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M.A. in Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling: Artifical Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Large language models of Artificial Intelligence are trained on massive amounts of text data from books, articles, and websites. They produce responses based on probability rather than understanding, and their outputs are sometimes incorrect or biased. Claude and ChatGPT are examples of large language models.

Google's NotebookLM uses AI to organize, summarize, and provide notes on the material you upload.

Undermind AI is a tool for academic research. It uses concept-based analysis rather than keyword matching and can help refine your prompts. It extracts and organizes relevant content from academic books and papers within its database. Perplexity AI uses large language models to search and summarize current information on the internet; it includes source links. 

Some databases, such as ProQuest and JSTOR, provide AI Research Assistants within the results screen. These tools can help you grasp the focus of an article, chapter, or book and assess its relevance to your research. The extent of AI assistance varies—some tools offer summaries, while others highlight key topics. Be sure to check the specific features available in each database.

Some Possible Uses

  • Request a list of potential keywords to use in searching academic databases.
  • Request help brainstorming ideas to research.
  • Request a list of sources addressing your research topic and then use library databases to verify citations and peer-review status.

Some Cautions

  • Privacy - Do not provide information to an open large language model that you would not publish on the internet. There are significant questions about how the data is used, stored, and protected.
  • Accuracy - Always verify results using trusted academic sources. Sometimes programs hallucinate or make up information and citations. Check results for bias.
  • Copyright and Licensing - Providing an article for the program to summarize may violate copyright or licensing agreements with the database providers. 
  • Academic Integrity - See the Denver Seminary Policy.
  • Environmental Impact - The operation of large language models requires substantial energy and water usage, producing wastewater and emissions. While they are becoming more efficient, increasing LLM adoption may be offsetting the gains.