Generative AI and library skills

One of the benefits of using GenAI tools as a source of information is that they can create summaries of information from other sources, such as research papers. These may be a synthesis from a selection of sources, or a summary of a single source. Some tools allow you to upload a PDF or paste text into the tool to retrieve an AI-generated summary.

These can be useful to determine whether you should go on to read the original sources, but note the following considerations, in addition to general limitations of GenAI:

• AI-generated summaries may be influenced by the data on which the GenAI tool is trained, so the summary may be biased, particularly where it can draw on a lot of data on a topic.
• While GenAI tools may identify patterns and connections which a human might not, they do not understand the text they are summarising, so summaries may be inaccurate.
• GenAI shortens the information, rather than critically analysing it to summarise it, so it may miss key points, particularly if it cannot relate it to the context.
• Summaries may put more focus on areas that take up a greater percentage of the text, but weren’t necessarily the most important parts, just like a film adaptation of your favourite novel may have omitted your favourite scene. 

Always think critically about AI-generated summaries of information, and if they are of interest, always refer to the original source to inform your academic work.

Warning! Be aware of copyright and intellectual property implications of uploading files or pasting text into a GenAI tool. Never upload any materials that are from behind a paywall, or that are someone else’s intellectual property. Publisher licences may include conditions that prohibit the use of their content in GenAI summarisation tools.

See Limitations of GenAI.