Generative AI for Learners: Academic Integrity

You could argue that using ChatGPT or other generative AI tools isn't plagiarism; you aren't copying someone else's work after all, and it is original content, but you are copying *something's* work and the work is not your original content - all you did was type a prompt "write me an essay on..."., hence using ChatGPT or another tool to write your essay is plagiarism. Using generative AI is a very bad breach of academic integrity. Using these tools is no better than copying your work from random internet sites, here's why:

These tools are not intelligent. They're basically sophisticated versions of the autocomplete you see when you start typing a search query or the prompts that you see while texting (some people joke that the GPT in ChatGPT stands for good predictive texting)
Consequently, these tools don't know anything, what's right or what's wrong, what's fact and what's nonsense. All they do is produce content that sounds plausible. They can sound authoritative, but all they're doing is stringing words together.
Because they don't know anything, they make stuff up, including fake references from fake information sources that don't exist. If you have ChatGPT write your assignment, and it makes up references, then if anyone goes looking for these sources, you're busted.
If you've submitted original work in the past, then your teachers have an idea of your writing voice (your style, born from the words you use and how you arrange them, your tone and point of view). Generative AI writes very robotically, with a lot of repetition of words and sentence structure. It's possible (still) to distinguish AI-generated from human content, especially when you know the writer's voice.

Remember that the point of assignments is not just to produce an essay or other output, but to apply the skills, knowledge, and critical thinking abilities that you have developed in the classroom. Using AI as a tool to support your learning can be valuable as long as it stays within ethical and academic integrity boundaries.

Learners can use generative AI tools while still maintaining academic integrity. Some tips:

Use AI As a Learning Aid, Not a Replacement

Instead of relying solely on AI-generated content, use generative AI tools to learn and improve your skills. Generative AI can assist you in various tasks, but it should be used as a learning aid rather than a replacement for critical thinking and effort. Use AI to complement your studies, not to do the work for you. You can ask it questions and use it to help plan your study. This page has more examples on how learners can use generative AI

Understand Your Institution's Policies

If your college has a policy on AI use, make sure you read it. It almost certainly has an academic integrity policy, and that should say something about generative AI use. Different institutions might have different guidelines, so you can't look up a policy on the Internet and use that as the basis for proceeding. It's essential to know what is acceptable. If they don't have a policy (they will soon!) then...

Ask Your Teacher's Permission

*Before* using AI-generated content in your assignments or projects, tell your teachers what you plan to do. They can provide guidance on how AI-generated content can be used responsibly in your specific courses.

Review and Edit AI-Generated Content

If you're allowed to use generative AI content, then don't blindly accept its output. Review and edit it to ensure it makes sense, it reads ok, and it's relevant to your assignment's requirements - and remember the possibly fake references!

Keep Track of How You Use Generative AI

Keep a log of how you use generative AI. This will make it easy to cite contributions (below), figure out if you're using it correctly, make it easier to get suggestions on how to use it better and cover yourself against being accused of plagiarism or other academic integrity breaches.

Clearly Signpost AI Contributions and Cite Them Appropriately

If you use AI to generate content, such as text or graphics, for assignments, then clearly indicate which parts of your work were generated by AI and which were created by you. Remember, you have to give credit to the work of others, even when the other is a piece of software! Always give credit to the AI tool or platform you used, both in the text and in the reference list. The referencing page in this section has guidelines on citing generative AI.

Some good practice guidelines:

State how you used the tool
Describe the prompt that generated the specific AI model response
Include in your reference the date of your chat/prompt
Save a transcript of your chat and make it available to your reader as an appendix to your work or provide a link to an online version

Talk About AI

Talk with your classmates and teachers. This might help you develop a better understanding of what's going on and reduce the temptation to use AI tools as a shortcut.

Think About the Ethics of Using AI

Think about the following:

Your coursework is designed to demonstrate what you have learned in class. If you used AI in a piece of coursework, would it be doing the work of demonstrating those skills for you?
If you intend to upload material to the chatbot, ask the following:
- Do you have permission?
- Is the material copyrighted?
- Does it contain private and confidential information?

Seek Guidance and Clarification

If you're not sure if using generative AI in a certain way is okay or breaks your college's rules, ask your teachers for help.

Image source: Is it safe to use ChatGPT for your task? By Aleksandr Tiulkanov CC-BY licence