Experiencing Generative AI Tools

ITSC is providing guidance to help members of HKUST embrace the wave of generative AI that is affecting everyone. We focus on how generative AI can improve office productivity and support knowledge advancement. By utilizing generative AI tools, all users can generate insights from large amounts of data, and work more efficiently, freeing up time for more strategic work. We believe that embracing these technologies will ultimately drive better outcomes for the University and its members.

However, you should take note of below issues when using generative AI tools:

  • Generative AI can sometimes make up answers (so-called "hallucinations"); always do fact check.
  • It is a new and still evolving technology, with reliability and accuracy not always assured.
  • Avoid using confidential, sensitive or personal data if you are not sure about how the data you input is kept and used by these tools.

ITSC recommends HKUST ChatGPT and Microsoft’s new Bing Chat

  1. HKUST ChatGPT developed by ITSC and hosted on Microsoft Azure Cloud
    • Most of the public chatbots have stated in their usage terms that chat data may be used for future training of the AI models. This is a concern if users are using it for confidential HKUST documents.
    • HKUST ChatGPT provides functionality similar to the public OpenAI ChatGPT, but with chat data protected and accessible only by the user 
  2. Bing Chat from Microsoft

    While there are many AI chatbots available, we consider Bing Chat is among the most popular.

    In addition to being a knowledgeable chatbot, Bing Chat also incorporates AI into browsing and searching. It grabs new knowledge beyond Sep 2021 by searching up-to-date information from Internet, making it a good alternative for traditional search engine. The Edge browser also allows you to open PDF file for the AI engine to digest.  These features significantly expand the usage scenarios of Bing Chat when compared with OpenAI's ChatGPT.

    Note Microsoft has rights to use the data you input and the results generated. Make sure you "desensitive" your input data.  See Bing's term of use for details.

  3. There are other generative AI tools such as the original ChatGPT from OpenAI and Poe from Quora.  A comparison table of these tools can be checked here.

Getting start

  1. HKUST ChatGPT

    Goto to https://chatgpt.ust.hk and check the terms and conditions to sign on the HKUST ChatGPT. See our usage tips on HKUST ChatGPT.

  2. Microsoft’s new Bing Chat
    Open the Edge browser and access the URL http://www.bing.com, select the Chat button. You may also search a topic with Bing and then Chat with it using the searched result.

    Microsoft currently limits the number of chat turns per session to 5, which is barely enough for a first-taste.  To enjoy the full feature, you will need to create a Microsoft personal account (not ITSC account) for authenticating to Edge.  Details can be found here.

    Note that if you have authenticated to Edge using ITSC account, Bing Chat does not work and you must switch to use a guest profile.

    You may also refer to the following if necessary:


Upcoming Initiatives

  • Generative AI literacy training organized by ITSC.
  • Prototype of Chatbot for customer service support based on up-to-date enterprise knowledge.
  • Access to API for application developers and researchers at their own cost.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot for streamlining usage of Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook/Teams.
     

Support

  • For office productivity, enterprise application and research related use, please email to cchelp@ust.hk.
  • For teaching and learning related adoption, please refer to CEI's webpage.
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