AI Meeting Assistant Tools – Tips for Research Mentors

AI meeting assistant tools, which can summarize or transcribe meetings on platforms such as Zoom and Webex, are an emerging feature of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Thoughtful use of these tools can maximize their potential, allowing you to spend more time on your mentees.

Note: If you haven't already, please also see DoIT’s AI Meeting Assistant Guidance website, created in collaboration with the Office of Compliance and Office of Legal Affairs, to review university key points, unit-specific direction, and personal considerations with this technology. 

  1. Familiarize yourself with the university-vetted AI meeting assistant tools in Zoom and Webex: how they work, their respective security settings. When you are the meeting host, you control whether an AI meeting assistant can be used. When scheduling meetings, use security settings in Zoom or Webex to allow or restrict AI meeting assistant use. Make sure you are using the most current version of your meeting software.

  2. Assess whether or not your meetings will cover sensitive or protected data, and explore whether or not using the AI meeting assistant in question would violate university and UW system policies surrounding data stewardship for those categories. (For example: FERPA or HIPAA data; Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Data; etc.).

  3. Consider how meeting assistant tools might improve consistency and continuity of information between meetings.  There may be affordances to have a transcribed shared summary of benchmarks discussed. For example, these could include draft or grant deadlines; progress to degree; career advising; etc. which mentors and mentees can refer back to between meetings to track goals, to-dos, and other follow-up items.

  4. Determine with your mentee(s) whether or not these tools will facilitate greater focus during meetings. For example, would the meeting assistant capture sufficient detail to allow meeting participants to focus on the conversation? Or would using an assistant for the note-taking process not align with participants’ learning and communications styles?

  5. If using AI, establish clear expectations between you and your mentee(s) as to who is responsible for reviewing, editing/updating, and maintaining summaries produced by an AI assistant.

  6. Carefully review meetings summaries produced by AI assistants to ensure that they have accurately captured the content of your conversation, especially with regards to the most salient points.

  7. AI tools such as transcription are great universal design strategies and may make meetings more accessible to both disabled and non-disabled individuals, but they do not necessarily meet all accommodation needs, particularly when professional services are needed. It is important to be clear with individuals about the use of any of these AI tools prior to the meeting; refer them to the accommodation process if they need different assistance to access the meeting due to a disability. Employees can consult with their Divisional Disability Representative (DDR), and all others can consult with the McBurney Disability Resource Center if needed.



Keywords:
generative AI, artificial intelligence, communication, students, mentoring
Doc ID:
139007
Owned by:
Meredith M. in Instructional Resources
Created:
2024-08-08
Updated:
2024-08-23
Sites:
Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring