Category: News

Can I Use Google Gemini at UTA?

Google Gemini Hero image

Here are UTA we have access to Google Workspace for Education for employee use upon request. This is available for researchers who have a need for functions that are only provided by Google. This includes YouTube for departments and researchers to use for publishing video as well. Google Workspace does not provide email functionality by design. This service in no way is intended be a replacement for Microsoft Office 365 suite. If you have a use case that might constitute a valid business need, you can request access using your employee credential using this form:

Request UTA GooGle Workspace Account

Google’s AI product is called Gemini. While it is available for use for free within UTA’s account, it is not protected by the same data privacy protections that are afforded to users of the Workplace suite of tools. Your The University of Texas at Arlington chats aren’t used to train our models. Gemini may display inaccurate info, including about people, so double-check its responses.

Do not put any non-public information into Gemini.

If you need to use Google Gemini with non-public data, please contact OIT (https://ithelp.uta.edu) to get set up with a paid account. This is also true for other Google Cloud Compute resources.

Google Gemini AI

Insightful Discussions During AI Community of Practice Session

Edward Gonzales stands in front of room talking to group

On Thursday, August 1, 2024, the University of Texas at Arlington’s first Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice had a great turnout with more than 150 faculty, staff and students in attendance.

As AI becomes more widely used across campus, the goal of the session was to provide insights into its functionality and practical applications.

The following topics were covered:

  • How to prompt using AI
  • Preferable AI platforms at UTA
  • AI education and literacy
  • AI in teaching and learning
  • How is AI being used at UTA

Guest speakers included:

  • Lee Pierce– Director, OIT Learning and Communications
  • Edward Gonzales– Director, OIT Research Support
  • Shifa Al-Refai– Business Support Analyst, OIT Learning and Communications
  • Dr. Peggy Semingson– Associate Professor, Linguistics and Tesol
  • Michael Schmid– Director, University Analytics
  • Ann Cavallo– Assistant Vice Provost, Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence

The next AI Community of Practice is on Thursday, September 5, 2024. Additional details will be released soon. If you have any questions or feedback about AI at UTA, please email AICommunity@uta.edu.

Microsoft and UTA Celebrate Successful Generative AI Prompt-A-Thon 

UTA’s Office of Information Technology, Office of Research and Innovation, and Microsoft recently concluded the state’s first Generative AI Prompt-A-Thon hosted on a higher education campus. The event, held on May 29, 2024, brought together faculty and staff from across the DFW Metroplex to explore the exciting world of generative AI. 

Fostering Innovation and Collaboration 

The Generative AI Prompt-A-Thon was filled with insightful sessions, hands-on workshops and collaborative discussions. Attendees heard from key leaders, like Microsoft Education’s Chief Innovation Office MJ Jabbour, on how to create effective prompts, experiment with AI models and understand the impact of descriptive instructions on AI-generated content. The event aimed to promote AI literacy and empower participants to harness the potential of generative AI. 

“These events are the most impactful ways to bring communities together to raise awareness and adoption,” said Tony Prince, Microsoft’s General Manager. “Our goal is for attendees to have a higher understanding of AI than they did before and have a deeper appreciation of how it’s going to impact their work daily.” 

Participants engaged in interactive breakout sessions, collaborating with experts and exploring practical applications of generative AI.  

The sessions featured prompts related to education, research and operations. Teams were tasked with supporting a hypothetical oceanography institute, making lunch and learn sessions more engaging and developing a grant proposal. 

From creative writing to image generation, attendees had the opportunity to experiment with various AI tools and learn from industry leaders. They gathered real-time feedback from Microsoft and various subject matter experts to improve their prompting tactics to produce better outcomes from Copilot. 

UTA’s Commitment to AI Education 

As the first higher education institution in Texas to host a Generative AI Prompt-A-Thon, UTA reaffirms its commitment to advancing AI education. The university recognizes the importance of equipping its community with the skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven world. 

UTA plans to continue fostering innovation through similar events, ensuring that students and faculty stay at the forefront of AI advancements. Microsoft remains committed to supporting educational institutions in their AI journey, and the success of the Generative AI Prompt-A-Thon is a testament to this collaboration.  

Adobe Express and Firefly

White horse with blue mane running track at a college stadium with orange and blue flags

UTA currently licenses Adobe Creative Cloud for all employees. To get started go to adobe.com, click on “Sign In” in the upper right-hand corner, enter your employee email address, and click “Continue”. You should be prompted on the standard UTA login page for a password. Once you are logged in you will have access to all the tools in the Cloud suite. Just added to that suite is Adobe Express.

White horse with blue mane wearing glasses and holding a tablet computer.

This is Adobe’s new collection of tools for everyone. It features handy tools for creating images, video, and documents. It also exposes Adobe AI tools like Firefly. Because these tools are licensed by UTA, any images created can be shared and used in other works per the Terms of Use. However, be careful not to upload any private or restricted data as it is a public tool.

If, after playing with Express and Firefly, you need more. Check out Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere — the professional tools from Adobe — which have all added AI features this year.

If you still need more or need a private sandbox to work with your own data, please contact OIT for a consultation (login required) to create your own private AI deployment for research needs.

Student licenses for Creative Cloud are available as a lab fee attached to specific courses and for purchase in the UTA store. Faculty interested in using Adobe Express or Adobe Firefly should contact academiccomputing@uta.edu to work out licensing for upcoming semesters.

Meta Joins Generative AI Fray with Imagine

  • Author By Douglas
  • Publication date December 7, 2023
  • Categories: ,
Meta's Imagine

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has launched a new app called Imagine. It can be accessed via a web browser. It does require a Meta account which will instantly link your activities to your other Meta accounts. This is Meta’s offer to compete with Adobe Firefly.

Firefly is currently licensed for all UTA employees and is designed with protections in place that make it suitable for use for campus needs. Firefly is designed with safeguards to help mitigate the risks of copyright violations and training bias. Anyone who wants to punch up a presentation with a custom graphic or change the background of an existing image, can use Firefly today. Users should still exercise caution to not upload private or proprietary information into the AI prompts.

Comparatively, there is currently no business relationship in place between UTA and Meta. Users should be very cautious if they choose to try Meta’s products as it is very difficult to protect private information while using their tools. Always remember that if you are getting something for free, then you are the product.

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