AI in Academia II: Data Security and Control in the Age of AI

REGISTER: AI in Academia II

Target group: Doctoral researchers and early-career academics, University of Graz

Language: English

Description: The rise of AI-powered systems has transformed our world at a remarkable pace. But does this mean that everything has become easier, better and faster — including academic research and writing?
 

Not necessarily.
 

Superficial answers, factual errors and hallucinations, concerns about the protection of sensitive research data — these are experiences many doctoral researchers and academics report after their first encounters with ChatGPT, Claude & Co.
Others, out of fear of these risks, prefer to avoid AI altogether.
This two-day AI-Writing Retreat is designed as a valuable space for both: structured input on the most important AI-related topics in academic research, combined with hands-on practice sessions in which participants can try things out directly and bring their individual questions and uncertainties to an expert.
 

In the AI-Writing Retreat, doctoral researchers and early-career academics learn to use generative AI in a reflective, critical, and ethically sound way — without ever relinquishing responsibility for their own scholarly work. The workshop is open to participants with little or no prior experience with AI in an academic context, as well as to those who already work with AI regularly and want to do so more deliberately and effectively.
 

Program Part II: Data Security and Control in the Age of AI (Ideal for: Beginner Level | Intermediate Level | Advanced Level)

Using AI in academic research is not only about saving time. Interview recordings full of personal data. Original arguments and ideas. Sensitive research findings. Unpublished manuscripts. Excerpts from correspondence with colleagues. Where exactly does all the content we share with an AI get stored — and what happens to it? In this session, participants learn which data from an AI conversation is stored in the background and what it may subsequently be used for. We also clarify which account settings every researcher should know and adjust to protect sensitive research content, where the key differences between private and institutional AI access lie, and work through a concrete decision framework that makes it possible to assess at any point which research content can safely be shared with AI -  and where particular caution is warranted.

Part III: Understanding How Generative AI Works - and Writing Really Good Prompts (Oct 16, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.)
Part IV: AI as a Tool not a Replacement for Thinking: Working with AI in Academic Research (Oct 16, 2-6 p.m.)

Trainer: Dr. Claudia Macho has been working as a writing instructor and coach in the academic field for 12 years. In her role, she focuses especially on supporting doctoral students and early-career researchers in developing and refining their academic writing skills. She teaches at various universities in Austria and abroad and shares her expertise through practice-oriented courses, workshops and coaching. (For more information, visit www.claudiamacho.at)