Artificial Intelligence Initiative

York is transforming our digital landscape with cutting-edge AI initiatives. We’re revolutionizing IT support, streamlining processes, and advancing ethical generative AI, all to enhance how students, faculty, and staff engage with technology. Our AI solutions are reshaping daily operations, boosting efficiency, and unlocking new possibilities to propel York to the forefront of the digital age.

Initiative Benefits

Operational Efficiency

Automating complex workflows with AI will free up our staff to tackle more impactful work. Simplified processes and better decision-making will drive innovation across the institution.

Tailored Experiences

AI will enable students, faculty and staff to receive relevant, timely information in formats tailored to their needs. Whether it’s personalized student engagement or streamlined online services, AI will elevate the York experience for everyone.

Security & Scalability

We’re improving security measures and laying the groundwork for AI technologies that evolve with the latest trends. We focus on sustainable, scalable solutions to enhance York’s capabilities and keep our community safe.

Supported Tools

YU AURA

York University’s Automated University Response Assistant (YU AURA) is a platform that empowers anyone—regardless of prior experience or coding skills—to build custom AI solutions in minutes.

YU Chat

COMING SOON!

CHAT is your conversational companion with a seamless and engaging interface. Whether brainstorming, learning or just exploring ideas, it’s like having a personal assistant at your fingertips.

AI Prompt Library

UIT’s Prompt Library is a free, browser-based resource open to everyone. It’s built to make your workday more efficient, with tailored prompts that spark ideas, boost productivity, and support your projects. Fully searchable and organized by categories and tags, the library lets you quickly find what you need—and even submit your own prompts to grow the collection.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot is a free browser-based service available to everyone at York. It helps you get better answers, work more efficiently, and unlock your creativity. Log in with your Passport York ID to get access and commercial data protection.

Design Objectives

Our AI objectives focus on driving innovation, enhancing usability, and promoting ethical practices across York University

User-friendly Interface & Tools—deliver a customizable interface that empowers users to easily interact with generative AI and tailor outputs to their specific needs.

Ethical and Responsible Use—establish robust policies and guidelines to ensure AI is used responsibly, with ongoing monitoring to assess performance and mitigate risks.

System Integration—integrate AI with existing systems like eClass, HALO, email, and Microsoft Teams, creating a cohesive and efficient technological ecosystem.

Use Cases & Best Practices—develop and share practical use cases and best practices to showcase how AI can enhance areas like course design, assessment, research, and data visualization.

Current Projects & IT Support Bots

Central UIT Bot

Provides Tier 1 IT support services for the entire University, catering to the needs of staff, faculty members, and students. It addresses common IT issues, helping our community access what they need when they need it.

Faculty of Science IT Bot

Assists Faculty of Science members and students by offering tailored support for scientific software applications, laboratory equipment, and other specialized IT needs

Glendon IT Bot

Provides personalized Tier 1 IT support to the staff, faculty, and students at the Glendon campus.

LAPS eServices

Supports Faculty members at the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LAPS) by addressing questions about eClass and other online services.

UIT Admin Bot

Provides HR resources to York staff and faculty. It helps navigate HR processes, including onboarding, benefits, payroll, and performance management, streamlining HR-related tasks.

InfoSec Assistant

Responds to queries about Information Security guidelines, standards, and recommended practices. It provides critical advice on public information and internal/proprietary security protocols at York to safeguard the university’s digital assets.

Revolutionizing IT Procurement

AI assistants speed up the procurement process, simplifying equipment and software requests for faster, easier approvals.

eClass Course Assistant

Goes beyond mere suggestions and will generate pages, interactive activities, and assessments directly within eClass. Need relevant readings? The eClass Course Assistant will search academic databases for resources, compile a list and even provide direct links to the material. It’s all about making course creation faster and easier than ever.

Looking Ahead

We’re focused on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in digital transformation. From introducing AI tools that simplify tasks to making data-driven insights more accessible, we aim to create a seamless AI experience for everyone at York. We’re enhancing security, refining processes, and delivering personalized support to empower the community and drive innovation.

Here are some of the exciting projects on the horizon

A Person Holding a Smartphone and a Cup of Coffee

Course Companion

Integrated into eClass, this assistant answers questions about assignments, schedules, and course content 24/7—no need to email your professor.

Amazed woman standing with textbooks for studies

Code Mentor

Built directly into eClass, Code Mentor uses AI to help students refine their programming skills. It provides real-time feedback on syntax errors, style, formatting, structure and logic, and can even suggest improvements!

Laptop with blank screen mockup. Colorful background. Graphic tabblet.

Incident Management

AI will soon automate ticket categorization and triaging in the HaloITSM platform. This upgrade will speed up response times, simplify troubleshooting, and provide valuable metrics to guide strategic decisions—ensuring IT issues are resolved faster and smarter than ever.

Usage Guidelines

All use of GenAI technologies at York should align with the principles of ethical use, transparency, accountability, sustainability, security, and privacy.

Use
We support staff using Gen AI technologies appropriately in their work. Responsible use introduces opportunities for increased productivity, insights and innovation.

Disclosure
Clearly identify GenAI-generated content in all outward-facing communications to ensure transparency and avoid misleading audiences.

Assessment
Discuss GenAI use with your supervisor if oversight is needed—refer to the use case assessment table. For cases requiring oversight, review and assess before use; see details below.

Human Oversight
Ensure GenAI outputs are reviewed by a human who can check for errors, bias, or discrimination. Responsibility for the outcomes ultimately rests with the user of the tool.

Bias
Acknowledge that GenAI tools often reflect societal biases in their training data. Regularly vet outputs to address bias and discrimination, as this is a complex task requiring expertise. Refer to York’s DEDI strategy and toolkit for guidance.

Privacy & IP Protection
Ensure that only materials we own or have intellectual property rights for are used and that personal, confidential, or regulated information is not shared with GenAI tools.

Cybersecurity
Ensure GenAI solutions, including inputs and outputs, are designed with robust cybersecurity controls, adhere to GenAI technical standards, and leverage assessment services from Information Security.

Compliance
Ensure all existing York policies and procedures apply to GenAI solutions used for administrative, academic, or research purposes.

Use Case Assessments

The table below provides examples to help determine when using generative AI is allowed. The University will maintain and refine these use cases and assessment methods as we move forward with AI technology.