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Artificial Intelligence: AI Literacy for Students

This guide is designed to help you explore, understand and responsibly use AI. Here you'll discover practical strategies for evaluating AI tools, getting to grips with how they work, and using them effectively and ethically at university and beyond.

By the time you reach the end, you'll confidently be able to say "Yes!" to the following statements:

I use AI to support my learning, not replace my own work
I can select AI tools that are the best fit for my assignments and goals.
I know when my own judgment is more reliable than the AI-generated results and recognise when AI outputs might be inaccurate, biased, or misleading.
I am transparent about using AI and can explain how, why, and when it was part of my process.
I reference or acknowledge the AI tools I use.
The originality and integrity of my work is intact.
I’m confident my work meets academic honesty standards, and the way in which I have used AI does not constitute plagiarism. 
I follow my tutor’s guidelines about using AI for each specific assignment.

Keep this in mind: this guide is here to complement your unit brief, not replace it. Your tutors will give you detailed guidance on how AI can (and can’t) be used for each assessment, and you should always follow the advice and instructions from your tutors!

Generative AI (or GenAI) refers to tools and algorithms that can produce all sorts of content—like audio, images, videos, text, code, and even simulations.

GenAI works by using machine learning to analyse massive datasets (this data is often sourced by scraping the internet). Based on user prompts, it generates new content—such as text, images, or code—that reflects the characteristics of its training data. While it’s just one type of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s been in the spotlight recently thanks to popular tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and DALL-E, and this type of AI is increasingly being integrated in lots of other tools.

AUB does not endorse or provide any particular AI tools, but we recognise that these tools have lots of different uses, and new ones are being launched all the time. That’s why it’s important to get a full understanding of these tools, how they work, and how to use them effectively. Learning to use AI thoughtfully, critically evaluate its outputs, and understand what’s ethical (and what’s not) is becoming more important than ever. These skills are valuable not just in your studies, but also for building your career in today’s fast-changing job market.

This framework arranges the key ideas about using AI into four main areas:

  1. Ethical Considerations: Understanding the ethical implications of using AI, as a student and as a citizen.
  2. Know & Understand AI: Getting familiar with what AI is and how it works.
  3. Use & Apply AI Tools: Learning how to work with AI tools effectively.
  4. Analyse, Evaluate & Challenge AI Outputs: Developing skills to assess the quality and reliability of AI-generated results.

AI Literacy Framework Outlining the Four Main Stages

While the concepts are listed in the order you might first encounter them, the pyramid model tries to emphasise that this is flexible and non-hierarchical, recognizing that AI skills are not learned in a strict order. AI skills aren’t learned in a straight line—they grow, adapt, and shift as technology evolves, and you’ll likely circle back to earlier stages along the way. That said, the first concept, Ethical Considerations, isn’t just a starting point—it’s the foundation of everything else. It shapes and supports how you approach, evaluate, and responsibly use AI tools.

Click through the stages below to find out more about four main concepts!
 

Ethical Considerations

Before you use any AI tool, it’s important to think about the bigger picture when it comes to the technology—not just how they can help you, but also the ethical issues they raise – like copyright, intellectual property, sustainability and social justice. Using AI responsibly isn’t just about following the rules—it’s about building trust, fairness, and respect in your academic work and beyond.

To guide your approach, ask yourself:

  • Have I considered the broader ethical implications of using AI tools in my work?
  • Am I using AI efficiently and purposefully while being mindful of its environmental impact?
  • Do I recognise that AI can reinforce biases or amplify social inequalities? Am I actively using it in ways that promote fairness and equity?
  • Was this AI tool trained on copyrighted or proprietary material, and will my work be used to train it further? Have I read and understood the terms and conditions of use?

Before you go ahead you must also consider how this might impact the originality and academic integrity of your work. With this in mind, ask yourself:

  • Am I being honest about how and where AI has been involved in my process? Can I explain the contribution AI has made to my submission, research or creative outputs?
  • Have I properly acknowledged or credited the AI tools I’ve used, for example, by referencing them or mentioning them in my work?
  • Even though I have utilised AI, can I still confidently say my work is original and my own?

