AI Tools & Terms

FAU Approved AI Tools

Our preferred AI tools!

Term	Description
Microsoft Copilot	Copilot is your AI assistant for education. It provides AI-powered chat for the web with commercial data protection.
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365	Copilot for work. AI productivity assistant that integrates with Microsoft platforms.

Other Common AI Tools

Other commonly used AI tools you may find useful. Always use caution when using any AI tool!

Term	Description
Canva	A “freemium” online image creating/editing tool that added AI-image generation in 2023.
ChatGPT	The text-generating AI created by OpenAI.
Claude	The text-generating AI created by Anthropic (ex-employees of OpenAI).
DALL-E	The image-generating AI created by OpenAI.
Google Gemini	Formerly known as "Bard". The text-generating AI created by Google using LaMDA technology.
Grammarly	An AI-powered writing assistant tool used to check for spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, and grammatical issues, providing instant feedback to the writer.
Khanmigo	Khan Academy’s GPT-powered AI, which will be integrated into Canvas/Webcourses (timeline uncertain).

AI Terms

See below a brief glossary of artificial intelligence terminology.

Artificial intelligence, or AI: A computer systems capable of performing tasks that historically required human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, making decisions, or identifying patterns.

Algorithm: A step-by-step set of instructions that a computer or a person follows to solve a specific problem or perform a task, such as recognizing patterns.

Chatbot: A software application or web interface that mimics human conversation through text or voice interactions.

ChatGPT: A chatbot developed by OpenAI, capable of generating humanlike text based on context and past conversations. It is powered by a large language model and is an example of generative AI.

Deep learning: A type of machine learning that uses artificial neural networks, which are inspired by the structure and function of the human brain.

Generative AI: A type of AI that “generates” an output, such as text or images. Large language models like ChatGPT are generative AI.

Large Language Model (LLM): A type of software / generative AI that accesses large databases it’s been trained on to predict the next logical word in a sentence, given the task/question it’s been given.

Machine learning: A method that helps machines learn from data and get better at doing tasks without being explicitly programmed. It’s like teaching them to make decisions and predictions by themselves based on patterns they discover in information.

Natural language processing: A branch of AI that uses machine learning to process and interpret text and data. It represents the ability of a program to understand human language as it is spoken and written.

Neural network: A computer system inspired by the way our brains work. It’s made up of interconnected “artificial neurons” that help computers learn from data and recognize patterns.

Prompt Engineering: The practice of crafting clear, specific instructions to elicit the best responses from AI programs.

Training data: The initial dataset, containing the examples used to teach a machine learning application to recognize patterns or perform some function.