At the University of Lincoln, Copilot (Gen AI) has been made available for all staff and students and can be accessed in two ways. Make sure to sign in using your University of Lincoln username and password in order to ensure your data is protected. 

• Method 1: ​Microsoft’s Edge browser has the Copilot tool built in. This can be accessed​ ​by using the Co-pilot logo in the top right-hand corner of the browser window.​ 
• Method 2​: Visit the ​Copilot website​, Microsoft | ​Copilot | Web (external). Here you will​ ​be asked to sign in using your University of Lincoln username and password​. 

There are an increasing number of Gen AI services available on the internet. Many offer exciting opportunities to enhance creativity and improve personal efficiency. However, all staff and students are advised to be wary when using non-University Gen AI services, as they may not meet university or regulatory standards for data security or privacy.  

Please be aware that many programmes are now adding in AI features which can also lead to students inadvertently using AI for their work without being aware.

We no longer advise that students use Grammarly as this now has new built-in Gen AI features within their existing services may cause users to inadvertently fall foul of university proof reading policy. 

Students are now advised that use of Grammarly may result in assignments being flagged for inappropriate use of Gen AI. Therefore, students should not use Grammarly when completing assignments and use the university provided Word Online (part of the M365 suite) for grammar and spell checking instead. 

For more information on student guidance for the use of Grammarly in connection with the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) recommendations, please visit the academic and wellbeing support (web) page under the section Disabled Students’ Allowance. We do also have other services at the University to support with proof reading and grammar support, such as Studiosity and Turnitin Draft Coach (web).

When planning to use an external AI, it’s crucial to consider various factors to ensure its effective and responsible integration into your workflow. This involves understanding the differences between personal and professional use, adhering to data protection and privacy regulations, implementing robust security measures, and addressing ethical considerations.

Additionally, reviewing licensing agreements and terms of use, providing adequate support and training, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity, and regularly monitoring and evaluating the AI services are essential steps. Here’s a comprehensive checklist to guide you through the process:

Before using an non-University AI it’s important to think about whether you are planning to use AI for personal or professional use as each will have different elements to consider.

Personal Use

Personal use includes elements such as:

• Drafting emails,
• Organisation,
• Mind mapping,
• Project planning,

It’s important to note that no University or sensitive data (e.g.student data, policies or assessment details) should be used in external AI’s.

Professional use

If you plan to use non-University Gen AI’s for professional activities, it’s important to think about the data that is being used. Whilst you can use it to create:

• Course materials,
• Analysing data,
• Lesson plans,
• Processes,

It’s important to make sure that you are adhering to the Universities policies and data protection regulations and ensure that data is anonymised before use.

Never use non-University support Gen AI tools for confidential or sensitive University data/documentation as this could lead to a GDPR breach.

The University has policies and regulations that it must adhere to. The advice in this section applies to both professional and personal use. If you are using a non-University Gen AI for personal reasons, please be mindful of your own personal data and always prioritise your privacy and safety. Please note that if you are planning to use a non-University support AI then you are responsible for the data and use of the tool.

Compliance with regulations:

To ensure that you are complying with regulations, think about the information below. If you need any further guidance please contact the information compliance team to find out more.

Personal Data: Prioritise your privacy and safety by being mindful of your personal data.

Compliance with Regulations: Ensure AI services comply with UK Data Protection legislation, the University Data Protection Policy, and the Acceptable Use Policy. Complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) before use.

Anonymity and Pseudonymity: Use anonymised or pseudonymised data to minimise risks. Avoid using personally identifiable information (PII) unless necessary.

Data Retention: Retain personally identifiable data only as long as necessary and in line with university retention schedules. Delete or anonymise data after use.

Data Protection Impact Agreement (DPIA): Undertake a DPIA for any AI service before processing data. Contact the Information Compliance Team if needed.

If you are planning to use a non-University supported Gen AI you need to consider the following elements:

• Account Security: Use strong, unique passwords for AI services and avoid reusing university email addresses and passwords.
• Access Controls: Implement strict access controls to ensure only authorised personnel can access sensitive data. One example of this may be restricting access to Gen AI tools to specific staff members who need it for their work.
• Encryption: Protect data files with encryption both in transit and at rest.

