Clarity Platform FAQs

​The Clarity platform is part of Yale’s AI initiative to offer the Yale community secure and equitable access to AI. The first tool to launch on the Clarity platform is a secure, conversational chatbot with innovative capabilities. It is available to all students, faculty, and staff.

​The Clarity platform will evolve to support additional use cases such as the creation of custom AI agents and direct access to AI models, enabling developers to incorporate these tools into applications used for research, teaching, and other use cases.​ 

​An AI chatbot is a tool designed to simulate human-like conversations. You can think of it as a virtual assistant that you interact with. You can ask it questions or give it commands, and it responds conversationally. At the heart of an AI chatbot is a large language model, like GPT-4o, Llama, Claude, or others. These models excel at producing responses to natural language prompts. While these responses can sound authoritative and convincing, they can contain mistakes and falsehoods. You should check AI chatbot responses for accuracy. Some AI chatbots integrate tools like code interpreters and can support a variety of advanced tasks, from analyzing and summarizing documents to assisting with coding projects. 

​The AI chatbot on the Clarity platform is like Microsoft Copilot with Data Protection or OpenAI’s ChatGPT but housed within Yale’s secure infrastructure. Users are expected to observe relevant security standards when handling data provided to or created by Clarity.

Yale University operates under a shared responsibility model, which means that each individual using University-provided technology, including the Clarity AI chatbot, must do so in a responsible and appropriate manner.  You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Clarity AI chatbot complies with all University policies that may be applicable to you, such as the University policies on academic integrity, the Yale University Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment and the Yale University Sexual Misconduct Policies. When using the Clarity AI Chatbot, you must also remain mindful of and comply with any third-party requirements and restrictions applicable to the information that you upload to the Clarity AI chatbot.

Please be aware that AI-generated content may sometimes be inaccurate, misleading or entirely fabricated (sometimes called “hallucinations”) or may contain information protected by third-party intellectual property or other rights. As such, you must carefully evaluate the content generated by the Clarity AI chatbot. You are responsible for any content that you produce, publish or otherwise use that includes content generated by the Clarity AI chatbot.

The Clarity AI chatbot is designed to assist your University work and daily tasks, including research, and teaching and learning. Policy 1607 (Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy), which provides guidelines for the appropriate use of University IT Systems, applies to your use of the Clarity AI chatbot. Any misuse of the Clarity AI chatbot, such as using the Clarity AI chatbot to engage in activities that are illegal, infringe on the rights of others or otherwise violate applicable University policy, or conducting unauthorized security tests of the Clarity AI chatbot, may result in restricted or prohibited access.

In addition, jailbreaking the Clarity AI chatbot by modifying or manipulating the Clarity AI chatbot to bypass built-in safeguards is prohibited. If the Clarity AI chatbot does not support your desired action, you are encouraged to contact us or suggest a new feature instead of attempting to alter the Clarity AI chatbot’s functionality.

All users must use the Clarity AI chatbot ethically and responsibly, keeping in mind the collaborative and supportive purpose it serves.

The AI chatbot can be accessed on the Clarity platform. You will need to log in with your Yale email. 

The rate message functionality allows you to indicate whether you find a response helpful or not and to submit comments about the response. The information is not shared with anyone at Yale. The ratings do not impact the responses from the chatbot. In the future we may extend this functionality of these buttons to aggregate feedback in order to improve the performance of the chatbot, after confirming with the user that they agree to share the feedback.

A token count is displayed for your prompt and for the generated response. Instead of words or characters, tokens are a measurement tool used to assess the length of chat inputs and outputs, defining the amount of work the agent must perform. Usually, it is not something you as a user should be worried about.

None of the AI chatbots on the Clarity platform have the capability to browse the internet to provide up-to-date information and is relying on its training data when generating responses. The training data is current as of October 2023.

​For searching within the file, the following file types are supported: 

• Text Files: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .pptx, .txt, .md, .tex
• Data Files: .json
• Code Files: .c, .cpp, .cs, .css, .html, .java, .js, .php, .py, .rb, .sh, .ts

​For interpreting the file using code, the following file types are supported: 

• Text Files: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .pptx, .txt, .md, .tex
• Data Files: .csv, .xlsx, .json, .xml
• Code Files: .c, .cpp, .cs, .css, .html, .java, .js, .php, .py, .rb, .sh, .ts
• Image Files: .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .png
• Compressed/Archive Files: .tar, .zip

​Over 100 languages are supported. However, please be aware that while the AI chatbot can understand and generate text in these languages, the quality of the responses may vary based on the language’s complexity and the context of the request.

