GEM: Inside the Machine—How GenAI Systems Work

Lesson Details

In this online-only lesson, you'll learn how Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are now part of the information ecosystem you navigate every day. You’ll explore how these systems process your prompts, what shapes their responses, and how they influence what counts as knowledge. By mapping your own interaction with an AI tool, you’ll uncover the human choices, data patterns, and biases embedded within the machine’s “thinking.”

This lesson is part of the Microcourse: Mapping the Information Landscape

This Lesson fulfills the following Learning Outcomes: Trace the Information Ecosystem; Analyze Authority and Bias in Context

Instructions

Navigate the lessons by:

• Using the page list on the left to jump directly to a section.
• Using the Next and Previous buttons at the bottom of each page to move step-by-step.

Be sure to complete all sections, then finish the activity at the end of the lesson to apply what you’ve learned.