What is Generative AI?

Generative Artificial Intelligence, often called GenAI, refers to computer systems or software tools that are taught to automate tasks normally requiring human intelligence. These tools are trained on large amounts of data to recognize patterns and relationships within that data.

Using these learned patterns, Generative AI tools can produce new content that is original and customized based on user prompts. This new content can include text, images, videos, music, code, and other digital creations. Examples of Generative AI tools you might have heard of include ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot, and DALL-E. The technology behind this capability is known as machine learning, where computers learn from data without being explicitly programmed for every task.

It is crucial to understand that while Generative AI tools are powerful and can make useful suggestions, they are designed to predict what is likely or "right" based on their training data, but their output is not always factually accurate. AI systems do not have the ability to think or verify accuracy, and their outputs can sometimes be inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, or reflect biases present in their training data. They are considered language models, not knowledge models.

Therefore, human review and critical evaluation of AI-generated content are essential. In education, Generative AI is viewed as a supporting tool intended to augment human judgment, creativity, and productivity, rather than replace the essential roles of educators or diminish student agency and accountability. The responsible use of AI always begins with human inquiry and ends with human engagement with the AI output, including reflection, edits, and understanding.

This definition was generated by AI (NotebookLM) and reviewed by a human on May 5, 2025 .