Know & Understand AI

The second stage is about understanding what AI tools are and what different tools can do. Here’s what you should aim to do:

  • Understand the definitions of “artificial intelligence” and how to recognise when you’re interacting with an AI tool.
  • Appreciate the differences between various AI tools and the differing types of data they use to generate their outputs.
  • Recognise the uses and limitations of the individual technologies.

To check your understanding, ask yourself these questions:

  • What does this tool do? What can’t it do?
  • What sort of information does this tool use to generate its output?
  • Do I understand how this AI tool works and the principles behind it?

Use & Apply AI Tools

The third stage focuses on helping you use a variety of AI tools effectively to support your learning.

Here’s what you should aim to do:

  • Use different AI tools in ways that suit individual assignments, carefully choosing the right tool for the task.
  • Learn how AI can help solve problems or assist you with repetitive tasks, enhancing your learning experience without replacing your own efforts and understanding.
  • Move beyond just basic AI use—learn to refine your prompts and interact with AI tools in a more advanced and thoughtful way.

To get the most out of AI tools, ask yourself these questions:

  • Is this the right tool for the job? Why am I choosing to use it?
  • How can this AI tool support specific aspects of my work—like research, writing, data analysis, or brainstorming—and does this align with my learning objectives?
  • Could relying on AI here stop me from forming my own conclusions or fully showing my understanding of the topic?
  • Is AI supporting my thinking, or am I leaning on it too much? Am I actually learning from it, or just letting it take over?

Analyse, Evaluate & Challenge AI Outputs

At this final stage, the focus shifts to critically evaluating the outputs of AI tools, understanding their value, and deciding when and how to use them in your assignments. This stage highlights the importance of human judgment when working with AI.

Here’s what you should aim to do:

  • Evaluate AI-generated content critically and decide how (or if) it fits into your work
  • Recognise the limitations of AI tools and know when your own judgment and input are essential.
  • Spot when AI tools produce misinformation, make up facts (“hallucinate”), or reinforce biases.

To guide your use of AI, consider these questions:

  • Is the AI-generated content accurate and reliable? How does it stack up against trusted sources I’ve already reviewed?
  • Am I aware of any potential biases in the AI outputs? How could these shape or skew my work?
  • Have I done enough research? Do I know enough about the topic to critically assess the AI’s responses?
  • Does the output match what I envisioned, or do I need to tweak my prompts to get better results?
  • How does using AI-generated content impact the originality of my work? Can my own voice and ideas still be seen clearly in what I produce?

Using AI tools can be a great way to kick off your projects. These tools are especially helpful during the early stages—like brainstorming ideas, mood boarding, planning essay structures, assisting your understanding of a topic or organizing your thoughts.

For tasks like these, that support your learning rather that replace your work, AI is usually fine to use and can make your creative or academic process much smoother. However, it’s a different story when it comes to submitting work for assessment. If you include content generated by AI and present it as your own work, that could be considered plagiarism—and that’s a serious issue (read more about this below).

The rules around the use of AI will vary depending on the assignment, so it’s always best to double-check with your tutor. They can tell you what’s allowed and help you understand the best way to use AI tools responsibly in your assessed work.

Assessment is designed to help you show how far you’ve come in your learning journey. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the material, as well as your ability to analyse and apply the knowledge and skills you’ve gained throughout your course. It’s all about showing what you’ve learned, so if you try to use AI to do this then you are not demonstrating your own skills and learning!

We recognise that there are many legitimate ways you can use AI tools in your work, but remember that AI is best utilised as an assistive tool. AI-generated material should not be used to replace your own ideas, artwork, writing, research, or ways of expressing yourself. This will be considered academic misconduct. Read AUB’s policy on this here.

Here are some tips for avoiding any plagiarism concerns when using AI:

  • Always follow all information in your unit briefs and instructions from your tutors about how AI can (or cannot!) be used for a specific unit or assessment.
  • Properly reference AI tools if you’ve used them as an information source, just like you would with any other material. Details are on the Library Referencing Guide.
  • Only submit your own original work – and not anything heavily edited or enhanced by AI (or someone else!)
  • Use AI tools thoughtfully and carefully. You should be able to explain how, why, and when you have used them as part of your assessed work.