22 Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Background

Several AI providers emerged on the scene in 2023, and institutions of higher education are excited about the potential and  application of these new tools in teaching and learning. OER is an area that can benefit from this new technology: these platforms have the potential to scale the creation of content for OER textbooks, OER ancillaries, and more.

Copyright & AI

An understanding of copyright is essential to working with AI and OER: understanding permissions, your rights and responsibilities when re-using and attributing existing works, and finally, licensing your own work-whether that work is a derivative work or your own original work.

What is the copyright of generative AI?

A word of caution: the U.S. copyright office has not finalized its guidance around the use of AI. This is an evolving area, and copyright laws are likely to continue to change and morph. Should the current licensing of AI-generated content change in the future, your OER will need to be updated to reflect the new permissions of re-use, including removing any content from your OER in UTSA Pressbooks that you may no longer have permission to use.

UTSA Pressbooks authors are responsible for removing content in their book on UTSA Pressbooks that does not conform to the UTSA Pressbooks Terms of Service. Should authors not remove content that does not conform, the UTSA Libraries and Museums reserves the right to take down any content in violation of UTSA Pressbooks Terms of Service.

• The U.S. Copyright Office has ruled that generative AI platforms or machines cannot hold copyright.
• Generative AI outputs, unless otherwise specified in the provider’s terms of use/service are licensed in the Public Domain via CCO. Important: check each tool’s terms of use/service before using generative AI outputs in OER creation.
• Due to the Public Domain nature of AI-generated content, the content content cannot be Creative Commons licensed

Now that you aware of the potential, risks, and implications for using AI and OER, follow the guidance outlined in the next section, below, and remember to check in with UTSA Libraries regularly with questions regarding AI use in OER creation, as this area is continuing to evolve and morph.

OER Author/Creator Copyright Responsibilities

So, what are my responsibilities when using generative AI to create OER?

1. Check each provider’s Terms of Use to understand your rights and responsibilities in re-using that content. As always, if you have any questions around your responsibilities and rights when using AI-generated content, UTSA Librarians can help guide you.
2. Once you have confirmed that you have permission to re-use AI outputs from the provider, you will need to keep track of which outputs came from that platform. This is especially important if you are using AI-outputs from multiple providers, as Terms of Use may vary from provider to provider. We recommend a spreadsheet for tracking the AI outputs you intend to incorporate into your OER.
3. You must prioritize transparency and provide attribution for any AI-generated content used in OER creation. Attribution will vary depending on the quantity of AI outputs used in the OER.
4. Consult with DeeAnn Ivie as additional questions arise around the use of AI in your OER.

Using Generative AI Content in OER Creation: Attribution Best Practice

Additional Resources

• Creative Commons’ Understanding CC Licenses and Generative AI
• Creative Commons’ Public Domain
• Archived Webinar: Exploring Artificial Intelligence in Open Education Contexts (not so scary after all?)