WSU libraries began a trial of three different AI research tools Jan. 20.
Consensus, Scite.ai and Undermind will be tested throughout the spring semester. Each AI will perform tasks, such as search filtering, finding full texts, generating citations and helping develop research questions.
In an interview with WSU Insider, AI working group member Emily Cukier said they want to hear feedback and concerns to decide which, if any, of the tools to continue paying for.
AI can make searching for articles easier without strict keyword requirements and can summarize information for skimming. However, these tools can only use open-access articles, unless they make licensing agreements with publishers.
The greatest strength of the platforms is in curating scholarly sources specific to a prompt more accurately than an internet search would.
WSU’s library website includes a guide on using and accessing the trial tools.
