a user's prompting, has led to many seeking these tools out for use in research, teaching, learning, and everyday information-seeking. For an inquiry project, you may be thinking of turning to one of these tools to help with things like ideating or finessing inquiry questions, finding information sources, analyzing or understanding sources, etc.

With this in mind, it is important to be thoughtful about how and when you might use GenAI for your inquiry project, as well as your other assignments. If you are considering using any GenAI tools during the inquiry process, there are a number of things we would encourage you to think about as you engage:

                                                                                                                                                                                                Image by Alexandra_Koch Links to an external site. from Pixabay

1. Instructor expectations - Start by ensuring that you know about any expectations your Inquiry instructor has about the use of GenAI. If this is not included in your course syllabus, we encourage you to ask your instructor directly.                                                                                                                                                                  

2. Accuracy - Although you can get often-accurate answers and information from GenAI tools, they are also known to regularly produce hallucinations and falsehoods. For example, ChatGPT has been known to produce fake citations for non-existent scholarly articles, which can be frustrating for researchers who are using ChatGPT to help them identify information sources for a project. Additionally, it is important to remember that GenAI is trained on specific sets of data, and that data is not always current to the day you are using the tool. Knowing that GenAI is not always producing real, accurate, or timely content, here are some questions to consider when using these tools:

  • Is the response the AI is generating accurate? Are you able to identify inaccuracies? What steps can you take to ensure the information is true?
  • What information/data is the AI trained on? Is that information accurate? Is there any way to verify this?
  • Is the AI trained on current information? If not, what is the cutoff date for its training data? 

3. Ethical considerations - Knowing how GenAI tools are built and operate is essential in order to make informed decisions about use. These are just some of the questions you can consider when deciding:

  • Who created the AI? Is it profit-generating, and for whom?
  • Does the AI collect personal information? How is this information stored and used?
  • From where does the AI retrieve its training data? Does the AI itself, or does your use of it, violate copyright, intellectual property, or fair dealing guidelines?
  • How does your chosen AI tool--or the increase in overall AI use--impact the environment?
  • What biases and limitations affect the content generated by this AI?

We also advise you to consider the information you are inputting into a GenAI tool before using it, especially when it comes to inputting personal information and copywritten material. 

4. The purpose of teacher inquiry - As discussed earlier in this module, the primary purpose of an Inquiry project is for you to pursue a question that is personal to you and that allows you to engage in meaningful learning that can help to inform your future teaching practice. Although it always makes sense to seek out tools to help with the research process, it is important to do so in a way that does not interfere with the personal nature of inquiry research. If you choose to engage with GenAI at any point in the inquiry process, we encourage you to consider whether your use is ever de-personalizing the project.

Making informed decisions regarding the effective and ethical use of AI in research, teaching, and learning can be complicated and, understandably, may leave you with a number of questions. You can always reach out to us in the Education Library if you have questions and we are very happy to explore these tools with you.

Do you have any questions, comments, or ideas about the use of GenAI in inquiry? Leave them here and we can discuss when we meet. Links to an external site.

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