Key Takeaways
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The UC-licensed Google Gemini App will be available to all UC Berkeley students starting Aug. 15 in order to extend negotiated IP, security, and privacy protections to students.
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Gemini App is a mobile and web application that allows for generative chat using Google's AI.
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Zoom AI Companion is another AI tool available to students that provides discussion summaries and other meeting support features to meeting hosts and/or participants (these features require the host’s permission).
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Students should check with their course instructors to determine whether the Google Gemini App or any other generative AI tool is permitted for course-related work. The use of generative AI tools in a way that is unacceptable to the course instructor, as stated in the course syllabus, may be considered a case of academic misconduct.
Dear undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students,
To help address equity, security, and privacy concerns related to generative AI across the Berkeley campus, the Google Gemini App will be available to all UC Berkeley students starting Aug. 15. This tool joins Zoom AI Companion, which is already available, as we kick off the new academic year.
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Gemini App is a mobile and web application that allows for generative chat using Google's AI, similar to Microsoft Copilot.
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Zoom AI Companion provides discussion summaries and other meeting support features to meeting hosts and/or participants. Critically, these features require the host’s permission. See details below.
Gemini App is included in our existing agreement with Google and, unlike consumer versions of the Google Gemini App and other Generative AI tools, provides the same IP, data privacy, and security protections as other tools in our campus Google Workspace
Get Started
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Review Campus Guidance on Appropriate Use of Generative AI Tools. Students should check with their course instructors to determine whether the Google Gemini App or any other generative AI tool is permitted for course-related work. The use of generative AI tools in a way that is unacceptable to the course instructor, as stated in the course syllabus, may be considered a case of academic misconduct.
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Gemini App will be available for students on Aug. 15
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Students can enable Zoom AI Companion features in their settings to use them in meetings they host. This setting is off by default. Only meeting hosts can enable and disable these features during a meeting, and attendees will be notified when AI is active. Features include Meeting Summary, In-Meeting Questions, Smart Recording, and Whiteboard.
Note: Non-degree-seeking students and non-student workers under 18 years old will have access to Gemini App, but may experience limitations in image generation and content creation when using Gemini App within Google Classroom.
Security & Data Protection
Google Gemini App includes data protections through UC’s agreements with Google: your data will not be used to train AI models and will not be included in other public AI query results when you use these tools while logged in with your Berkeley account. During the pilot phase, the tools went through privacy, security, and accessibility reviews. Preparing to provide these tools has been a collaborative effort with several campus partners.
Ethics & Responsibility
Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, has wide-ranging implications for our society that members of the Berkeley community are engaged in questioning, challenging, and shaping. Berkeley IT's provisioning of these tools aims to meet campus needs for new technologies while working to address various risks and issues, and ensure that the use of these tools aligns with the university’s values and core mission.
Providing access to UC-licensed AI tools is not meant as an endorsement of these tools or encouragement for their broad use within the educational context, rather, recognizing that there is a range in the pedagogical utility of generative AI tools. Students should check with their course instructors to determine whether the Google Gemini App or any other generative AI tool is permitted for course-related work. The use of generative AI tools in a way that is unacceptable to the course instructor, as stated in the course syllabus, may be considered a case of academic misconduct.
We understand that there are questions and concerns about risks and ethical issues related to the use of generative AI, such as: (a) the environmental impact (i.e., use of energy, water, and other resources); (b) biases that may be incorporated into large language models (LLMs) resulting in potential data inaccuracies; (c) the potential of AI use to inhibit the intellectual development of its users (e.g., by taking over tasks that develop/maintain one’s cognitive abilities); and (d) the uncredited use (some might say plagiarism) of vast quantities of creative and intellectual work, without the authors’ permission, in the training data for LLMs. However, we understand that the demand for AI on campus is increasing, and many are already using non-Berkeley-sanctioned tools, which carry significant risk to the privacy and intellectual property of users. By providing UC-licensed tools, we aim to offer equitable and secure access to the Berkeley community, fostering critical and practice-informed discussion along with participation in related AI policymaking.
We hope these will be valuable additions to the Productivity Suite and other AI tools available at UC Berkeley.
Sincerely,
Benjamin E. Hermalin
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Tracy Shinn
Associate Vice Chancellor for IT and Chief Information Officer
Stephen C. Sutton
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
This message was sent campus-wide to all undergraduate and graduate students.