Category: AI

  • AI Literacy Resource for All – Sovorel

    AI Literacy Resource for All – Sovorel

    There is no longer any way to deny that AI Literacy is a must for all people. Regardless of whether you are a student, faculty, young, or old, all of us must continually develop our AI Literacy to effectively function and excel in our AI-infused world. The importance of everyone developing their AI Literacy has been expressed by virtually all nations and international organizations (UN, 2024; UN, 2024b). Additionally, many business organizations have expressed that in order to be competitive in the workforce, AI Literacy is now an imperative employment skill (Marr, 2024).

    The following Sovorel video and infographic (in addition to the above infographic) provide key components of AI Literacy and specifics regarding prompt engineering and using an advanced prompt formula:

    AI Literacy: Prompt Engineering, Advanced Prompt Formula Infographic (this infographic, the main AI Literacy infographic, and many more are also available within the infographics section: https://sovorelpublishing.com/index.php/infographics)

     

    References

    Cisco. (2024, July 31). AI and the workforce: Industry report calls for reskilling and upskilling as 92 percent of technology roles evolve. Cisco. https://investor.cisco.com/news/news-details/2024/AI-and-the-Workforce-Industry-Report-Calls-for-Reskilling-and-Upskilling-as-92-Percent-of-Technology-Roles-Evolve/default.aspx

    Marr, B. (2024, October 24). The 5 most in-demand skills in 2025. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2024/10/14/the-5-most-in-demand-skills-in-2025/

    UN. (2024). Addendum on AI and Digital Government. United Nations. https://desapublications.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/2024-10/Addendum%20on%20AI%20and%20Digital%20Government%20%20E-Government%20Survey%202024.pdf

    UN. (2024b). Governing AI for humanity. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/governing_ai_for_humanity_final_report_en.pdf

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  • How a new Arizona school will use AI to teach students in 2-hour models (ABC 15 Arizona)

    How a new Arizona school will use AI to teach students in 2-hour models (ABC 15 Arizona)







    Higher Education Inquirer : How a new Arizona school will use AI to teach students in 2-hour models (ABC 15 Arizona)




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  • Department of Labor Publishes AI Framework for Hiring Practices

    Department of Labor Publishes AI Framework for Hiring Practices

    by CUPA-HR | October 16, 2024

    On September 24, the Department of Labor (DOL), along with the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT), published the AI & Inclusive Hiring Framework. The framework is intended to be a tool to support the inclusive use of artificial intelligence in employers’ hiring technology, specifically for job seekers with disabilities.

    According to DOL, the framework was created in support of the Biden administration’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. Issued in October 2023, the executive order directed the Secretary of Labor, along with other federal agency officials, to issue guidance and regulations to address the use and deployment of AI and other technologies in several policy areas. Notably, it also directed DOL to publish principles and best practices for employers to help mitigate harmful impacts and maximize potential benefits of AI as it relates to employees’ well-being.

    The new AI Framework includes 10 focus areas that cover issues impacting the recruitment and hiring of people with disabilities and contain information on maximizing the benefit of using and managing the risks associated with assessing, acquiring and employing AI hiring technology.

    The 10 focus areas are:

    1. Identify Employment and Accessibility Legal Requirements
    2. Establish Roles, Responsibilities and Training
    3. Inventory and Classify the Technology
    4. Work with Responsible AI Vendors
    5. Assess Possible Positive and Negative Impacts
    6. Provide Accommodations
    7. Use Explainable AI and Provide Notices
    8. Ensure Effective Human Oversight
    9. Manage Incidents and Appeals
    10. Monitor Regularly

    Under each focus area, DOL and PEAT provide key practices and considerations for employers to implement as they work through the AI framework. It is important to note, however, that the framework does not have force of law and that employers do not need to implement every practice or goal for every focus area at once. The goal of the framework is to lead employers to inclusive practices involving AI technology over time.

    DOL encourages HR personnel — along with hiring managers, DEIA practitioners, and others — to familiarize themselves with the framework. CUPA-HR will keep members apprised of any future updates relating to the use of AI in hiring practices and technology.



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  • AI in Practice: Using ChatGPT to Create a Training Program

    AI in Practice: Using ChatGPT to Create a Training Program

    by Julie Burrell | September 24, 2024

    Like many HR professionals, Colorado Community College System’s Jennifer Parker was grappling with an increase in incivility on campus. She set about creating a civility training program that would be convenient and interactive. However, she faced a considerable hurdle: the challenges of creating a virtual training program from scratch, solo. Parker’s creative answer to one of these challenges — writing scripts for her under-10-minute videos — was to put ChatGPT to work for her. 