There are many ethical considerations when using non-University support Gen AI tools: It’s important to think about:

• Transparency: Inform students about the use of AI services, including potential risks and benefits. You should update privacy policies with the assistance of the Information Compliance Team. For example this could be informing students of how this will be used to help design the course or resources.
• Consent: Obtain explicit consent from students before using their data within any AI service.This could be achieved by producing a form at the beginning of the course for them to sign and agree.
• Intellectual Property: Respect copyright laws and ensure you have the right to use any content. Without permission to use content, legal consequences can negatively impact the University. For example, creating or sharing deepfakes should be avoided without their consent.
• Bias and Fairness: AI Models learn from the information it holds which can lead to it having built-in biases. You need to understand and mitigate biases in AI models to ensure fair treatment of all students. It’s important to regularly review AI outputs for signs of bias.

All Gen AI services will have their own licensing and terms of use. If you are planning to use a non-University supported Gen AI, it’s important that you understand how the tool and data you are providing it will be used. If you are unsure, ask the University information compliance team to review the terms and conditions of any Gen AI service to ensure compliance with University policies and legal requirements.

• Review Terms and Conditions: Ensure AI services comply with university policies and legal requirements. Seek assistance from the Information Compliance Team if needed.
• Licensing Agreements: Not all tools are suitable for academic use. Ensure that any licensing agreement have appropriate licenses for academic use and is covered in the intended use of service.

If you plan to introduce a non-supported Gen AI service for your staff to use, it’s important to consider:

• Training: Provide training on the use of AI services, including best practices for data protection and ethical considerations. This includes training for staff and students to ensure it’s used responsibly.
• Technical Support: If you are planning to use an external AI tool, then it is your responsibility to ensure you can provide technical support for any issues with AI services. Since the University has no access to the tool, they will not be able to support you with external tools.

As you are looking through non-University support Gen AI’s we need to consider how accessible the tools are. Does the Gen AI tool comply with international accessibility standards, e.g., WCAG (web) or Section 508 (web) This includes looking at, but not limited to, the ability to:

• turn text-to-speech.
• adjust text size.
• use high-contrast modes​.
• provide keyboard navigation if required.
• provide clear, consistent navigation options.
• use a wide range of assistive tools e.g. screen readers.

If you are planning to use non-University support Gen AI tools then it’s important to monitor and review the use of the tool to ensure security, privacy and ethical standards. To help with this we would recommend:

• Regular Reviews: Regularly review AI services to ensure that they still meet the requirements set by the University and wider laws/regulations.
• Feedback Mechanisms: Implement feedback mechanisms to gather input from students/staff on the use of AI services.

There are a growing number of AI services available to use in the UK. These few examples highlight the range of external Gen AI services available and their potential use.

The list below is not an endorsement of these services, and please note that many may require a license fee to access the full feature set, which will be the responsibility of anyone choosing to use these services. However, the services listed here currently meet UK standards for data security and compliance. 

General AI Systems

The list below can be seen as the starting point for Gen AI and tend to create general text and picture outputs.

Gen AI Service	Description of Service
OpenAI (web)	OpenAI develops advanced AI models like GPT-4, which enhance efficiency through automation, improve productivity, and enable intuitive human-like interactions with technology.
Claude (web)	Developed by Anthropic, Claude is a family of AI models known for their advanced reasoning, natural language processing, and multimodal capabilities. They enhance productivity, support decision-making, and provide personalised user experiences.
Gemini (web)	Developed by Google, Gemini is a suite of multimodal AI models designed for diverse tasks, including text, image, audio, and code processing. It enhances productivity, creativity, and multilingual capabilities, ​making it a versatile tool for various​ ​applications​.
Meta AI (web)	Developed by Meta, MetaAI leverages advanced machine learning and natural language processing to enhance user interactions across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It boosts productivity, creativity, and personalisation by generating text, images, and providing tailored recommendations.

