This site provides resources and guidelines for members of the Tufts community interested in leveraging generative AI for research and teaching as well as administrative support. It explains what generative AI is, where to find training and support, recommended tools, policies and guidelines for software acquisition, and generative AI projects and activities happening at Tufts.
What's New? | Generative AI is a rapidly evolving technology, here are some guidelines on the use and procurement of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools—such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot —that can generate content in response to prompts.
What is Generative AI?
AI, which stands for artificial intelligence, is a broad term encompassing a wide range of technologies including everything from Google’s autocomplete to an ATM to the AI chess champion Deep Blue. The AI most talked-about these days is called generative AI.
Generative AI can create many different kinds of content, including text, images, code, and others, so it has a lot of applications in the workplace, in education, and in many other fields.
Support
Guidelines for Use of Generative AI Tools
Teaching & Learning
Educational Technology Services (ETS) offers support for faculty using generative AI via online guides for teaching with AI and workshops, trainings, and drop-ins for faculty about generative AI and other tools. Additional information can be found on Tufts Center for the Enhancement of Learning & Teaching (CELT) AI Resources for Faculty and Staff.
Research
Research Technology supports the use of generative AI for research at Tufts for data processing, transcription, literature reviews, translation, and other applications. Staff offer consultations to students and faculty for bioinformatics, data science, and the digital humanities. Learn more.
General Support
For general technical assistance with generative AI, please contact the TTS Service Desk by emailing it@tufts.edu or calling 617-627-3376.
Highlights at Tufts
Will Tufts follow in other universities’ footsteps with an AI major? | Tufts Daily - May 2024
In February, the University of Pennsylvania announced it will begin offering an artificial intelligence major, open for enrollment in fall 2024. The major will be offered through Penn’s School of Engineering. Several other universities have announced AI-specific degree programs in recent years; MIT began offering one in fall 2022 and Carnegie Mellon has had one since fall 2018. Although Tufts computer science students have the option of focusing their studies on AI, Tufts currently does not offer an AI-specific degree program, but that could change in the future, according to Kyongbum Lee, dean of the School of Engineering. When developing new AI-based courses, he hopes to focus on ethics in computing and “how to make AI curriculum more accessible” to all students, rather than just those pursuing math-based degrees.
Students and faculty in the Department of Computer Science suggest directions for Tufts’ artificial intelligence offerings. Learn more.
Getting Real About AI for the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid: Improving the Economic Outcomes of Smallholder Farmers in Africa | Fletcher Digital Planet - May 2024
Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture, dominated by smallholders, struggles with low productivity. AI tools like Crop AI offer scalable solutions, potentially generating $6.1 billion in revenue, impacting millions of farmers, and advancing education, aligning with sustainable development goals. Learn more.