    How did she do it? This excerpt from her article, A Kinder Campus: Building an AI-Powered, Repeatable and Fun Civility Training Program, offers several tips.

    Using ChatGPT for Training and Professional Development

    I love using ChatGPT. It is such a great tool. Let me say that again: it’s such a great tool. I look at ChatGPT as a brainstorming partner. I don’t use it to write my scripts, but I do use it to get me started or to fix what I’ve written. I ask questions that I already know the answer to. I’m not using it for technical guidance in any way.

    What should you consider when you use ChatGPT for scriptwriting and training sessions?

    1. Make ChatGPT an expert. In my prompts, I often use the phrase, “Act like a subject matter expert on [a topic].” This helps define both the need and the audience for the information. If I’m looking for a list of reasons why people are uncivil on college campuses, I might prompt with, “Act like an HR director of a college campus and give me a list of ways employees are acting uncivil in the workplace.” Using the phrase above gives parameters on the types of answers ChatGPT will offer, as well as shape the perspective of the answers as for and about higher ed HR.
    2. Be specific about what you’re looking for. “I’m creating a training on active listening. This is for employees on a college campus. Create three scenarios in a classroom or office setting of employees acting unkind to each other. Also provide two solutions to those scenarios using active listening. Then, create a list of action steps I can use to teach employees how to actively listen based on these scenarios.” Being as specific as possible can help get you where you want to go. Once I get answers from ChatGPT, I can then decide if I need to change direction, start over or just get more ideas. There is no wrong step. It’s just you and your partner figuring things out.
    3. Sometimes ChatGPT can get stuck in a rut. It will start giving you the same or similar answers no matter how you reword things. My solution is to start a new conversation. I also change the prompt. Don’t be afraid to play around, to ask a million questions, or even tell ChatGPT it’s wrong. I often type something like, “That’s not what I’m looking for. You gave me a list of______, but what I need is ______. Please try again.” This helps the system to reset.
    4. Once I get close to what I want, I paste it all in another document, rewrite, and cite my sources. I use this document as an outline to rewrite it all in my own voice. I make sure it sounds like how I talk and write. This is key. No one wants to listen to ChatGPT’s voice. And I guarantee that people will know if you’re using its voice — it has a very conspicuous style. Once I’ve honed my script, I ensure that I find relevant sources to back the information up and cite the sources at the end of my documents, just in case I need to refer to them.

    What you’ll see here is an example of how I used ChatGPT to help me write the scripts for the micro-session on conflict. It’s an iterative but replicable process. I knew what the session would cover, but I wanted to brainstorm with ChatGPT.

    Once I’ve had multiple conversations with the chatbot, I go back through the entire script and pick out what I want to use. I make sure it’s in my own voice and then I’m ready to record. I also used ChatGPT to help with creating the activities and discussion questions in the rest of the micro-session.

    I know using ChatGPT can feel overwhelming but rest assured that you can’t really make a mistake. (And if you’re worried the machines are going to take over, throw in a “Thank you!” or “You’re awesome!” occasionally for appeasement’s sake.)

    About the author: Jennifer Parker is assistant director of HR operations at the Colorado Community College System.

    More Resources

    • Read Parker’s full article on creating a civility training program with help from AI.
    • Learn more about ChatGPT and other chatbots.
    • Explore CUPA-HR’s Civility in the Workplace Toolkit.



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  • DOL Issues Guidance on AI in the Workplace – CUPA-HR

    DOL Issues Guidance on AI in the Workplace – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | May 8, 2024

    On April 29, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin on “Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems in the Workplace Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Federal Labor Standards.” The bulletin provides guidance on the applicability of the FLSA and other federal labor standards as they relate to employers’ increased use of artificial intelligence and automated systems in the workplace.

    Background

    In October 2023, President Biden released an Executive Order on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” and directed agencies across the federal government to take action to address the increased use of AI in all areas of life. With respect to AI in the workplace, the order directed the U.S. Secretary of Labor to “issue guidance to make clear that employers that deploy AI to monitor or augment employees’ work must continue to comply with protections to ensure that workers are compensated for their hours worked, as defined under the Fair Labor Standards Act (…) and other legal requirements.” The Field Assistance Bulletin is the first response from the DOL to the Executive Order’s directive, though additional guidance may be provided in the future.

