GenAI Studio: News, Tools, and Teaching & Learning FAQs
These sixty minute, weekly sessions – facilitated by Technologists and Pedagogy Experts from the CTLT – are designed for faculty and staff at UBC who are using, or thinking about using, Generative AI tools as part of their teaching, researching, or daily work. Each week we discuss the news of the week, highlight a specific tool for use within teaching and learning, and then hold a question and answer session for attendees.
They run on Zoom every Wednesday from 1pm – 2pm and you can register for upcoming events on the CTLT Events Website.
News of the Week
Each week we discuss several new items that happened in the Generative AI space over the past 7 days. There’s usually a flood of new AI-adjacent news every week – as this industry is moving so fast – so we highlight news articles which are relevant to the UBC community.
In this week’s tech news, OpenAI launches a new beta feature for ChatGPT called Tasks that allows users to schedule reminders and to-do items. Researchers based in UC Berkeley release Sky-T1, an open-source AI model designed for reasoning tasks, which can be trained at an extremely low cost. Ultravox introduces an advanced voice AI platform that enables the users to speak prompts to the AI and receive verbal responses. Langflow is an open-source visual framework that allows developers to quickly build AI workflows through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Researchers propose “Titans,” a novel AI architecture that incorporates a neural long-term memory module to mimic the inner workings of human memory. President Joe Biden’s recent executive order aims to continue U.S. leadership in AI development while protecting the nation’s security, economic competitiveness, and energy infrastructure. Finally, UBC will be hosting several events later this month to discuss the impacts of using AI in education.
Here’s this week’s news:
OpenAI’s Introduces ChatGPT Tasks
OpenAI rolls out a new beta feature for ChatGPT, Tasks, that enables users to schedule reminders and to-do items in chat threads or the Tasks section. While Tasks currently, operates on a traditional coding script that produces output according to a set of instruction, it has the potential to expand into an AI tool that can adapt to changing conditions and make independent decisions. The development reflects OpenAI’s goal of turning ChatGPT into a more versatile tool, capable of acting as a personalized assistant. Read more.
Learn more about the inner workings of ChatGPT Tasks here.
Researchers Open-Source Sky-T1, a Cost-Effective Reasoning AI Model
Researchers based in UC Berkeley release Sky-T1, an open-source AI model optimized for reasoning tasks that can be trained for under $450. Because Sky-T1 finetunes an existing model, the Alibaba QWQ-32B-Preview, and is trained on synthetic data, researchers were able to keep the training cost low. This development means that institutions can potentially take preexisting open-source language models and adapt them at an affordable price, making it feasible for smaller organizations and researchers to experiment with reasoning AI. Read more.
Ultravox Launches Voice AI Platform
Ultravox unveils an open-source Speech Language Model (SLM) designed to help developers build conversational agents with natural, multi-lingual communication abilities. Users can speak prompts to Ultravox and receive verbal responses, resulting in interactions similar in nature to a phone call. The platform can also be customized to cater to users’ needs, such as creating custom voices or adding support for multiple languages. Learn more.
Try out a demo version of Ultravox here.
Langflow: A Visual Framework for AI Application Development
Langflow is an open-source tool that offers a drag-and-drop interface for creating multi-agent systems and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications. It simplifies the process of building AI workflows by combining Python integration with an intuitive visual framework. This tool is especially valuable for developers seeking to prototype and deploy AI systems quickly without writing a substantial amount of code. Read more.
Install Langflow here.
Titans: A New Architecture for Long-Term Memory in AI Models
Researchers propose “Titans,” an innovative architecture that incorporates a neural long-term memory module to enhance AI performance on tasks requiring historical context. The system is designed to simulate human-like memory retention by increasing the context window size and employing a deterministic memory function. By addressing limitations in current AI models’ short-term memories, researchers prove they can use the new Titans architecture to work with larger context window sizes with greater accuracy when measured against baselines. Read more.
