Welcome to the University of Waterloo’s GenAI Hub—your central home for guidance, examples, and training in the area of AI with respect to teaching and learning, research, and administration. This resource will evolve as our institutional approach takes shape. Explore, share, and help us shape responsible, equitable, and effective GenAI at Waterloo.

What is Generative AI (GenAI)?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence—reasoning, pattern recognition, language, and more. Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Claude) is a branch of AI that generates new outputs — text, images, code, audio, or video — by recognizing and reproducing patterns from very large data sets. These tools respond via chat-style interfaces and can be useful, incorrect, or biased because their responses are statistically generated, not fact-checked. While useful, GenAI is also contested technology: critics point to risks such as fabrication (“hallucinations”), embedded bias, unclear sourcing/intellectual property, privacy and data-residency concerns, accessibility obligations, environmental and cost impacts, and implications for academic integrity.