    Summary of Guidance

    The bulletin discusses existing employer obligations to comply with and avoid penalties under relevant federal labor laws. It also clarifies that the use of AI and other technologies does not absolve employers of their responsibilities to comply with such laws. CUPA-HR’s government relations team has summarized the key points of the guidance below.

    AI and the FLSA

    The guidance highlights employers’ obligations to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and at a rate of at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for every hour worked in excess of 40 in a single workweek. As such, WHD recognizes that employers have implemented AI and other automated systems to comply with these requirements, including implementing systems to help track work time, monitor break time, assign tasks to available workers, and monitor work locations. Additionally, WHD provides examples of AI and other technologies employers use to help calculate wages owed under the FLSA.

    WHD also recognizes that AI has the potential to undercount hours worked or miscalculate wage rates owed to employees. Regardless of the use of AI, WHD states in its guidance that “employers are responsible for ensuring that they are paying employees for all hours worked” under the FLSA and that “employers are responsible for ensuring that the use of AI or other technologies to calculate and determine workers’ wage rates does not cause workers to be paid in violation of” the FLSA and other applicable federal wage standards. As such, WHD suggests that employers exercise human oversight over the technologies to ensure they are not violating the FLSA.

    AI and the Family and Medical Leave Act

    Similar to WHD’s discussion of employers’ obligations to adhere to the requirements of the FLSA, the bulletin provides guidance on employers’ responsibilities to adhere to the requirements of providing Family and Medical Leave Act leave when using AI and other automated systems. WHD once again recognizes that some employers use AI and other tools to process leave requests, determine whether an employee has provided proper certification that supports the need for FMLA leave, or track the use of FMLA leave. As a result, WHD states that employers should oversee the use of AI or automated systems used to implement FMLA leave “to avoid the risk of widespread violations of FMLA rights when eligibility, certification, and anti-retaliation and anti-interference requirements are not complied with.”

    AI and Nursing Employee Protections

    WHD also provides guidance for employers’ use of AI as it relates to nursing employees’ rights to reasonable break time and space to express breast milk while at work, as protected under the FLSA and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). The bulletin states that, though employers may use AI to track employee work hours, set work schedules, and manage break time requests, any instance in which automated systems “limit the length, frequency, or timing of a nursing employee’s breaks to pump would violate the FLSA’s reasonable break time requirement.” The guidance also states that systems that score productivity and/or penalize workers for failing to meet productivity standards due to pump breaks would violate the FLSA. Finally, they clarify that automated systems that require nursing employees to work additional hours to make up for time spent during pump breaks or that reduce the hours scheduled in the future for workers because they took pump breaks would be considered “unlawful retaliation” under the FLSA. WHD therefore provides that “employers are responsible for ensuring that AI or other automated systems do not impose adverse actions on employees for exercising their rights to pump at work.”

    AI and the Employee Polygraph Protection Act

    The bulletin provides an overview of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) and most private employers’ prohibition from using lie detector tests on employees or for pre-employment screenings. In light of this law, WHD recognizes that AI technologies have been developed to “use eye measurements, voice analysis, micro-expressions, or other body movements to suggest if someone is lying or detect deception.” As such, WHD reaffirms that EPPA prohibits covered private employers from using AI technology as a lie detector test.

    AI and Prohibited Retaliation

    Finally, the bulletin covers protections against retaliatory conduct provided under the FLSA and other laws administered by WHD to employees who have filed complaints about potential violations of their rights. As a result of these protections, WHD states that “the use of AI and other technologies by employers to take adverse action against workers for engaging in protected activities under one or more laws enforced by WHD constitutes unlawful retaliation.” Additionally, WHD clarifies that the use of AI to surveil the workforce for protected activity and to take adverse actions could violate anti-retaliation protections under the FLSA and other laws. As such, WHD reminds employers in the guidance that they are responsible for compliance with anti-retaliation provisions regardless of whether they incorporate AI technology into their business practices.

    CUPA-HR will continue to monitor for additional guidance from federal agencies as it relates to the use of AI in the workplace.



