Artificial intelligence is experiencing a big boom in every conceivable industry, so it is important to ensure access to this technology and its tools for teachers as well. Microsoft 365 applications use artificial intelligence to a large extent, enabling teachers to not only create engaging, innovative, and inclusive learning environments, but also contribute to an overall better understanding of the role of artificial intelligence in the creative process.
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that is capable of producing new content on its own - text, graphics, audio tracks, video or executable code.
The technology is based on a machine learning model, where after a detailed analysis of various sources (e-books, scientific articles, websites, etc.), it is able to generate output based on the user's request. A typical example might be explaining a complex concept using simple examples or creating a summary of a large article or book.
In a university environment (or in education in general) it is possible to use generative artificial intelligence for various purposes. Typical uses include in particular:
For Masaryk University users, generative artificial intelligence tools are available through Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat Enterprise) for text content generation (available only for MU employees) and Bing Image Creator for image creation. Both of these tools generate new content based on the given request. However, in order for the generative tools of artificial intelligence to work well and create relevant results, it is necessary to formulate the request as precisely as possible (e.g. create an image of medieval castle standing on the cliff in gothic style). Even if the mentioned artificial intelligence tools can also deal with Czech, a request formulated in English often generates more satisfactory outputs.
Artificial intelligence can also be used to create transcripts of lectures and video conferences in text form (e.g. the Recordings and Transcripts function in Microsoft Teams), facilitate the reading of documents for people with visual impairments (e.g. the Assistive Readers function in Microsoft Word) or to digitize handwritten notes (Optical Character Recognition technology within the Microsoft Lens application). Try it yourself!
Thanks to the new contract for mobile telecommunications services, MU employees will get larger data packages and more convenient calls for less money. Vodafone's new tariffs start on 1 December.
The Cybersecurity Team of Masaryk University warns of an ongoing spear-phishing campaign aimed at stealing login credentials for the Masaryk University Information System.
