Developed at UiO
GPT UiO is UiO's privacy-safe AI chat which is developed in the UiO IT department. Section head P?l Fugelli from the IT department's app development section is very pleased to offer the new version to users. – We are continually working to improve our applications. The development is user-centric, meaning we place users' needs, experiences, and context at the center when designing and developing solutions.
Help with documents
One feature that has been requested and is now available in GPT UiO, is document uploads. This allows you to upload one or more text files and receive assistance from GPT UiO. Once the document is uploaded, you can for example ask questions about the content, request a summary, or have the document translated and rewritten. You can also ask for feedback on style or compare the content of two or more documents. The documents you upload must be in simple text formats such as PDF, plain text, or HTML. Closed formats like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel are not currently supported.
In collaboration with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), support for a couple of alternative open-source language models has also been added. These can reason, which means you can ask the AI to look for specific patterns or themes in a document, and then see how it reasoned to arrive at the answer you receive.
Create your own AI assistant
An AI assistant is a conversation partner that uses generative artificial intelligence to, for example, answer questions, suggest solutions, and provide guidance. The AI receives instructions on who or what it should be, and will respond accordingly. You can write the instructions for the assistant yourself, or you can start from an assistant that others have shared with you.
You can also use the document upload feature to provide the assistant with specific knowledge or background material that it should use in addition to what it already knows or that it should place special emphasis on. The technology behind this is Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). In simple terms, it is a method where a language model is combined with an external knowledge base. Instead of just "remembering" things from training data, the model can retrieve relevant information from vectorized documents before generating a response.
The AI assistants you create in GPT UiO can be saved, reused, modified, and shared with others.
Collaboration with SimSamBot
In the IT department at UiO, we work closely with several research environments. Initiators and collaborators in the development of the functionality for AI assistants have been the SimSamBot project at the Faculty of Education, led by Associate Professor Vasiliki Diamanti. According to the project's website, SimSamBot is supposed to be an "interactive AI-based training platform for simulating communication situations." This is relevant for many students at UiO, for example in professional training programs. New teachers, doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, and dentists will now be able to practice challenging communication situations before they go into practice. It is useful to try out in a safe environment against a simulated, specially adapted AI assistant. For example, dental students are expected to practice receiving confused and demented patients in connection with consultations and dental treatment.
Broad applications require user-friendliness
Now GPT UiO is ready for all users to independently create their own assistants. Students preparing for exams can, for example, create an assistant that asks questions from the syllabus and discusses the answers. Instructors can also create their own agents that they share with students for use in language teaching or another topic.
UX designers Aleksander Erichson and Sara Karoliussen have worked on the user experience in GPT UiO. As GPT UiO gets more and more advanced features, it is increasingly important that it is designed to be easy to use. The designers say that the user experience of the AI assistant concept has been given much emphasis. – The AI assistant builder has become a step-by-step guide with clear support for file uploads, based on several rounds of user testing. For us, it is crucial that users clearly see that the documents influence the responses. The goal is for AI assistants to feel as easy as starting a regular chat, the designers explain.
More is on the way
The development of GPT UiO continues, and several new features are on the way. One of these has been much requested, which is the upload of images and graphics. So far, GPT UiO has only dealt with text. Work is also being done on expanded support for GPT-5 (the latest model from OpenAI), concepts for red (confidential) data in the service, and plans for API access.
What is GPT UiO?
GPT UiO is a service that allows you to use OpenAI's GPT models in a way that meets UiO's privacy requirements. All students and staff at UiO can log in with FEIDE and freely use the service.
The service is also offered to other institutions in the higher education sector and currently has over 50,000 users.
Product goals for GPT UiO
To develop and manage a user-friendly, universally designed solution for conversational generative artificial intelligence tailored for research and higher education. GPT UiO is to be the preferred solution for students and staff by offering the most appropriate GPT models on a secure and privacy-friendly platform. Our goal is to strengthen research and education at UiO and partners with easily accessible and ethically responsible generative AI.
Overview of Customers Who Have Entered into Agreement for the Use of GPT UiO
The following institutions have entered into an agreement for use by all their users:
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VID Scientific College
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?stfold University College
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Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
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Norwegian Institute of Public Health
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Molde University College
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NORCE
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University of Agder
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FAFO
- Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies (HL Center)
- KRUS - Norwegian Correctional Service College and Education Center
- BI Norwegian Business School
- Institute of Marine Research
- NORSUS Norwegian Institute for Sustainable Research AS
- Kristen Videreg?ende Skole Tr?ndelag (KVT)
- Fjellhaug International College
- Nordland Research AS
- Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
- National Institute of Occupational Health
- Vestre Viken Health Authority
- NTHU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
- NUBU
- OsloMet