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  • Embracing the Future of HR: Your AI Questions Answered – CUPA-HR

    Embracing the Future of HR: Your AI Questions Answered – CUPA-HR

    by Julie Burrell | April 16, 2024

    In his recent webinar for CUPA-HR, Rahul Thadani, senior executive director of HR information systems at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, answered some of the most frequently raised questions about AI in HR. He also spoke to the most prevalent worries, including concerns about data privacy and whether AI will compete with humans for jobs.

    In addition to covering the basics on AI and how it works, Thadani addressed questions about the risks and rewards of using AI in HR, including:

    • How can AI speed up productivity now?
    • What AI tools should HR be using?
    • How well is AI integrated into enterprise software?
    • What are the risks and downsides of using AI?
    • What role will AI play in the future of HR?

    Thadani also put to rest a common fear about AI: that it will replace human jobs. He believes that HR is too complex, too fundamentally human a role to be automated. AI only simulates human intelligence, but it can’t make human decisions. Thadani reminded HR pros, “you all know how complex humans are, how complex decision-making is for humans.” AI can’t understand “the many components that go into hiring somebody,” for example, or how to measure employee engagement.

    AI won’t replace skilled HR professionals, but HR can’t afford to ignore AI. Thadani and other AI leaders stress that HR has a critical role to play in how AI is used on campuses. As the people experts, HR must have a seat at the table in AI discussions, partnering with IT and leadership on decisions such as how employees’ data are used and which AI software to test and purchase.

    Take the First Step

    Most people are just getting started on their AI journey. As a first step for those new to AI, Thadani recommends signing up for a ChatGPT account or another chatbot, like Google’s Gemini. He suggests using your private email account in case you need to sign a privacy agreement that doesn’t align with your institution’s policies. Test out what these chatbots are capable of by using this quick guide to chatbots.

    For leaders and supervisors, Thadani proposes having ongoing conversations within your department, on your campus and with your leadership. Some questions to consider in these conversations: Does your campus have an AI governance council? If so, is HR taking part? Do you have internal AI guidelines in place to protect data and privacy, in your department or for your campus? If not, do you have a plan to develop them? (As a leader in the AI space, the University of Michigan has AI guidelines that provide a good model, and are broken down into staff, faculty and student guidance categories.) Have you identified thought leaders in AI in your office or on your campus who can spur discussions and recommend best practices?

    In HR, “there’s definitely an eagerness to be ready and be ahead of the curve” when it comes to AI, Thadani noted. AI will undoubtedly be central to the future of work, and it’s up to HR to proactively guide how AI can be leveraged in ethical and responsible ways.

    HR-Specific Resources on AI



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  • for Generative AI Integration into Education – Sovorel

    for Generative AI Integration into Education – Sovorel

    I’m very happy and excited to share that I have released a new book that is geared specifically to helping universities, as well as all educational institutions, with the very important topic of generative AI integration into education. This is a vital process that higher education and all places of learning need to address in order to become and stay relevant in a world that so filled with AI. All of us in academia must develop AI Literacy skills in order to fully develop these skills within our students. If educational institutions do not integrate this important process now, then they will not be properly setting up their students for success. This book specifically provides an action plan to help educational institutions be part of the solution and to better ensure success.

    Here is a video trailer for the 9 Point Action Plan: for Generative AI Integration into Education book:

    Table of contents for the 9 Point Action Plan: for Generative AI Integration into Education book that is now available as an ebook or printed book at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Point-Action-Plan-Generative-Integration/dp/B0D172TMMB

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    1. Chapter 1: Institutional Policies
      • Examples
      • Policy Examples
      • Implementation
    2. Chapter 2: Leadership Guidance on Utilization of Generative AI
      • Examples
      • Michigan State University Example
      • Yale University Example
      • Template Example: Leadership Guidance on Generative AI in Education
      • Implementation
    3. Chapter 3: Training
      • Faculty Training
      • Staff Training
      • Student Training
      • Examples
      • American University of Armenia Example
      • Arizona State University Example
      • Other Examples
      • Implementation
    4. Chapter 4: Generative AI Teaching & Learning Resources
      • Examples
      • University of Arizona
      • American University of Armenia
      • The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
      • Implementation
    5. Chapter 5: Outside Information/Confirmation
      • Bring in an Outside Speaker, Presenter, Facilitator
      • Examples
      • Obtain Employers’/Organizations’ Views & Ideas on Needed AI Skills
      • Implementation
    6. Chapter 6: Syllabus AI Use Statement
      • Examples
      • Tuffs University Example
      • Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science
      • American University of Armenia Example
      • Implementation
    7. Chapter 7: Strategic Plan Integration
      • Components of a Good Strategic Plan and AI Considerations
      • Environmental Analysis
      • Review of Organizational Vision/Mission
      • Identification of Strategic Goals and Objectives
      • Key Performance Indicators
      • Integration of AI Literacy into the Curriculum
      • Example: White Paper: Integration of AI Literacy into Our Curriculum
    8. Chapter 8: Integration Observation and Evaluation
    9. Chapter 9: Community Outreach
      • Example Benefits of Community Outreach
      • Implementation
    10. Chapter 10: Conclusion and Call to Action
    11. Glossary
    12. References
    13. Additional Resources

