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AI Use

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    Statement on AI Use

    The core ideas, instructional approach, examples, and organization of this book are based on the author's experience teaching this subject over several years at De Anza College. The foundational content evolved through classroom lectures, course materials, student questions, discussions, assignments, and repeated refinement of how concepts were explained to students over that time.

    Artificial intelligence tools were used to help transform this existing instructional material into a more cohesive textbook. AI supported editing, restructuring, improving clarity and readability, simplifying explanations, strengthening transitions, maintaining consistency, and formatting content to meet OER standards. The author determined the concepts to include, the instructional sequence, and the pedagogical approach throughout, and remains fully responsible for the final content in every chapter.

    AI Tools Used

    Two AI tools were used in the development of this book. ChatGPT (GPT-4) was used mainly for editorial assistance, including refining language, reorganizing existing material, improving readability, checking consistency, and helping present instructional content more clearly throughout.

    Claude (Anthropic), versions 3.5 Sonnet and 4 Sonnet, was used for editorial and formatting assistance as well, including tightening explanations, correcting inconsistencies between sections, adjusting tone so the material read naturally rather than in an obviously AI-generated style, and reformatting chapters to follow a consistent OER structure. Other AI-assisted tools may also have been used periodically for proofreading, formatting, and accessibility review.

    How AI Was Used

    AI was used only after the author had already written the underlying content, concept, or instructional material. The tools were not used to generate new instructional content from scratch. Common uses included tightening existing explanations, correcting inconsistent terminology, adjusting reading level, fixing formatting issues, and revising phrasing so it matched the author's own voice.

    Representative Prompts Given to Claude
    • "Fix the formatting inconsistencies in this chapter so the headings and structure match the rest of the book."
    • "Tighten this section without changing the technical meaning."
    • "Take this case study theme and make it more conversational. Add dialogue between the characters instead of narrating what happened."
    Representative Prompts Given to ChatGPT
    • "Rewrite this section so that it is clear and accessible to community college students while preserving the underlying concepts."
    • "Improve the organization and flow of this explanation without changing its technical meaning."
    • "Check this passage for consistency with the terminology used earlier in the chapter."

    These examples illustrate the general types of assistance requested and are not intended to represent an exhaustive record of AI interactions throughout the project.

    Guardrails and Limitations

    AI output was treated as a draft or editorial suggestion rather than as an authoritative source. All AI-assisted material was reviewed by the author before inclusion in the book. Technical explanations and factual claims were checked for accuracy, and citations, references, statistics, or other externally verifiable information were confirmed against appropriate sources before publication.

    AI was not used to generate or analyze private student information, nor was it used as a substitute for the author's professional judgment or teaching experience. The purpose of using AI was to improve the efficiency of converting several years of instructional material into a clear, accessible, and consistent open educational resource. The intellectual foundation of the book, including its core ideas, instructional structure, selection of topics, and pedagogical approach, comes from the author, with AI serving as a supporting editorial tool throughout.