F6 Independent Research Task: Research and Artificial Intelligence

What do you need to do?

Your task is to investigate a topic that you will be studying this year, consider how AI might help or hinder with this, and produce a short written piece that shows your tutor and subject teachers what you have learned.

It is important that you follow all steps of the instructions to ensure that you submit everything required in order to give your tutor a good impression of your study habits.

 

AI - Can I use it?  Can it help me academically? 

What is AI?

The type of AI you will have encountered most as a pupil is ‘Generative AI’, sometimes known as a chatbot, such as Chat GPT.

These ‘Gen-AI’ respond to human prompts and produce answers based on their ‘best guess’ of what is statistically likely to be most relevant, using the huge amount of data it has ‘harvested’ online. This type of Gen-AI is therefore known as a ‘large-language model’, owing to the massive data sets it rely on.

 

Which Gen-AI is available?

It is important to note that most Gen-AI has age restrictions, meaning you should not be able to access it below the age of 13. This is because there is almost no way of fully restricting harmful or fake information being produced on AI.

The types of Gen-AI you might have heard of are:

What is it called?	What can it be used for?
Copilot	The most useful elements of Co-pilot are its ease of use (it is built into most elements of our Office apps (Word, etc) already) and the fact it provides references to explore further.
Chat GPT	The most famous Gen-AI, Chat GPT is usually ahead of the rest of the field in the range of ideas and functionality is provides.
Poe	This is increasingly being geared towards education, meaning it could be more useful in schools.
Perplexity	Arguably the smartest of the popular Gen-AI, as it cites sources and takes the research side of things more seriously.
Claude	Has plenty of functionality and creates plausible answers.

 

What are the dangers of using AI?

AI looks like it is here to stay, so it is vital we understand its limitations and dangers.

The most important threat AI poses to you academically is plagiarism – as AI seems so easy and quick to use, too many pupils over-rely on it. This means you submit work that is not yours (with the added consequence of you not using your brains; AI may be making you stupider!). Your teachers know what plagiarism looks like, and they will pick up on AI-use.

If you submit AI-generated content for an externally assessed piece of work (coursework, exams), you will be caught. This is plagiarism and will result, at the very least, in zero marks in that piece of work. Worst case scenario: you are disqualified from all exams.

All pupils must sign declarations to assert that work is their own. If they lie on this declaration, they are likely to receive the most severe punishments. If teachers are not confident that the work you submit is your own, they will not be allowed to sign the declaration form.

Other dangers of AI-use include:

• Bias (gender, age, race, etc).
• Compromised privacy and dangerous content.
• Poor quality output (AI generates answers that are not what you were looking for).

 

How can I use AI appropriately?

In certain circumstances, AI can be used appropriately, to help you generate early ideas and see new perspectives. It might help you consider how to structure arguments or approach tasks.

Nevertheless, it remains vital that you reference any AI use honestly and fully.

 

How do I prompt AI so it generates something useful?

PREP:

Prompt: Introduce the question or goal with a prompt. Chunk and specify as much as possible

Role: Give AI a role or voice, such as ‘You are an expert on…’

Explicit instructions: Be explicit in your instructions, including desired sources. Explain the importance of the task. 

Parameters: Set any rules of the answer and your desired output. Be precise, polite, and express emotions where relevant.

EDIT – check what is produced:

Evaluate AI output content for language, facts & structure

Determine accuracy and corroborate with other sources

Identify biases and misinformation in output

Transform content to reflect new findings – iterate the PREP process

For example:
‘Please create a summary of 6-8 points that describe England during the time of Shakespeare for a 16-year old A-level English pupil who needs to know the context of the play Hamlet. It is important that this summary comes from reliable sources, so I know I have accurate information. Each point should include something specific about England in the time of Shakespeare. Please use the vocabulary of an expert English teacher. Please could you also provide a glossary of unusual terms in case I do not understand them?’

 

Pupils are expected to clearly indicate where they use content copied from elsewhere. Pupils must record their ‘PREP’ prompt, and a copy of the whole AI output, along with a brief explanation of how it has been used on the AI prompt catcher. They are also expected to correctly reference this material in their work. You will find these documents and examples on the Getting started page.