    As with all of my books, please reach out if you have any questions. I can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter. I also respond to all comments placed this blog or through YouTube. Please also join the Sovorel Center for Teaching and Learning Facebook page where I post a lot of updates.

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  • The TRAP Test to Spot AI Deepfakes and How to NOT Be Deceived – Sovorel

    The TRAP Test to Spot AI Deepfakes and How to NOT Be Deceived – Sovorel

    Everyone needs to develop AI Literacy skills in order to use AI properly and increase effectiveness/efficiencies, yet another vital part of AI Literacy is to develop critical thinking and awareness skills to avoid being deceived by synthetic data such as AI created deepfakes. Cyber Magazine, an international news source, expressed the importance of this issue by stating:

    Deepfakes are inevitably becoming more advanced, which is making it harder to spot and stop those that are used with bad intentions. As access to synthetic media technology increases, deepfakes can be used to damage reputations, fabricate evidence and undermine trust.

    With deepfake technology increasingly being used for mal-intent, businesses would do well to ensure that their workforce is fully trained and aware of the risks associated with AI-generated content. (Jackson, 2023)

    To address this important issue I have created the TRAP test:

    T: Think Critically. All of us must now have a critical awareness and mindset when using any type of digital media since all digital media can now be easily manipulated and created with generative AI. When encountering any digital text, images, audio, or video we need to realize that it might not be real and it might be trying to manipulate our perception. We need to use the TRAP test to ask further questions to help ensure that we are getting the object truth.

    R: Realistic/Reliable/Reputable: When using digital media or viewing a video, we need to ask ourselves the question “does this seem real and is it likely to occur?” We must also consider whether or not the source of the information is reliable and if it is coming from a reputable source. Is it from an official source, a well known news source, a government agency, or established organization? Always check the source.

    A: Accurate/Authority: Check to see if all parts of the digital media are accurate. As an example, if watching a video, are all parts accurate and consistent. Are there any issues with the eyes, the background, or the light sources? Is it similar and consistent with other videos, images, or text? Additionally, has the media been released or authenticated by an authority? These questions must be verified and answered to help ensure validity and accuracy.

    P: Purpose/Propaganda: When reviewing any digital media we must ask ourselves, “what is the purpose of this media? If the answer is that they are trying to get your money or to sway your vote in an election then you should be extra sure that the information is completely truthful. Ask yourself if the digital information presented is simply just propaganda, full of bias and misleading. Be sure to ask if there is more to the story that you are reading/watching.

    Using the TRAP test and asking these questions will help to prevent everyone from being scammed and/or deceived. Students, faculty, and everyone must develop AI Literacy skills like these.

    All aspect of this defined AI Literacy are important (Anders, 2023), but Awareness and Critical Thinking are key in developing the proper mindset to use the TRAP test. This is something that must be continually developed and used in order to ensure its greatest effectiveness.

    All of us in academia must work to ensure that student and everyone else develop these skills to use AI in the right way and be able to properly spot AI deepfakes and avoid being deceived. Please share this information with colleagues, students, family, and friend; especially the elderly who can at times be even more vulnerable. Together we make a major difference and improve our new world filled with AI.

    A video describing the TRAP test is also available on the Sovorel Educational YouTube channel:

    “How to Spot a Deepfake and NOT Be Deceived” (Anders, 2024)

    Please share your thoughts and comment below:

    References

    Anders, B. (2023). The AI literacy imperative: Empowering instructors & students. Sovorel Publishing.