Currently, you can’t export your chat conversations, but you can print your chat conversations and save the chat conversation as a PDF. Please refer to this how-to guide outlining the steps to do so.  

Clarity is appropriate for use with low, medium and most high-risk data, with the notable exception of Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). In addition, users with external obligations affecting their data, such as data use agreements, should also make sure their use of Clarity is appropriate. For more information about Clarity’s security controls and high-risk data, refer to Clarity Platform Security.    

Yes, your questions and responses from the AI chatbot on the Clarity platform are securely stored within Yale’s IT infrastructure.

​Your conversations with the AI chatbot on the Clarity platform will be accessible to you, IT Systems Administrators, and Microsoft. As with any IT system, the data you enter can be accessed by IT Systems Administrators; however, this would only be done in accordance with Policy 1607.2 (Conditions for University Access).  Also, since abuse monitoring is enabled, your conversations will be accessible to Microsoft.

No, the Clarity platform utilizes a security architecture that applies role-based access control to the information you enter into the chatbot. Every attempt to access data first verifies that the user who created the data is the one attempting to use it.

Training material, including key terms and training videos on AI, can be found on the Learn About AI page.   ​

​Training material specific to the Clarity platform can be found on the Clarity Platform page.

​To upload a file during your conversation, you can use the “Attach File” button located at the bottom of the chat interface and next to the message box.  

​Here’s a step-by-step guide: 

1. ​Select the paperclip button: Look for the paperclip icon labeled “Attach File” in the chat interface. 
2. ​Select your file: A file explorer window will open, allowing you to select one or multiple files from your computer. Navigate to the file you want to upload and select it. 
3. ​Upload the file: After selecting the file, confirm the upload by selecting the upload button. A progress indicator will display, indicating that the file is being uploaded and a success message will display when the file has been successfully uploaded. 

Once the file is uploaded, you can interact with the AI chatbot to get analyses, summaries or to process information from the document. 

Currently, there is no limit to the number of files that can be uploaded per chat session. However, files can only be uploaded one at a time. We are working on resolving an issue with multiple file uploads. 

​The file size limit is 512MB for any type of file. An error message will show up on your chat session if the file limit has been exceeded. 

​There is no limit to how many chat sessions a user can have. If you don’t want to keep a chat, you have the option to delete it from the chat history. 

​To have multiple chat sessions at once, click on the “+” in the upper left corner of your chat window to start additional chat sessions. 

The AI chatbot on the Clarity platform is a general-purpose AI chatbot and it has not been trained on Yale specific data. AI chatbots, including the AI chatbot on the Clarity platform, may make mistakes in its responses. AI chatbots are very good at generating content, which is one of the reasons they are very popular, but that content can be inaccurate, misleading, or entirely fabricated, sometimes called “hallucinations”. This is one of the limitations of AI chatbots and it highlights why it is important to always fact-check the responses you receive. Remember that you are responsible for any content you produce or publish, including AI-generated material.  

Also, it’s important to understand the limitations of AI chatbots. They might not always have the information you need, especially if it’s very domain-specific or beyond their knowledge cut-off date.  AI chatbots are powered by large language models that may reflect biases in their training data. Consequently, the responses they produce reflect their inherent bias and the quality of their programming and training data.   

​The Clarity AI chatbot has several agents available. Please refer to the Clarity Agents Page which outlines each of the agents and their differences.

No, the AI chatbot on the Clarity platform does not have direct access to real-time information.

If one of the agents in Clarity generates an image of a graph and not the actual graph, it suggests that DALL-E, the image generating model, was invoked. To get the actual graph, you can prompt the agent to use code instead to generate the graph. 

You need to be logged into the Clarity platform and have either the “GPT-4o” or “GPT-4o-mini” agent selected in the agent dropdown. In the text box area, you need to prompt Clarity along the lines of “Create an image of….”.   

Prompt examples to generate images include:  

• Create an image of an oil painting in the surrealist style of Salvador Dali of an English Bulldog dreaming of New Haven pizzas. 
• A vertically oriented portrait of an English bulldog chasing a squirrel while wearing fancy sunglasses. 

