Generative AI vs. Summative AI

Generative vs. Summative AI

Before we can go any further, we need to make the distinction between what we call "generative AI" and "summative AI." Simply put, generative AI is a generative model of artificial intelligence that generates content (text, images, videos, or other forms of data) in response to a prompt. Summative AI refers to artificial intelligence tools that can condense longer pieces of text (like journal articles) into bite-sized summaries.

Get to know Generative AI

Generative AI is typically what we think about when discussing AI classroom use. As stated above, generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that generates different kinds of content in response to a prompt (for example, ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot). Generative AI uses deep learning algorithms, or large language models, that utilize massive datasets to summarize, translate, predict, or generate content. Prompt generation starts with any input an AI tool can process, like text, image, or video. Then, the AI runs the algorithms and returns content in response to the prompt, which can include essays, images, videos, designs, etc. Once you receive the response, you can provide feedback on the tone, style, and other elements to begin customizing the prompt to fit your needs or outcomes. Additionally, AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are undergoing continual training and fine-tuning to improve their quality and accuracy. 

We will examine different types of content applications in the next section.

Get to know Summative AI

While generative AI generates responses based on prompts, summative AI uses algorithms to condense and summarize text or documents. Summative AI tools extract a document's most important information using natural language processing. (technology that gives computers the ability to interpret, manipulate, and comprehend human language) to create a version that captures only the essential information. This can provide valuable insights by identifying key points, can improve readability, and provides quick information retrieval.

You can try out summative AI tools like QuillBot’s AI Text Summarizer. or Wordvice’s AI Summarizer..