Being 'AI literate' refers to having an understanding of what generative AI is and how to use it effectively, safely, and appropriately in different contexts. This includes having knowledge of different generative AI tools, their benefits and their limitations. 'AI literacy' also refers to the ability to reflect on the ethical, social, political and legal implications of the development and use of AI tools in different contexts.

Some of the skills you will need in your learning and study include:

• Recognising the difference between technological tools that use and do not use AI
• Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of using AI tools
• Understanding that humans program large data sets to tune AI systems and what an AI tool produces may be factually incorrect or biased because of the data set
• Being critical of the information AI tools produce and know how to critically evaluate information

The SIFT method is a useful evaluation strategy you can use to evaluate information produced by a generative AI tool. In your learning and study at university you need to learn to apply critical thinking which will also assist you in developing AI literacy.

When choosing to use a generative AI tool, it is important to understand who has created it, what their purpose might be and what data they have used to train it. If you are unable to find this information easily then you should be questioning if it is an appropriate tool to use – the ROBOT test is a tool which can help you evaluate the platform you use (e.g. ChatGPT or CoPilot).