Clarity utilizes DALL-E 3 to generate images. 

Yes, Clarity can generate and return images in one of 3 sizes: 1024x1024, 1792x1024, and 1024x1792. The default value is the 1024x1024 square image. If you prefer a different size, include “generate a horizontal image” or “generate a vertical image” in your prompt. 

If you request an image that violates the Content Safety rules, Clarity will display the following message: “I’m sorry, but I can’t create an image of ……… This type of content is inappropriate and potentially distressing. If you need an image depicting a scenario related to ……. in a more informative or educational context, please let me know, and I’d be happy to assist with that.”

If you get another error, please reach out to us. 

The model comes with a default Content Safety enabled which is followed to ensure that the images created are appropriate, safe, and respectful. The key content safety rules adhered to include: 

• Hate Speech: Images that depict or promote hate speech, violence, or  discrimination against any individual or group based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability are strictly prohibited.
• Violence: Images containing graphic violence, gore, or depictions of bodily harm  or injury are not allowed. Any content that glamorizes or incites violence is strictly forbidden.
• Self-Harm: Images that depict or encourage self-harm, suicide, or harmful behavior towards oneself are not permitted. 
• Sexual Content: Explicit sexual content, nudity, or images that are sexually suggestive or exploitative are prohibited. 
• Profanity: Images containing profane language, obscene gestures, or explicit content are not allowed. 
• Child Safety: Any depiction of children in harmful, abusive, or exploitative situations is strictly forbidden. Content featuring minors must adhere to strict guidelines to ensure their safety and well-being. 
• Misleading Information: Images designed to spread false information, misinformation, or conspiracy theories are not allowed. 
• Sensitive Events: Depictions of sensitive events such as natural disasters, terrorism, war, or traumatic historical events must be handled with care to avoid causing distress or harm. 
• Illegal Activities: Images that depict or promote illegal activities, including drug use, theft, vandalism, and other criminal acts, are prohibited 

After the image has been generated, right click on the image and select “Save image as…” and select the location where you want to store the image. Please be aware that the generated image expires after 24 hours so you will need to save the image if you want to keep it.

The generated images expire after 24 hours so you will need to save your images if you want to keep them. 

When you prompt Clarity to edit the generated image it will not edit the existing image but will generate a new image in response to the prompt. For more complicated image tasks, please use another AI tool such as Adobe Firefly which includes tools to edit and customize generated images. 

Yes, you can generate images using Clarity from your mobile device.

No there is no limit on the number of images that you can generate with Clarity. 

There is no way to improve the quality of the generated image. If you want to be able to adjust the settings such as the quality of the image and configure more advanced settings, please use Adobe Firefly.

Please refer to the Knowledge Base article on how to connect to your Yale OneDrive account in Clarity.  

Your profile picture appears in Clarity because it is linked to your Yale-affiliated Microsoft account. When you connect your OneDrive or use the same account details to log into Clarity, the associated profile information, including your profile picture, gets integrated. 

There are two ways that you can disconnect from your OneDrive in Clarity.  

You can make a soft disconnect by: 

1. Select the paper clip icon next to the text message area. 
2. Select the option “Disconnect OneDrive” and you will now not be able to select files from your OneDrive until you decide to reconnect to your OneDrive account.  

The soft disconnection from your OneDrive account does not revoke your access grant via Microsoft. Please follow the following steps, if you want to revoke the access grant via Microsoft too: 

1. Navigate to Microsoft’s website. 
2. Find the app named FoundationaLLM-Core-Portal and select the three dots next to the app and choose “Manage your application”. Do NOT select the option to “Remove” the app. 
3. On the FoundationaLLM-Core-Portal page you have the option to the right to select “Revoke Consent”. 
4. Now when you go back into Clarity and select a file from OneDrive, a pop-up window will ask you to grant Clarity the necessary permissions to access your OneDrive files. You will only have to accept the permissions to connect to your OneDrive. 

There is a hard limit of 512MB per file and currently you can only upload one file at a time as we are working on fixing the issue with the multiple file upload functionality. All common file types are supported, including text files, spreadsheets, presentations, and documents. Please refer to the FAQ that outlines the supported file types.