Every time you search on Google Map or use a self-driving car, you are using artificial intelligence.
IBM’s definition of this new technology is: “Artificial intelligence (AI) is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, understanding, problem solving, decision-making, creativity and autonomy. »
Although it has its naysayers, AI is here to stay. Knowing how to use it, despite its limitations, is crucial for everyone today.
“Artificial intelligence is an integral part of our present, and we interact with it every day without even realizing it,” said Soyeon Ahnsenior associate dean for academic and faculty affairs and research at the University of Miami School of Education and Human Development. “AI is not a distant concept; it is the invisible friend that helps us in life, a friend that remembers every movie you have watched, every product you have looked at, and every one of your likes and dislikes.”
For academics and researchers, AI has been a game changer. Ahn, who is a professor in the Research, Measurement and Evaluation program, uses it with his graduate students to browse hundreds of academic publications.
“AI is now driving a profound change in scientific research and clinical practice,” she said. “In our own research, for example, a team of diverse experts, including researchers and undergraduate and graduate students, conducts meta-analyses, a quantitative analysis of evidence from a large number of scientific articles.
“Traditionally, this process is extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive. Using existing AI tools such as SWIFT-Review, SR-Accelerator Deduplicator and Abstrackr, we were able to filter over 40,000 references, reducing our work by 53% and saving us over 90 hours of work.”
Technology has its drawbacks, warns Erica NewcomerSTEM and Interdisciplinary Research Librarian. In a Zoom session she offered to the academic community, Newcome said AI should be used as a complement to research.
“There are some limitations,” she said. “Most AI sites can’t get behind paywalls.”
She also said AI users should be skeptical of any information. Sometimes technology “hallucinates” or invents things. The answer he gives seems genuine, but it’s not. This is why it is crucial to verify information and verify its source.
For researchers, using generative AI can be extremely useful. Newcome highlighted several AI tools, including Copilot, Gemini and ResearchRabbit, which offer academics multiple ways to search and cross-reference their information.
However, verifying all the information provided by the AI is crucial. Kent Lancasterprofessor in the School of Communication who teaches several courses on AI, said: “Yes, absolutely, you should verify the results of the AI, including the substance of what it reports and the sources it uses to support those results. For the areas I work in (computer source code, statistical analyzes and in-depth research reports), it is simple to verify the results of the AI.”
But he discovered that AI is extremely useful.
“From the perspective of my own research activity, AI has had a huge impact in generating computer software source code, statistical analysis and in-depth research reports,” he said. “AI support in these areas is breathtaking in terms of the quality and quantity of output, produced at seemingly incredible speed, compared to what is humanly possible with traditional approaches.”
Lancaster also said that “the more experience one has with an AI platform and topic, the better one becomes at writing prompts that generate the desired results. The amount of training that AI tools receive may have inherent limitations that even the most ingenious prompt cannot resolve. But in addition to the inherent limitations of the model, the user’s ability to write prompts that approximate the desired result may be a more limiting factor than the model itself.”
To help students and researchers use AI, the University has subscriptions to several AI tools, Newcome said.
David Wayne, named director of artificial intelligence last October, oversees AI across the University of Miami.
“Our commitment is to improve our operational excellence through equitable access to AI,” Wayne said. “This is partly because of our commitment to providing free access to enterprise tools that cover the majority of AI use cases for students and researchers. »
For a complete list of enterprise tools available to the academic community, see AI Tools at University. There is also a more comprehensive list of tools on the AI Research Guide.
University libraries also offer Zoom workshops to help users become familiar with AI tools. The next one is scheduled for October 28, 2025, at 2 p.m. and is entitled “Mastering AI for research.”