    Jackson, A. (2023, October 13). The rising tide of deepfakes as AI growth cause concern. Cyber Magazin, Technology: AI. https://cybermagazine.com/technology-and-ai/the-rising-tide-of-deepfakes-as-ai-growth-cause-concern

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  • Using AI in Education is NOT an All or Nothing Endeavor – Sovorel

    Using AI in Education is NOT an All or Nothing Endeavor – Sovorel

    In working with many different instructors around the world, I still run into a lot of teachers and professors that think that using AI and teaching about AI Literacy in the classroom is an all or nothing endeavor. They have the false belief that you either have use AI in every part of your teaching, for every assignments, or you can’t use AI at all. The reality is that there is a full continuum of how an instructor can use and implement generative AI within their classroom.

    The infographic provided in this post is an example of the many different ways that an instructor could use generative AI within their teaching and learning process. To begin with an instructor could simply just talk about generative AI. This is beneficial on a multiple of levels in that for one it helps student understand that the instructor is at least aware of generative AI. Additionally, talking about AI helps students develop their AI Literacy skills which is something that all of us in academia must continually develop within ourselves so that we can can properly develop it within all of our students.

    The continuum of AI integration into learning that proceeds with different levels of use of AI in the classroom. This could be done in a way so that the instructor uses generative AI, such as ChatGPT, in front of the students so that then everyone can then discuss and answer questions about the interaction and the created results. Another way to implement could be that students use the AI in class for different activities. A more advanced way would be for students to have homework assignments where they would have to us the AI in some way to complete a task or as part of a group project.

    A key consideration with AI integration is that every instructor must be knowledgeable about the topic to be taught and their students needs. Instructors need to make purposeful choices as to when to us AI and in what ways. A great tool to help with the creating or redesigning assessments and assignments given that we know have generative AI is the following infographic titled “Redesigning Assignments & Assessment in Age of AI.”

    The SHARE Technique to Assist in Redesigning Assignments and Assessments in the Age of AI

    This infographic is very benifitial in that in addition to helping all with the creation of assignments/assessments in the age of AI, it helps instructors to create good and effective assignments/assessment in general. Faculty need to be purposful and really think about assignments and learning activeities in order to help students learn the material and also develop appropriate AI Literacy skills.

    View this following video for additional information on integrating AI in the classroom:

    What are your thoughts? Please add to the comments so that we can all learn from one another.

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  • Three Essential AI Tools and Practical Tips for Automating HR Tasks – CUPA-HR

    Three Essential AI Tools and Practical Tips for Automating HR Tasks – CUPA-HR

    by Julie Burrell | March 27, 2024

    During his recent keynote at CUPA-HR’s Higher Ed HR Accelerator, Commissioner Keith Sonderling of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission observed, “now, AI exists in HR in every single stage of employment,” from writing job descriptions, to sourcing candidates and scheduling interviews, and well into the career lifecycle of employees.

    At some colleges and universities, AI is now a routine part of the HR workflow. At the University of North Texas at Dallas, for example, AI has significantly sped up the recruitment and hiring timeline. “It helped me staff a unit in an aggressive time frame,” says Tony Sanchez, chief human resources officer, who stresses that they use AI software with privacy protections. “AI parsed resumes, prescreened applicants, and allowed scheduling directly to the hiring manager’s calendar.”

    Even as AI literacy is becoming a critical skill, many institutions of higher education have not yet adopted AI as a part of their daily operations. But even if you don’t have your own custom AI like The University of Michigan, free AI tools can still be a powerful daily assistant. With some common-sense guardrails in place, AI can help you automate repetitive tasks, make software like Excel easier to use, analyze information and polish your writing.

    Three Free Chatbots to Use Now

    AI development is moving at a breakneck pace, which means that even the freely available tools below are more useful than they were just a few months ago. Try experimenting with multiple AI chatbots by having different browser windows open and asking each chatbot to do the same task. Just don’t pick a favorite yet. With AI companies constantly trying to outperform each other, one might work better depending on the day or the task. And before you start, be sure to read the section on AI guardrails below — you never want to input proprietary or private information into a public chatbot.

    ChatGPT, the AI trailblazer. The free version allows unlimited chats after signing up for an account. Right now, ChatGPT is text-based, which means it can help you with emails and communications, or even draft longer materials like reports. It can also solve math problems and answer questions (but beware of fabricated answers).

    You can customize ChatGPT to make it work better for you by clicking on your username in the bottom lefthand corner. For example, you can tell it that you’re an HR professional working in higher education, and it will tailor its responses to what it knows about your job.

