Skip to Main Content
  • An icon for searching through for books.

    SEARCH FOR
    BOOKS

  • An icon for searching through a database.

    SEARCH FOR
    ARTICLES

  • An icon for the hours of operation.

    HOURS OF
    OPERATION

  • An icon for chatting with a librarian.

    CHAT WITH A
    LIBRARIAN

  • AI in Higher Education & Academic Research

    Chat GPT & Elicit

    Chat GPT

    https://www.openai.com/blog/chatgpt 

    Chat GPT stands as an AI-driven conversational agent powered by the GPT-3.5 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3.5) architecture. Its primary objective is to engage users in interactive text-based conversations. Leveraging deep learning and neural network technologies, Chat GPT possesses the ability to process and comprehend human language, allowing it to generate responses that closely resemble human-like communication. Through training on diverse data sources, Chat GPT has enhanced its language comprehension and generation capabilities. At the time of its development, Chat GPT represented the cutting-edge implementation in the field and continues to evolve alongside advancements in AI research. Serving as a conversational AI tool, it empowers users to partake in interactive and captivating conversations with an AI model, opening doors to a plethora of applications ranging from customer support and language practice to information retrieval and beyond.

     

    First Steps

    As a beginner, there are several steps you can take to effectively use Chat GPT:

    1. Familiarize yourself with the capabilities and limitations: Understand what Chat GPT is designed to do. It is a language model that can generate text-based responses based on the given input, but it may not always provide accurate or contextually appropriate answers. Being aware of its strengths and weaknesses will help manage expectations.

    2. Start with specific and concise prompts: Begin with clear and specific questions or prompts. This can help you receive more focused responses from the model. Avoid overly broad or ambiguous queries, as they might lead to less accurate or relevant answers.

    3. Experiment and iterate: Chat GPT can generate different responses based on slight variations in the input phrasing or structure. Experiment with different prompts and observe the output. Refine and repeat your prompts to improve the quality of the responses.

    4. Verify information independently: While Chat GPT can provide information, it's essential to independently verify it from reliable sources. The model may not always have access to the most up-to-date information, and there is a possibility of generating incorrect or biased responses.

    5. Be cautious with sensitive or personal information: Avoid sharing sensitive or personal information with Chat GPT. Remember that it is an AI language model and does not have the ability to handle or protect sensitive data. Exercise caution and refrain from providing confidential details.

    6. Explore the model's creative side: Chat GPT can generate creative and imaginative responses. Feel free to explore its creative capabilities by asking it to generate stories, poems, or engage in fictional conversations.

    7. Have a critical mindset: While Chat GPT can be impressive, it is important to approach its responses critically. Evaluate the generated content for accuracy, relevance, and potential biases. Use your judgment to determine the usefulness and reliability of the information provided.

    Elicit, the AI Research Assistant

    https://www.elicit.org/

    Developed by OpenAI, Elicit represents an advanced language model based on the GPT-3 architecture. Its primary purpose is to provide comprehensive support to researchers throughout their work.

    As an AI tool, Elicit offers a range of functionalities to aid researchers in their various tasks. It possesses a vast knowledge base and language processing capabilities, enabling it to assist with information gathering, idea generation, perspective exploration, and insights provision.

    Researchers can engage in interactive conversations with Elicit, seeking research-related information and posing queries. Leveraging its training on diverse text sources, Elicit generates contextually relevant and comprehensive responses, delivering valuable knowledge and assisting researchers in their pursuit of information.

    Elicit also proves valuable in literature reviews and summarization exercises. Researchers can input a collection of research papers or articles, prompting Elicit to produce summaries or extract key points. This feature expedites the identification of pertinent details and facilitates the establishment of connections between different works.

    Nevertheless, it is essential for researchers to critically evaluate and verify the information and insights provided by Elicit. Human expertise and judgment remain integral to ensure the accuracy and reliability of research findings.

    First Steps

    As a beginner, here are the necessary first steps to using Elicit:

    1. Access the Elicit platform: Visit the Elicit website or access the platform through your institution's designated channels. You may need to create an account or use your existing credentials to log in.

    2. Familiarize yourself with the interface: Take some time to explore the Elicit interface and become familiar with its features and functionality. Pay attention to the different sections, search bar, filters, and options available for refining your search.

