#  Generative AI for Scholarship: Week 1— The Basics 

 



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Friday, February 20, 2026 · 4:00–5:30 pm · Northwest Building, Room B103

This session introduces the core concepts behind large language models, effective prompt engineering, and responsible use of AI in research.

### Use Your Harvard-Affiliated Google Account

**Important:** For this course, you must access Google Gemini using your **Harvard-affiliated Google account** (e.g., `yourname@g.harvard.edu`). This ensures your data is protected by Harvard's enterprise security agreements. See [Why Use Harvard/HUIT Accounts](#why-harvard-accounts) below for details.

## Prerequisites

Before the session, please verify that you can access Google Gemini:

1. Go to [google.com](https://google.com) and sign in with your **Harvard-affiliated Google account** (e.g., `yourname@g.harvard.edu`)
2. Look for the **3×3 grid of dots** (⋮⋮⋮) in the upper right corner of the page, next to your profile picture
3. Click on this grid to open the Google apps menu
4. Verify that you see a menu similar to the one shown below, with various Google apps including **Gemini** (the colorful star icon):

   ![Google apps menu showing Gemini access](/sites/g/files/omnuum6476/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-04/GeminiAccess_0.png?itok=bZb7M-Rk) 

 

**Important:** If you don't see the 3×3 grid of dots, or if Gemini is not in your apps menu, please contact the instructors before the session. You may need to enable certain Google services or use a different Google account.

**Don't have a Harvard Google account?** If you need to set up a `g.harvard.edu` account, visit [Harvard Google Workspace](https://www.huit.harvard.edu/google-workspace) for instructions.

## Accessing Google Gemini

For this session, we'll use Google's Gemini AI, which is accessible directly from your web browser using your Harvard-affiliated Google account.

### How to Access Gemini

1. Open your web browser and go to [google.com](https://google.com)
2. Make sure you're signed in to your **Harvard-affiliated Google account** (e.g., `yourname@g.harvard.edu`)
3. Click the Google apps menu (the grid of dots) in the upper right corner of the page (see Figure 1 above)
4. Look for the **Gemini** icon (a colorful star) in the app menu
5. Click on Gemini to open the AI assistant

Alternatively, you can go directly to [gemini.google.com](https://gemini.google.com)

**Note:** Gemini may ask you to agree to terms of service when you first use it. Review the terms, particularly regarding data usage and privacy, before proceeding.

## Session Topics

In this session, we'll cover:

- **Introduction and Overview** What generative AI is and how it fits into research workflows
- **Google Gemini Tour and Demos** Model selection, tools menu, file uploads, audio input, and hands-on prompting with a meal planning exercise
- **Pinned Demo Showcase** Image generation, conference planning, talk posters and figures, physics simulations, and more
- **NotebookLM for Document Analysis** Upload research papers, get source-grounded answers with citations, and review a grant proposal against NSF guidelines
- **Ethics of AI in Research** Disclosure, evolving norms, and having explicit conversations with advisors about AI use
- **Data Browsing with Gemini** Upload a spreadsheet and explore what AI can tell you about your data
- **Custom AI Assistants with Gems** Create reusable, task-specific AI assistants with persistent prompts

### Google AI Tools Comparison

This course will focus on three Google AI tools, each with different strengths:

SortToolBest ForKey FeaturesWhen to Use**Gemini**

General-purpose AI assistant

- Conversational interface
- Code generation
- Multi-turn dialogue
- Image understanding



Writing, brainstorming, coding, general questions

**NotebookLM**

Document analysis & research

- Upload your own documents
- Source-grounded responses
- Automatic citations
- Summarization & synthesis



Analyzing papers, synthesizing research, literature review

**Gems**

Custom AI assistants

- Pre-configured prompts
- Persistent uploaded context
- Reusable workflows
- Shareable within research group



Repetitive tasks, specific workflows, domain expertise





### Why Use Harvard/HUIT Accounts for Generative AI?

There are three important reasons to use Harvard's secured AI endpoints rather than personal accounts:

- **Cybersecurity:** Data sent through Harvard's secure tunnel is not stored by the vendor and is not used for AI model training. Your inputs are protected by Harvard's enterprise agreements.
- **Privacy:** You can upload early research results, draft papers, and data up to and including [Level 3 confidential data](https://policy.security.harvard.edu/level-3). This would not be safe to do with a personal AI account.
- **Accounting:** API usage fees can be directly linked to research grants through HUIT billing, providing clear cost tracking and proper attribution of expenses.

### What Data Can You Send to AI Tools?

Using Harvard's secure endpoints (Gemini via your Harvard Google account or Claude via HUIT Bedrock), you can send data classified up to **Level 3 (Confidential)** — but not Level 4 or 5.

   ![Harvard data classification levels table](/sites/g/files/omnuum6476/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/2026-04/data_classification.png?itok=_55T4tNl) 

 

*Harvard data classification levels and what can be sent through HUIT-secured AI endpoints. Source: Harvard Privacy & Information Security.*

**Key rule:** Use the "high watermark" principle — if any element in a file is Level 4 (e.g., a column containing SSNs in an otherwise Level 3 spreadsheet), the entire file is Level 4 and should **not** be uploaded.

## Hands-On Exercises

[**Go to Session 1 Exercises**](exercise-session1.html)

## Additional Resources

- [Gemini Documentation](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs) Official documentation from Google
- [NotebookLM Help Center](https://support.google.com/notebooklm) Google's official guide to using NotebookLM — uploading sources, asking questions, generating summaries and audio overviews
- [Gems Documentation](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/14575653) How to create, customize, and share Gems (custom AI assistants) in Gemini
- [Anthropic Research](https://www.anthropic.com/research) Research papers on AI safety and capabilities
- [Harvard FAS AI Training Sessions](https://hu.sharepoint.com/sites/AIFASJanuarySessionsAdminTrack/SitePages/TopicHome.aspx) Additional Harvard AI training resources (requires Harvard login)

## Post-Session Survey

Please take a moment to share your feedback — it helps us improve future sessions.

[**Take the Post-Session Survey** ](https://bit.ly/4rlIBCt)