    Google’s powerful AI chatbot, Gemini (formerly known as Bard). You’ll need to have or sign up for a free Google account, and it’s well worth it. Gemini can understand and interact with text just like ChatGPT does, but it’s also multimodal. You can drag and drop images and it will be able to interpret them. Gemini can also make tables, which can be exported to Google Sheets. And it generates images for free. For example, if you have an image you want your marketing team to design, you can get started by asking Gemini to create what you have in mind. But for now, Gemini won’t create images of people.

    Claude, often considered the best AI writer. Take Claude for a spin by asking it to write a job description or memo for you. Be warned that the free version of Claude has a daily usage limit, and you won’t know you’ve hit it until you hit it. According to Claude, your daily limit depends on demand, and your quota resets every morning.

    These free AI tools aren’t as powerful as their paid counterparts — all about $20 per month — but they do offer a sense of what AI can do.

    Practical Tips for Using AI in HR 

    For a recent Higher Ed HR Magazine article, I asked higher education HR professionals how they used AI to increase efficiency. Rhonda Beassie, associate vice president for people and procurement operations at Sam Houston State University, shared that she and her team are using AI for both increased productivity and upskilling, such as:

    • Creating first drafts of and benchmarking job descriptions.
    • Making flyers, announcements and other employee communications.
    • Designing training presentations, including images, text, flow and timing.
    • Training employees for deeper use of common software applications.
    • Providing instructions on developing and troubleshooting questions for macros and VLOOKUP in Microsoft Excel.
    • Troubleshooting software. Beassie noted that employees “can simply say to the AI, ‘I received an error message of X. How do I need to change the script to correct this?’ and options are provided.”
    • Creating reports pulled from their enterprise system.

    AI chatbots are also great at:

    • Being a thought partner. Ask a chatbot to help you respond to a tricky email, to find the flaws in your argument or to point out things you’ve missed in a piece of writing.
    • Revising the tone, formality or length of writing. You can ask chatbots to make something more or less formal or friendly (or whatever tone you’re trying to strike), remove the jargon from a piece of writing, or lengthen or shorten something.
    • Summarizing webpages, articles or book chapters. You can cut and paste a URL into a chatbot and ask it to summarize the page for you. You can also cut and paste a fairly large amount of text into chatbots and ask it for a summary. Try using parameters, such as “Summarize this into one sentence,” or “Please give me a bulleted list of the main takeaways.” The summaries aren’t always perfect, but will usually do in a pinch.
    • Summarizing YouTube videos. (Currently, the only free tool that can do this is Gemini.) Just cut and paste in the URL and ask it to summarize a video for you. Likewise, these summaries aren’t always exactly accurate.
    • Writing in your voice. Ask a chatbot to learn your voice and style by entering in things you’ve written. Ask it to compose a communication, like a memo or email you need to write, in your voice. This takes some time up front to train the AI, and it may not remember your voice from day-to-day or task-to-task.

    Practice Your Prompts

    Just 10 minutes a day can take you far in getting comfortable with these tools if you’re new to them. Learning prompting, which may take an upfront investment of more time, can unlock powerful capabilities in AI tools. The more complex the task you ask AI to do, the more time you need to spend crafting a prompt.

    The best prompts will ask a chatbot to assume a role and perform an action, using specific context. For example, “You are a human resources professional at a small, liberal arts college. You are writing a job description for an HR generalist. The position’s responsibilities include leading safety and compliance training; assisting with payroll; conducting background checks; troubleshooting employee questions in person and virtually. The qualifications for the job are one to two years in an HR office, preferably in higher education, and a BA.”

    Anthropic has provided a very helpful prompt library for Claude, which will also work with most AI chatbots.

    AI Guardrails

    There are real risks to using AI, especially the free tools listed above. You can read about them in detail here, or even ask AI to tell you, but the major dangers are:

    • Freely available AI will not protect your data privacy. Unless you have internal or enterprise software with a privacy agreement at your institution, assume everything you share with AI is public. Protected or confidential information should not be entered into a prompt.
    • AI fabricates, or hallucinates, as it’s sometimes called. It will make up facts that sound deceptively plausible. If you need accurate information, it’s best to consult an expert or trusted sources.
    • You don’t own copyright on AI-created work. In the United States, only human-produced work can be copyrighted.
    • Most of these tools are trained only up to a certain date, often a year or more ago for free chatbots. If you need up-to-the-minute information, use your favorite web browser.

    Further AI Resources



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