An Introduction to Generative Artificial Intelligence for Academics

• DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/svzjw_v1
• Publication Date: 2025-05-29T08:08:58Z
• Authors: Nate Breznau; Hung Hoang Viet N...

A general overview of artificial intelligence (AI) designed for academic students, workers, researchers and teachers. It is a less technical introduction for those of us who are not familiar with computer science. It focuses primarily on generative AI (Gen AI) as this is the tool that is rapidly transforming every aspect of academic work. This primer covers four areas: 1. How does AI know what it knows? – An overview of artificial neural networks, large language models and the “knowledge” in Gen AI; 2. Ethics and Best Practices – Good scientific practice, ethics and legal aspects; 3. Sources and Tools – to support the research process; and 4. Prompting – Strategies to optimize interaction with Gen AI.