What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence (AI), a term introduced by the Stanford Professor John McCarthy in 1955, was originally described as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines." Initially, AI research centered on programming machines to demonstrate certain behaviors, like playing games. However, the current focus is on crafting machines with the capacity to learn, resembling aspects of human learning processes.
Andresen, S. L. (2002). John McCarthy: father of AI. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 17(5), 84-85.
Learn More
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O'Reilly for Higher Education This link opens in a new windowO’Reilly offers hundreds of courses, audiobooks, ebooks, videos and more on many aspects of AI and machine learning at beginner to advanced levels. It includes topics such as AI Python programming, Gen AI for finance, deep dives on specific tools like Midjourney, and beginner-friendly courses and titles on GenAI.
Institutional Generative AI
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GeminiGoogle's large language model-based chatbot. Students, staff anf faculty have institutional access to Gemini through TMU. Use the waffle menu in your institutional Google account to access.
Databases with Embedded Generative AI Tools
Select library databases are beginning to incorporate Generative AI tools to help with aspects of reading, brainstorming and research. Some of these are in beta form, and include notices of caution. See database descriptions for notes on AI tools within the databases.
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GlobalData Explorer This link opens in a new windowGlobalData Explorer has two Generative AI tools in it: GlobalData AI is available within each company overview and will answer simple questions about a company and generate a summary or Q&A about the company.
Data Science Studio can be found under the Tools in the top menu, and uses user and database data to develop machine learning enhanced time series and other modelled predictions. -
JSTOR This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles on JSTOR. After opening an article, there is the option to use the AI Research Tool (available for select articles) to answer questions about the article, determine if the article is relevant and find related articles.
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O'Reilly for Higher Education This link opens in a new windowO'Reilly has an "Answers" option in the top menu. Use this feature to generate answers that come from O'Reilly's curated information on topics such as artificial intelligence, operations, data, UX design, finance, leadership, and more.
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Mintel Reports This link opens in a new windowSee the Mintel Leap tab at the top to access AI features. Provides comprehensive insight and analysis on consumers, companies, markets, brands and products. Toronto Metropolitan has access to most of the Canadian reports and the complete set of U.S. reports.
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ProQuest One Business This link opens in a new windowProQuest One Business has an AI-enhanced search; after you complete a search, it will offer suggested additional terms below your search. After you open an article, use Research Assistant (available for most articles) on the right side of the page. It can summarize an article, brainstorm related topics, define key concepts and more. More info: https://support.proquest.com/s/article/ProQuest-Research-Assistant-FAQs?language=en_US
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Statista This link opens in a new windowStatista has an AI search tool called Research AI, available on the top menu. It can answer simple research questions using information from its database. It cites all information.
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Semantic ReaderSemantic Reader is a tool that helps readers identify different parts of papers contained in ArXiv. For example, it can highlight methods, results, or other parts to make skimming easier. It is a free product.
Creative Commons License
This guide has been created by the Toronto Metropolitan University Library and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License unless otherwise marked.
