AI at Uppsala University
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how we live, work, and interact with the world around us. At Uppsala University, AI is part of our everyday life and our future.
On this page, AI-related news and information about AI and digitalization for university employees are published and you can discover how AI can improve your daily work life and create new opportunities for innovation.
Read about AI in education and access educational materials, explore the initiatives about and involving AI in research, or find inspiration for how AI can simplify your workday. For example, AI has helped write parts of the content on this page.
Why AI?
AI has the potential to change the world in many ways. It can improve efficiency across various industries, create new jobs and opportunities, and even help in solving some of the world’s greatest challenges, such as climate change and diseases.
What's new in AI?
What is happening in AI at the university? Overview of activities and links to upcoming seminars, lectures and general information about AI-related initiatives.
Short about AI
AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of computer programs to mimic human natural intelligence. This means that computers can learn from data, make decisions, and solve problems independently.
AI works by using algorithms and large amounts of data to learn patterns and relationships. Once AI has learned these patterns, it can use them to perform specific tasks.
Generative AI
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as text, images, music, or even videos. Think of it as a very smart computer that learns from lots of examples and then uses that knowledge to create something new.
Here’s a simple comparison: If you teach a person to paint by showing them many different paintings, they can eventually create their own unique artworks based on what they’ve learned. Generative AI works in a similar way, but instead of learning from paintings, it learns from large amounts of data - like texts or images - and then creates something new based on that.
Tips for using AI in your daily tasks (Copilot)
Copilot is an AI-powered chat tool from Microsoft. With AI services like Copilot, you can use natural language to get help with tasks such as generating text and creating images, analyzing data, summarizing documents, and much more. The collective term for this type of service is "generative AI".
The service is available directly in the browser for all university employees at no extra cost. You can find Copilot here.
Below are some tips on how to use it for certain work-related tasks.
Get inspired using AI
One way to utilise Copilot is to find inspiration and generate new ideas. An AI service can create texts about almost anything as long as it gets enough information, for example:
- Write a short story where the main character is a student who comes late to a lesson but has a funny excuse involving space aliens.
- Find recipes without the ingredient “X”.
- I'm stuck in Uppsala because the trains are not running, give me suggestions for something to do until 8 p.m.
Summarise, translate or analyze texts
AI services like Copilot are often used to summarise longer texts for various purposes. For example:
- quickly create an overview of the content in a longer document
- create a draft summary of your own text
- generate suggestions on how the language in a text can be adapted to a specific audience
- draft a translation proposal
Generate images based on details
Copilot can also create AI-generated images based on a description. Describe what the image should contain and ask Copilot to create an image. You can then modify the suggestion by asking Copilot to change a detail, add or remove elements, or create new images with other variables, perhaps even in a completely different style?
Create texts from your notes
Copilot can relate different snippets of text to a larger context. Try, for example, taking your meeting notes and asking Copilot to write a summary document with certain headings.
Finding gaps in a certain research area
Copilot can offer a little help along the way if you have good prior knowledge in the area to evaluate the answers. You can start by asking the service to list gaps:
My research area concerns batteries for electric cars. What gaps are there in that area?
To get more developed answers and material to study, you can ask Copilot to list five research reports within one of the suggested gaps:
My specialty area within fluid dynamics is contact angle on droplet generation in a T-junction microfluidic system. Give me five research reports on that.
You can also ask Copilot to account for whether there are questions within a research area where there are divided opinions:
My research area is religious freedom in France during the 14th century. Are there controversies within that area?
You can ask if there are limitations within existing research or if there are missing publications in certain areas. But be careful to consider what Copilot delivers with scepticism as it requires good knowledge in the area to evaluate the results.
AI in education
Read about how generative AI can be used by teachers and students, the potential advantages and disadvantages, and how educators can guide students toward both productive and responsible use of AI tools.
For example: how can we prevent and make it more difficult to misuse AI during examinations?
On the page AI in teaching and learning, you’ll find pedagogical guidance for teachers on generative AI in teaching and assessment.
AI in research
Specialized computer systems are being introduced in medicine, education, finance, and transportation.
How can we benefit from this rapid development, and how do we prevent the risks?
General information about AI and research initiatives in the field can be found on the research portal.
AI in administration
AI has great potential to simplify administrative tasks. For example, you can summarize, analyze, or translate texts. The possibilities are many, and by following the links below, you can find tips on how to make AI a part of your everyday work life.
Guidelines for generative AI
The university has adopted its first university-wide guideline for AI in education. The new guidelines apply to education at all levels, from undergraduate to doctoral studies. The guideline has been in effect since January 20, 2025.
Guidelines on the use of generative AI in teaching and assessment
AI Act
On August 1, 2024, the EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) came into force. The regulation will be fully applied in Sweden in the summer of 2026.
The regulation governs the use of AI systems. The regulation is based on a risk-based model where certain uses of AI may be prohibited and others allowed.
Read about the AI Regulation at the European Commission
National guidelines for generative AI in public administration (IMY)
Information about GDPR at the Swedish Authority of Privacy Protection