AI and Digitalisation at Uppsala University
These pages gather AI-related news and information about AI services at Uppsala University.
The material is updated continuously as the area is under constant development. Keep an eye on these pages and on the news feed on the staff portal to stay updated on all AI services offered to employees at the university.
WHAT'S NEW IN AI?
What is happening in AI at the university and other institutes of higher education? Read this overview of activities and links to upcoming seminars, lectures and general information about AI-related initiatives.
AI FOR EMPLOYEES
Microsoft Copilot is an AI-driven chat tool from Microsoft. The service is available in browser form for all employees and others active at the university at no extra cost.
DEVELOP AI SKILLS
There is an opportunity to apply for special funds for skills development within AI. It is the head of department who applies for transition funds after contacting HR. More information is available on the page about long-term adjustment measures.
Tips for using AI in your daily tasks
With AI services like Copilot, you can use natural language to get help with tasks such as generating text and creating images, analysing data, summarising documents, and much more. The collective term for this type of service is “generative AI”.
Below are some tips on how you can use Copilot to alleviate certain work-related tasks.
Summarise and analyze texts in Microsoft Edge
AI services like Copilot are often used to summarise longer texts for various purposes. For example:
- quickly create an overview of the content in a longer document
- create a draft summary of your own text
- generate suggestions on how the language in a text can be adapted to a specific audience
- draft a translation proposal
If you use the Microsoft Edge browser, Copilot can analyse the text you have open in the browser. If you want to analyse a text on your own computer, the suggestion is to save it as a PDF file and then open it in the browser.
- Sign in to the Microsoft Edge browser with your university account.
- Click the Copilot icon in the right corner.
- To give Copilot permission to your document in the browser:
- click on the gear icon at the bottom right of the sidebar,
- click on the arrow next to "Copilot",
- make sure the "Give Microsoft access to page content" option is filled in.
Get inspired using AI
One way to utilise Copilot is to find inspiration and generate new ideas. An AI service can create texts about almost anything as long as it gets enough information, for example:
- Write a short story where the main character is a student who comes late to a lesson but has a funny excuse involving space aliens.
- Find recipes without the ingredient “X”.
- I'm stuck in Uppsala because the trains are not running, give me suggestions for something to do until 8 p.m.
Create texts from your notes
Copilot can relate different snippets of text to a larger context. Try, for example, taking your meeting notes and asking Copilot to write a summary document with certain headings.
Generate images based on details
Copilot can also create AI-generated images based on a description. Describe what the image should contain and ask Copilot to create an image. You can then modify the suggestion by asking Copilot to change a detail, add or remove elements, or create new images with other variables, perhaps even in a completely different style?
Finding gaps in a certain research area
Copilot can offer a little help along the way if you have good prior knowledge in the area to evaluate the answers. You can start by asking the service to list gaps:
My research area concerns batteries for electric cars. What gaps are there in that area?
To get more developed answers and material to study, you can ask Copilot to list five research reports within one of the suggested gaps:
My specialty area within fluid dynamics is contact angle on droplet generation in a T-junction microfluidic system. Give me five research reports on that.
You can also ask Copilot to account for whether there are questions within a research area where there are divided opinions:
My research area is religious freedom in France during the 14th century. Are there controversies within that area?
You can ask if there are limitations within existing research or if there are missing publications in certain areas. But be careful to consider what Copilot delivers with scepticism as it requires good knowledge in the area to evaluate the results.