Starting in Fall 2025, Missouri Valley College’s course policy on Artificial Intelligence will state instructors must specify their policies on AI use in the course syllabus, including whether AI-generated content is permitted and under what conditions. If allowed, students must disclose AI use and follow proper citation guidelines. Submitting AI-generated work without disclosure is considered academic dishonesty.
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, particularly computer systems. These processes include learning (acquiring information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using the rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions), and self-correction. AI is often categorized into two types:
Narrow AI: Also known as weak AI, it operates under limited constraints and is designed to perform a narrow task, such as voice recognition or driving a vehicle. Most AI we interact with today, like virtual assistants (e.g., Siri or Alexa), are considered narrow AI.
General AI: Also known as strong AI, this type of AI can perform any intellectual task a human can. It can understand, learn, adapt, and implement knowledge in a way not limited to a specific domain.
Except where otherwise noted, the content in this module is adapted from content originally created by the University of New Mexico University Libraries and is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0.
"What are Chatbots?" YouTube, uploaded by Learn Free, Jan. 17, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX6zqaEHAdw.
"What is ChatGPT? (In About A Minute)." YouTude, uploaded by Eye On Tech, April 4, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGmDr8TLtTo.
Generative AI is a type of AI that creates content, such as text, images, music, or videos, based on user input (called prompts). It learns from the data it was trained on and generates new content that matches the style or structure of that data. While generative AI can make content creation faster and more creative, it has some limitations. The data it uses isn't always clear, it can violate copyright rules, and it sometimes produces incorrect or unreliable results.
Machine learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science that focuses on using data and algorithms to enable AI to imitate the way that humans learn, gradually improving its accuracy (IBM - What is ML).
Large language models (LLMs) are a category of foundation models trained on immense amounts of data, making them capable of understanding and generating natural language and other types of content to perform a wide range of tasks (IBM - What are LLMs).
A neural network is a machine learning program, or model, that makes decisions in a manner similar to the human brain, by using processes that mimic the way biological neurons work together to identify phenomena, weigh options and arrive at conclusions. (IBM - What is a Neural Network).
"ChatGPT Tutorial: How to Use Chat GPT For Beginners." Youtube, uploaded by Charlie Chang, April 4, 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaf_jCnA6mc.