The LibrarySearch Research assistant is a tool that allows students to generate answers about academic or scientific topics with five sources to back it up. It was implemented by Cardiff University to aid students with research, costing [--]. The maintenance for the upkeep of this AI tool costs the University [--] per year. The tool is powered by generative AI, more specifically GPT -4.2 mini, an LLM (large language model).
The use of an LLM is controversial, as it has been widely reported that their energy consumption and carbon emissions have had a significantly negative impact on the environment.
According to UNESCO “It is estimated that training a single large model could emit over 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide” which is on average more than if you drove 1,400 miles in a compact petrol car, not dissimilar to the type most students drive. The positive of using an LLM is that other languages will be supported even if most of the index is in English. This is essential for a University that prides itself on being bilingual.
The Research assistant is located on the top left of the LibrarySearch home page. To use the tool is simple: all you have to do is ask a clear and detailed question about an academic or scientific topic and the Research assistant will generate an answer. It achieves this by converting the question into a query by the LLM so it is understood by the search engine. The search engine then takes the most relevant documents in its index and ranks them according to how well they can answer the question. The LLM uses the top 5 sourcecraft an answer.
The tool displays the 5 sources and a button to “view related results”. It’s important to note however, that the tool does not use the preferred Harvard referencing style. Another negative is how you cannot ask follow up questions, making the natural language style of research slightly redundant.
To test this tool, Gair Rhydd searched one of the example questions ‘Did Picasso’s time in Paris influence his artistic style?’ It generated a 361 word answer that, to summarise, made a clear and concise argument that Paris affected his artistic style significantly, giving evidence to back these claims.
At the bottom of the answer there is a button that allows you to copy the answer and include sources. This might confuse some students as lecturers have warned against directly copying AI and have said that it could be defined as academic misconduct. So is Cardiff University, part of the Russell Group of universities, encouraging their students to commit academic misconduct? Gair Rhydd asked Cardiff University how it aligns with the University’s stance on AI in academia and its reasoning behind the inclusion of a copy button.
Research assistant is an effective tool that, if used correctly, can help university students research certain topics that may otherwise have taken a lot of time. However, it isn’t without its faults, with environmental and academic integrity concerns leading the tool to be a controversial yet not entirely negative addition to LibrarySearch.