Artificial Intelligence and this course

Use of Artificial intelligence such as LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini etc can be a help and a hindrance in learning to code. Here is some guidance and information on our expectations:

• We recommend not using AI at all when doing the examples in the sessions. The purpose here is for you to learn, struggle even so that you understand more deeply. Short circuiting this process doesn’t help you.

• LLMs can be really helpful in explaining concepts which perhaps you  didn’t fully grasp in the teaching notes. By all means use it to deepen your understanding, clarify things but be careful to check that what it is telling you is actually true!

• During the in-class test you will have no access to any form of AI. Keep this in mind when you are doing the examples in the sessions.

• You may use AI during your project. The creative process, the ideas and the implementation are all your responsibility. Interacting with an AI can help this process but it shouldn’t replace it.

• The project viva is designed to check that you understand the code in your project. This covers both the little details and the larger scale design and structure. An AI may be useful to help you prepare but it won’t help you in the actual viva.