U.S/ President Joe Biden Signs an Executive Order on Advancing US Leadership in AI Intelligence Infrastructure
On January 14, 2025, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to accelerate the construction of AI infrastructure within the United States. This directive instructs the Departments of Defense and Energy to identify and lease federal lands suitable for the development of large-scale AI data centers and accompanying clean energy facilities. The initiative emphasizes the importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in AI technologies, while protecting the nation’s security and economic competitiveness. Read more.
Unlocking Student Potential: Generative AI as a Learning Tool – January 20, 2025
Lucas Wright, Weaver Shaw, and Neil Leveridge will be facilitating an in-person interactive design studio session on January 20, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. This session will cover ways to incorporate Generative AI tools in teaching to enhance student learning. Register here.
GenAI Staff Community of Practice – January 23, 2025
The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at UBC is hosting an online community of practice session on January 23, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM for UBC Staff, facilitated by Lucas Wright. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences with Generative AI tools and learn from the experiences of others in the UBC community. Register here.
Helping Students Develop Evaluative Judgment Through Generative AI Hallucinations and Inaccuracies – January 29, 2025
Lucas Wright, Judy Chan, and Manuel Dias will be facilitating an online session to discuss information literacy and critical thinking when using Generative AI on January 29, 2025, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Participants will learn about incorporating GenAI to teach students about critically analyzing information and using evaluative judgement. Register here.
Embracing the Outlier Mindset: Suspicious Curiosity Implementing AI in Education Ecosystems – January 30, 2025
The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at UBC and UBC ICICS Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-making and Action are hosting another AI and Education seminar on January 30, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Dr. Patrick Parra Pennefather, an associate professor at UBC Theatre and Film, is facilitating the seminar. This in-person session will discuss participants’ opinions on integrating Generative AI into their work at universities and explore the ways GenAI influences education. Register here.
GenAI in Teaching and Learning Symposium – February 3, 2025
UBC is organizing a symposium on February 3, 2025, to explore the integration of Generative AI in higher education. The event will feature a panel moderated by UBC President Benoit-Antoine Bacon, presentations of student survey data, and faculty lightning talks on AI’s impact on teaching practices. Register here.
Tool of the Week
Tool of the Week: Cursor
What is Cursor?
Cursor is an AI-powered code editor designed to enhance developer productivity by integrating intelligent code generation and editing features directly into the development environment. Users can feed natural language instructions to Cursor and receive responses in code adhering to those instructions. Additionally, Cursor exhibits context-aware assistance and facilitates seamless integration with existing workflows.
How is it used?
Developers can use Cursor to write and edit code using natural language instructions, allowing for tasks such as updating entire classes or functions with simple prompts. To start, users provide Cursor with an overview of the project goals and its current progress state. The editor then predicts subsequent edits, enabling users to navigate through changes efficiently by accepting suggestions. Users can continually update the tool with their recent progress on the project to generate more relevant responses.
What is it used for?
Cursor is employed to accelerate the software development process by automating routine coding tasks, reducing the cognitive load on developers, and minimizing manual errors. Its AI capabilities support intelligent pair programming, contextual understanding of projects, and efficient code refactoring, making it a valuable tool for both individual developers and engineering teams aiming to build software faster and more reliably.
Try Cursor here.
Without a PIA, instructors cannot require students use the tool or service without providing alternatives that do not require use of student private information
Questions and Answers
Each studio ends with a question and answer session whereby attendees can ask questions of the pedagogy experts and technologists who facilitate the sessions. We have published a full FAQ section on this site. If you have other questions about GenAI usage, please get in touch.
-
Assessment Design using Generative AI
Generative AI is reshaping assessment design, requiring faculty to adapt assignments to maintain academic integrity. The GENAI Assessment Scale guides AI use in coursework, from study aids to full collaboration, helping educators create assessments that balance AI integration with skill development, fostering critical thinking and fairness in learning.
-
How can I use GenAI in my course?
In education, the integration of GenAI offers a multitude of applications within your courses. Presented is a detailed table categorizing various use cases, outlining the specific roles they play, their pedagogical benefits, and potential risks associated with their implementation. A Complete Breakdown of each use case and the original image can be found here. At […]