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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.

The fundamentals

Policy recommendations

AI in Instruction

For students

Administration and Research

Training for Faculty and Staff

All sessions are on Zoom at 12 noon.

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. Once you hear from NIAIS, you can submit ICT Approval form. If approved, your department or unit will ourchase the service directly with a PCard. Ask for funding before applying.

  1. Microsoft 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.
  2. ChatGPT
    • 4o version is a free model, it is fast, and works for most everyday tasks.
    • Paid version offers o1, 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 input. Best for transcript and other qualitative data analysis and working with large texts
    • 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 is 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. Include a disclaimer that information provided is not official.

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.