Using Generative AI (GenAI) for Research

Before using generative AI tools for course assignments, consult your instructor’s AI policy. Violating your instructor’s policy may qualify as engaging in academic dishonesty, such as cheating or plagiarism. The Pasadena City College Academic Regulations for Student Conduct and Academic Honesty details the disciplinary actions you may be subject to for engaging in academic dishonesty.

Information produced by generative AI tools is fundamentally different from information produced by human authors. Human-created information leaves a trail of decision-making, allowing it to be fact-checked and evaluated for biases, motivations, or contexts. 

Information created by GenAI tools, on the other hand, is the immediate output of predictive algorithms responding to a specific prompt. The output can change based on how a prompt is phrased, even if the idea behind a prompt is the same. It is difficult to confirm the source or accuracy of the output because the inner workings of these tools are proprietary and hidden from users. 

The information produced by a GenAI chatbot is often accurate, or at least partially accurate. However, there are many ways in which the information output can be wrong, even if it seems correct:

• Information could be factually incorrect 
• Information could be incomplete 
• Information could be misleading (e.g. misrepresenting or misappropriating selective information without context)
• Information could be made up or “hallucinated” when the tool’s predictive algorithms generate baseless information that sounds plausible 
• Information could be based on a misinterpretation of your prompt
• Information could be wrong because your prompt contained information that was also wrong

Some generative AI chatbots save your prompts and use them to train their underlying predictive algorithms. Once you provide information to a tool, it may be stored indefinitely and cannot be deleted.

Tips to protect your privacy:

• Avoid sharing personal or sensitive information in your prompts.
• Regularly check and update your privacy settings. 

For guidance on disabling AI training in various apps, check out this helpful guide. The University of Arizona Libraries also offers a ChatGPT privacy guide.

Misinformation and hallucinations

Content adapted from University of California Irvine Libraries’ Generative AI and Information Literacy LibGuide written by Stacy Brinkman and April Urban. 

Privacy 

How can I protect my privacy when using ChatGPT? - University of Arizona Libraries. (n.d.). https://ask.library.arizona.edu/faq/407973 

Nield, D. (2024, December 7). How to stop the AI you’re using from training with your data. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/24315071/ai-training-chatgpt-gemini-copilot-how-to