Artificial Intelligence Available at ISU
Faculty, staff, and students at Illinois State University currently have access to a number of tools which include some form of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) functionality. The University does not endorse the output of these tools, and this guide is intended to help instructors understand what tools their students may be using in the completion of their coursework and what tools they may wish to use in their teaching.
GenAI Tools
Copilot for the Web
Copilot for the Web is a GenAI chatbot that can answer queries, produce text, and look up information through Bing. All Office 365 users have access to this tool. Illinois State’s license includes commercial data protection, which means that content is not used to train the model. However, you should not put restricted or highly restricted data into Copilot, including information that would be covered under FERPA or HIPPA.
Note: Copilot is also the name of an AI integration accessible directly through Office 365 apps like Word and Excel, but the University does not currently have access to this iteration of Copilot.
Grammarly
Grammarly is a general writing assistance tool that includes spelling, style, and grammatical suggestions. In addition, it also includes GenAI brainstorming and summary functions. While the University does not have this function turned on, your students, if they have paid Grammarly accounts, will have access to these tools.
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is a GenAI tool that can be used to enhance images and create visual content from text. It is included with our Adobe license, and can be accessed as a stand-alone tool or through integrations in other Adobe software such as Photoshop or Illustrator.
Zoom AI Companion
Zoom AI Companion is a tool that can help draft emails and chat messages and summarize Zoom meetings. It is included with our Zoom license, but these tools are toggled off by default.
Otter Voice Meeting
Otter Voice Meeting from Otter.AI is GenAI tool that can create transcripts, automated summaries, and action items from meeting transcripts or recordings.
It should also be noted that students on their personal devices may have access to a wide range of AI-powered tools beyond those listed here.