That means that information that is locked behind subscriptions or paywalls - such as many scholarly journal articles and almost all industry reports or market research reports -- weren't use in the AI tool's training materials and won't be factored into or cited in its responses to your prompts. It's easy to assume that AI tools know "everything" but that isn't true, at least not yet.
AI tools have access to information only up to a specific date, called the knowledge cutoff date. When using an AI tool for research, it's essential to identify this cutoff date and supplement the AI outputs with more up-to-date sources.
To test the knowledge cutoff date, ask the AI tool. Or ask whether a recently deceased celebrity is alive. Note: Microsoft Copilot, the JMU approved generative AI tool, doesn't have a knowledge cutoff date.
Researchers Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld & Joanne Lipman (2025) say: "The more that these models are “trained” on incorrect information — including misinformation and the frequent hallucinations they generate themselves — the less accurate they become. Essentially, the “wisdom of crowds” is turned on its head, with false information feeding on itself and metastasizing."
Some of the companies that sell business information are strict about how there information can be used in AI tools. Pay attention to the guidance on the pages of this research guide. And ask Prof. Price if you're unsure if your proposed usage might be illegal.
When using generative AI tools for course assignments, academic work, or other forms of published writing, you should give special attention to how you acknowledge and cite the output of those tools in your work. Learn more about Citation & Attribution of AI.
Yes, JMU makes Microsoft Copilot available to the university community with commercial data protections. Copilot is a powerful generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) chat service based on the GPT-4 model, and it can also leverage the DALL-E 3 text-to-image model.
If you have questions or require assistance with Copilot, please contact the IT Help Desk by calling (540)568-3555 or emailing helpdesk@jmu.edu.