Approaching and understanding AI
This stage of the AI maturity toolkit involves understanding the foundational concepts of AI, recognising its benefits, and identifying challenges.
At this stage you may be:
- an individual or institution with an interest in AI.
- eager to understand how AI has impacted or is transforming education and other sectors.
Almost all institutions have moved beyond this stage, where they begin by exploring AI's role and potential in education.
Key activities at this stage include attending workshops, reading relevant literature, and engaging in discussions about AI's impact on education.
Many individuals are still at the early stages of their journey, and the material in this section acts as a useful introduction to AI in education.
Resources
Strategic
These resources can give you a comprehensive understanding of AI and the opportunities and challenges for tertiary education, to support planning and responsible decision making as AI continues to evolve.
- What is AI sovereignty and why does it matter for education? - explaining issues around AI sovereignty and how this could impact the UK education sector
- What do we mean by open-source AI? - explaining what open-source means in regards to AI and why its important to know
- Do you feel guilty about using GenAI? - unpacking feelings of guilt around generative AI use for staff
- AI in tertiary education - a summary of the current state of play, including insights into emerging use cases and guidance on ethical considerations
- A generative AI primer - an introduction to generative artificial intelligence technology and its implications on education
- How AI adds value for education institutions and for learners - a look into AI’s potential, identifying how this innovation can add value to the sector
- AI outside of education: explore the use of AI across diverse sectors – museums and galleries, recruitment, air travel, and banking and find out how these industries are leveraging AI to drive innovation
Navigating the opportunities and challenges of AI: a view from Jisc
Explore the four main strands of our work: pilots, events, information, and community. Includes addressing students’ needs and concerns and how we plan to support the strategic adoption of AI in education over the next few years.
Supporting students/learners
Advice and guidance on addressing student needs, concerns and supporting their learning experience.
- Generative AI and accessibility in education - a look at a few of the emerging uses we’ve seen as well as some of the key concerns and challenges arising.
- Navigating the AI wave: fears regarding AI’s role in the future of education - read a student’s perspective as they navigate the evolving landscape of AI in education, shedding light on its transformative potential and the need for thoughtful policies to harness its full benefits.
Supporting staff
Access practical guidance on the capabilities and limitations of AI so your staff can integrate AI tools responsibly.
- How generative AI is impacting the way we work - explore the transformative impact of generative AI on work processes, including its potential to enhance productivity, creativity, and efficiency.
Maintaining academic integrity
Practical guidance covering assessment and the latest information on detection.
- Means, motive, opportunity: a composite narrative about academic misconduct - a blog post exploring the issue of academic misconduct in the world of large language models and generative AI. Includes insights from both student and staff.
- Generative AI: lifeline for students or threat to traditional assessment? - Kathy Armour, vice-provost (education and student experience) at UCL brought together Russell Group university leaders and a panel of students, to discuss the future of degree assessment.
- AI Detection: latest recommendations - our updated advice on AI detection software.
Safe responsible use
Learn about ethical considerations, biases, and licensing options, ensuring AI is used thoughtfully and responsibly.
- A pathway towards responsible, ethical AI - our report suggests a pathway towards responsible, ethical AI with a series of discussions helping to quickly assess ideas and their fit for the institution.
- Exploring the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence - a blog introducing some of the key issues around the environmental impacts of AI.
- Hidden workers powering AI - this blog post focuses on hidden labour involved in AI production, what can be done to improve the situation and how we can make informed decisions about using AI products and services.
AI tools
Exploring interesting potential and existing use cases and showcasing emerging AI tools
- Explore AI Demos - discover and try a collection of AI demos.
Next stage: experimenting and exploring
In the next stage, both individuals and institutions as a whole will be experimenting and trying AI tools.