Skip to Main Content

University Library

LibGuides

Introduction to Generative AI

This library guide is a UIUC campus resource to read and reference for instructional, professional, and personal learning. Updates will occur on a semester basis. Last Updated: December 2024

Popular Tools

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Technology Services department provides a list of approved generative AI tools on their Generative AI Resources page. Any application not on their list is not approved and should not be used with University solutions or devices. Please consult with your instructor, supervisor, and journal publication for their generative AI usage policies. Approach usability and application with caution and discretion.

Library Databases

The following are a few University Library database vendors who have implemented generative AI into their services. Please note that these are not permanent features and are subject to change based on contract updates.

A word on open-source

There are an ever-growing number of AI tools, and keeping up with the state-of-the-art can be dizzying! While front-runners in closed-source, paid platforms are starting to become somewhat established among large tech players (Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Adobe, etc), the open-source movement in generative AI is fertile and varied! We present a few options of both in the below sections. Please note that running these open-source models locally often requires significant computer hardware, but you can also experiment with these tools via various cloud computing platforms

  • HuggingFace - A platform which hosts, distributes and offers virtual environments to test open-source models
  • Pinokio - An application to deploy multimedia AI tools to your local machine
  • LMStudio - An application to search, download and install various open-source language model