Artificial intelligence (AI)

AI for research, education and administration

Artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, includes a range of technologies that can make predictions, provide recommendations, or make decisions with varying levels of autonomy, affecting both real and virtual environments. Recently, there have been significant advancements in a new area known as "generative AI". This technology can create content such as text, images, animations, sounds, or source code based on user instructions (prompts).

AI tools also raise questions about what responsible use actually means. While these tools can generate syntactically correct documents, they may still contain false or misleading information, untrue bibliographic references, fabricated data, or errors in data analysis and output. Identifying these issues can be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

University guidelines on AI

The following guidelines are designed to establish a strategic vision for the use of AI. They aim to clarify what the University considers appropriate when faculty, researchers, technical-administrative staff, and students use these tools in research, teaching, learning, and administration. The guidelines will highlight limitations and potential risks, providing examples and case studies to illustrate these points.

The guidelines aim to promote and support the responsible use of AI, particularly generative AI. They are designed to help monitor the use of these tools within an organisation, spread ethical principles, and establish safeguards to ensure security, privacy, and compliance with copyright regulations. Additionally, the guidelines encourage collaborative projects within the university community to foster the development and sharing of best practices.

The Rector's Delegates for Digital innovation in teaching and research, supported by the staff of the Computer Services and Telecommunications Area (ASIT), have prepared the following guidelines:

	Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research by the "Working Group for ICT Research Support Activities”, coordinated by Prof. Marco S. Nobile and advised by Chiara Gallese, Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Turin and member of the EU’s AI Office Working Group on “General-Purpose AI Code of Practice”	439 K
	Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Teaching and Learning by the Working Table on the use of AI for Teaching, coordinated by Prof. Sabina Rossi and Dr. Teresa Scantamburlo, Ca' Foscari's representative in the Working Group on the “General-Purpose AI Code of Practice” of the AI Office of the European Community	308 K

The Computer Services and Telecommunications Area (ASIT) also offers the following reference guidelines for administrative staff:

	Guidelines for the use of AI tools for the improvement of administrative services by the working table on the use of AI for administrative activities	207 K
	Slides "AI tools for administration" [ITA]	123 K

The guidelines also provide a framework for the recently launched Microsoft 365 Copilot testing project. This project involves faculty, researchers, managers, and the university's technical and administrative staff members to evaluate its applicability, benefits, and challenges across various areas.