Library Guides: AI literacy guidelines: About

Introduction

The AI literacy guidelines aim to enhance understanding of essential knowledge and capabilities among staff and students, supporting academic success at UQ and beyond. "AI literacy" has various definitions, but often emphasises the knowledge, capabilities, and ethical judgment a user brings to their interaction with the technology — that is, a foundational understanding of AI concepts, a capacity or ability to use the technology effectively, and the ethical discernment to do so responsibly.

“The ability to be aware of and comprehend AI technology in practical applications; to be able to apply and exploit AI technology for accomplishing tasks proficiently; and to be able to analyze, select, and critically evaluate the data and information provided by AI, while fostering awareness of one's own personal responsibilities and respect for reciprocal rights and obligations” (Wang et al. 2022, p. 1326)

The guidelines support the goals of the UQ's AI in Education Action Plan to embed AI literacy in the curriculum and ensure students have the “ethical, practical AI skills they can use in their studies, careers, and communities, and preparing them to lead and shape the future of AI integration in their fields” (University of Queensland, 2025).

How to use these guidelines

The guidelines are organised across four domains — understand, use, evaluate and acknowledge — with examples of how staff and students can demonstrate knowledge, competency, or ethical judgement in each domain.

They can be used to:

assess existing AI-related training
identify knowledge and capability gaps or areas for development
support curriculum planning and design
illustrate capabilities.

The AI literacy guidelines are generalist in nature. They do not consider disciplinary differences or include all required professional knowledge, capabilities and ethical practices.

Background

The guidelines were developed across January and February 2025 as an internal aid to assist library staff in identifying the essential knowledge and capabilities required for AI literacy and ensuring that these were addressed in our training and digital content.

The guidelines draw on other published information and digital literacy, and AI frameworks, principles, and guidelines (visit References for the works consulted), as well as our own experiences in creating an online module on artificial intelligence.

An iterative approach has been taken in developing this resource, reflecting the fast-moving pace of AI. Library staff participated in a co-design session, where they were asked to contribute and prioritise AI-related knowledge and capabilities. Early feedback on the guidelines was provided by student partners as part of SSP Project “Expanding the Library’s AI Digital Essentials Module” (ID: 5607243).

We are seeking input from the UQ community to update and improve the resource over time to ensure it brings value to how UQ staff and students understand the role of AI technologies to themselves, others and society as a whole.