Introduction

It takes about one hour to complete the course from start to finish – but if you do the exercises along the way, you should expect to spend more time. And we would very much like you to stay a little longer – and learn something in the process, of course.

Learning objectives

What will you learn in this micro-course on AI Literacy? During the course, you will gain insight into, among other things:

1. How the technology works, and what you can use it for
2. How, in practical terms, to get the best out of AI in your work
3. What pitfalls lie in working with AI, and how you can improve your collaboration with your personal AI assistant
4. What rules and guidelines apply to safe and responsible use of AI at SDU
5. How you can reflect on your own use of AI so that it benefits both you and others

The combined result of these learning objectives is that, from now on, you can use AI confidently, effectively, imaginatively and responsibly in your work at SDU. After completing the course, you should hopefully feel like experimenting and continuing to learn on your own.

You are welcome to team up with a colleague, so that you can act as learning partners for each other during the course.

Mastery and mindset

Becoming fluent in AI is not only about mastering technical skills, but also about the mindset you bring to the technology. A good and healthy AI mindset means that you are:

• Motivated to get to know the technology better and experiment in order to become better at using AI in your work
• Curious about how AI can be used in your work at SDU and willing to integrate the technology into your existing workflows
• Prepared for your working life to change as a result of AI and motivated to help shape that change
• Confident in speaking openly about your use of AI with your colleagues and your manager – and also in sharing experiences, reflections, mistakes and successes in your working community

In short: true mastery requires the right mindset. And healthy scepticism, of course. Just because you can use AI in your work does not mean that it is always the best thing to do. (But we will come to that later.)

The art of DIMSE

This course is built around the DIMSE framework. It is an acronym that covers five core skills within AI Literacy:

1. Delegation: What can and will you use AI for in your work – and how?
2. Instruction: How do you instruct the technology to do what you want?
3. Monitoring: How do you evaluate and improve the work you do with AI?
4. Security: How do you ensure that your use of AI is risk-free and within the rules?
5. Ethics: How do you use AI responsibly and decently?

Throughout the chapters of the course, you will get to know this framework – one letter at a time. Under each chapter, there will be short video presentations and exercises you can do to get practical training in your new AI skills.

However, the DIMSE framework also contains an important reminder: namely, that you can only really get to know the new technology and become skilled at using it if you spend time “tinkering” with it. You need to try things out.

American AI researcher Ethan Mollick has pointed out that it takes at least 10 hours of practical experience to become able to assess how AI can be used in your work. Less may perhaps do. But the point is the same: you need to get started with DIMSE.

See you shortly in the first chapter of the course, where you will gain a clearer understanding of what we actually mean when we talk about “AI”.