Music Generator AI

The list below specifically focus on the generation of music

Gen AI Service	Description of Service
Udio (web)	Udio is an AI tool that converts text into natural-sounding speech and music. It enhances accessibility, creativity, and productivity by enabling users to create audiobooks, presentations, and custom music tracks effortlessly.
Suno (web)	Suno ​is an AI music​ creation ​platform that allows users to​ generate songs with ease. It offers a user-friendly interface, a vast library of sounds, and AI-powered melody and harmony generation, making music creation accessible and inspiring for both novices and professionals.
Sonauto (web)	Sonauto ​is an AI-powered music generation platform that transforms text prompts​, lyrics, or melodies into full songs across various genres. It offers features like AI voice synthesis, customisable song elements, and a community for sharing and discovering music, making music.

Voice Generator AI

The list below specifically focus on the generation of voices

Gen AI Service	Description of Service
Audiobox (web)	Developed by Meta, Audiobox is an advanced AI model for audio generation. It can create voices and sound effects from text prompts and voice inputs, offering features like voice cloning, sound editing, and background noise reduction. This makes it a versatile tool for producing high-quality audio content. .
Elevenlabs (web)	ElevenLabs specialises in advanced text-to-speech technology, generating natural, emotive, and highly realistic voiceovers in multiple languages. It offers features like voice cloning, real-time editing, API integration, enhancing accessibility, content creation, and user engagement.

Digital Asset Management Generator AI

This AI specifically focusses on organising content and focussing on discoverability and collaboration. It can be used for AI-Powered searching and collation.

Gen AI Service	Description of Service
Canto (web)	​​Canto is an AI-powered digital asset management (DAM) platform that enhances content organisation, discoverability, and collaboration. It offers features like AI-powered search, automatic tagging, and advanced content controls, improving productivity and brand management.

Video/Image Generator AI

The list below specifically focus on the generation of videos and images.

Gen AI Service	Description of Service
Dall-E 3 (web)	​​Developed by OpenAI, DALL-E 3 is an advanced AI image generator that​ creates highly realistic and detailed images from text prompts. It ​offers improved image quality,​ ​better understanding of complex prompts​, and integration with ChatGPT for enhanced creativity and productivity.
Runway (web)	Runway is an AI platform that empowers creatives with tools for generating and editing videos, images, and audio. It offers features like text-to-video, image-to-image transformations, and generative audio, enhancing creativity, efficiency, and accessibility for artists and content creators.

Teaching, Learning and Research AI

The list of AI focusses specifically around using AI to support the development of teaching and learning materials, plus has elements that relate specifically to research.

Gen AI Service	Description of Service
NotebookLM (web)	Developed by Google, NotebookLM is an AI-powered research and note-taking tool that simplifies complex documents through summaries, interactive Q&A, and podcast-style audio overviews. It enhances productivity, understanding, and creativity by providing concise insights and engaging content summaries.
ResearchRabbit (web)	ResearchRabbit is an AI-driven literature discovery platform designed to help researchers efficiently find relevant academic papers. It offers personalised recommendations, visual literature mapping, dynamic updates, and collaboration tools, enhancing research efficiency and discovery.
SocratiQ (web)	SocratiQ is ​an AI-powered educational assistant that uses the Socratic method and​ ​adaptive learning technologies to create personalised learning pathways​. It enhances educational experiences through interactive learning, personalised feedback, and collaborative features.
Doctrina (web)	Doctrina is an AI-powered educational platform that enhances learning and teaching by automating tasks like quiz and exam creation, note improvement, and essay writing. It offers personalised learning experiences, interactive study tools, and supports multiple languages, making education more efficient and accessible.

Data Analysis AI

The list of AI focusses specifically around using AI to support the development of teaching and learning materials, plus has elements that relate specifically to research.

Gen AI Service	Description of Service
Julius AI (web)	Julius AI is a powerful data analysis and visualisation ​platform that transforms complex​ ​data into actionable​ insights ​through natural language​ interaction. It offers features like automated data cleaning, interactive visualisations, and real-time data insights, making data analysis more efficient and accessible.
Otto (web)	Otto is an AI-powered research automation tool that streamlines data gathering, document analysis, and list enrichment. It enhances productivity and efficiency by automating labor-intensive research tasks, allowing users to focus on strategic initiatives.