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National Institute on Artificial Intelligence in Society

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Resources

We are committed to recommending only resources that we evaluated for quality, appropriateness, and equitability. Feel free to send us suggestions.

NIAIS Guides

The fundamentals

Policy

Instruction

For students

  • Six ways a student can use AI without anyone's permission, and one way they should ask their instructor: Guide and Presentation

Research and scholarship

Administration

External Resources

Impact reports

Professional development

AI Tools

Sac State employees: To request purchase University-approved tools, visit IRT site on AI tools. To request purchase any other tools, complete the Experimental AI Tool Request form, which will then direct you to ICT Approval form. If approved, your department or unit will ourchase the service directly with a PCard. Ask for funding before applying.

  1. MS CO-Pilot
    • The university encourages the use of both free and licensed versions of Co-Pilot primarily because of its promise of more secure data handling.
    • The paid version is integrated with Office 365.
    • The free version is a stand-alone website.
  2. ChatGPT
    • 4o version is a free model, it is fast, and works for most everyday tasks.
    • Paid version uses both 4o and 4.0 models; it costs $20/month, and allows for more input capacity. It allows development of specialized "GPT" custom bots.
  3. Claude.ai
    • The free version allows for file uploads and it takes in much larger text input. Best for transcript and other qualitative data analysis
    • The paid version is $19/month; the only difference from the free version is allowing for more inquiries.
  4. Groq.com (Select Llama 70B)
    • This is a very fast and impressive free model that is almost on par with ChatGPT. If you need large volume of small inquiries, it can be your best bet.
  5. Perplexity.ai
    • A new generation AI search engine; beats Google on many tasks. Start with the free version.
  6. Chatbase.co
    • A custom bot host. You can train and launch your own customized bot for advising, compliance, tutoring, or other purposes. You must have documents and/or websites to upload for training. All materials must already be public. See Pricing information.

Rules of engagement

With all AI tools, free or paid, exercise caution:

  • Do not input any personally identifiable information.
  • Opt out of providing the use data for model training.
  • Delete logs, if content of your conversation was sensitive
  • Do not trust everything a bot is saying. Double check facts, numbers, and references. Include a disclaimer into the initial conversation warning the user that the information provided may or may not be accurate.
  • While providing an AI-powered tool, also point out a way of contacting a human faculty or staff member.

Pilot Custom Bots

Custom bots are potentially a revolutionary technology that allows for training AI on specific data. They can be used for compliance, advising, or course-specific tutoring. These are demonstration projects developed by NIAIS and Sacramento State staff and faculty.

  • Better Call Sasha is an interactive AI-powered adviser or mentor for higher education faculty and leaders.
  • Unit 3 CBA is an interactive guide for the Unit 3 (CFA) Collective Bargaining Agreement.
  • Chekhov is an opportunity to discuss anything with Anton Chekhov, a Russian writer.
  • AI Curriculum Converter is a prototype bot that helps to convert course assignments or evaluation rubrics into an AI-required (Cheating-resistant) equivalents. Requires a free ChatGPT account to access.
  • Sac State Catalog Navigator helps students navigate the 2024 Catalog and translate its content into the regular language. Requires a free ChatGPT account to access.
  • Teaching Credentials is a prototype guide to applying to one of our teaching credential programs.
  • Pre-Advising Electrical and Electronic Engineering Chatbot by Dr. Rohollah Moghadam. This is also a prototype still in testing phase.
  • The Artsy Bot will generate better images, and you will learn something about art history.