    3. Define your research topic or area of interest: Have a clear understanding of the subject or topic you want to explore. It could be a specific research question, a broad field of study, or a particular area of interest.

    4. Enter keywords or queries: Use the search bar within Elicit to enter relevant keywords, phrases, or research queries related to your topic. Start with broader terms and then narrow down your search as needed.

    5. Review the search results: Examine the search results provided by Elicit based on your query. These results may include research articles, papers, books, or other relevant resources. Skim through the titles and brief descriptions to get an overview of the content.

    6. Refine your search: If the initial search results are too broad or not aligned with your research needs, refine your search by adding more specific keywords, using quotation marks for exact phrases, or applying filters such as publication date or source type.

    7. Access full-text resources: Click on the search results to access the full texts of the resources. Elicit may provide direct access to the content or provide instructions on how to access the full text from external sources such as academic databases or institutional libraries.

    8. Read and evaluate the resources: Read the selected resources and evaluate their relevance, credibility, and quality. Assess how each resource contributes to your research goals and consider incorporating key insights or citations into your work.

    9. Explore related topics and citations: Utilize the related topics or citations provided by Elicit to expand your research and explore interconnected themes or additional sources that may be relevant to your topic.

    10. Refine and repeat: As you progress in your research, refine your search queries, explore different angles, and repeat the process to gather more relevant resources and insights.

    Artificial Intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines, enabling them to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. Through AI, computer systems are developed to exhibit capabilities such as speech recognition, problem-solving, decision-making, learning, and natural language understanding. The objective of AI technologies is to replicate cognitive abilities and automate processes, empowering machines to perceive, reason, and take actions towards specific goals. Prominent examples of AI applications include virtual assistants, image recognition, natural language processing, autonomous vehicles, and predictive analytics.

     

    Natural Language Processing Tools

    Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools are instrumental in analyzing and interpreting human language, enabling computers to comprehend and generate text in a manner reminiscent of human understanding. These tools have the capability to extract meaning, sentiments, entities, and relationships from text, thereby facilitating the development of applications like chatbots, language translation services, sentiment analysis, and content generation.

    With the utilization of AI-powered NLP tools, individuals can tap into advanced language processing capabilities to automate tasks, enhance communication, and derive insights from vast volumes of text data.

    One notable exemplification of an AI-driven NLP tool is OpenAI's GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3). GPT-3 stands as a potent language model that leverages deep learning techniques to comprehend and generate text resembling human language. Having undergone extensive training on an extensive corpus of data, GPT-3 is capable of performing diverse language-related tasks such as language translation, text summarization, question answering, and text generation.

    Large Language Models

    Large language models, exemplified by GPT-3, epitomize advanced artificial intelligence systems that have undergone extensive training on vast amounts of text data. Their purpose is to comprehend and generate language that closely resembles human expression. These models employ deep learning techniques and neural networks to process and analyze text, thereby enabling them to generate coherent and contextually relevant responses. Through their training, large language models acquire an understanding of the meaning, syntax, and semantics of text, enabling them to engage in conversations, answer questions, provide explanations, and perform various language-related tasks. Their applications span across natural language processing, chatbots, content generation, translation, and numerous other domains where human-like language comprehension and generation are pivotal. However, it is important to acknowledge that while large language models can deliver impressive outcomes, their performance remains bounded by their training data and they lack genuine understanding or consciousness.

    Large Language Models Chat GPT
    Are AI systems Is a specific implementation of a large language model
    Trained on vast amounts of text data Built using the GPT-3.5 architecture and trained on diverse sources of data
    Have deep learning and neural network technology Utilizes deep learning and neural networks to process and understand language
    Can understand and generate human-like text Is capable of generating human-like responses and engaging in conversations
    Used in various applications like chatbots, translation, content generation Specifically designed as a conversational agent for interactive text-based conversations
    Lack true understanding and only recognize patterns Relies on patterns learned from training data and lacks genuine comprehension
    Continuously evolving and improving with research and advancements Represents the state-of-the-art implementation at the time of its development
    Can be customized and fine-tuned for specific tasks Configured and optimized for natural language understanding and generation in chat interactions
    Serve as powerful tools for language-related tasks Enables users to have interactive and engaging conversations with an AI model