Logging into AI Tools
It is recommended that students and staff use their institutional credentials when accessing AI tools provided by the university to ensure compliance with security agreements and data protection policies.
Limitations of AI
AI tools may present biases, inaccuracies, fabricated information (hallucinations) and unidentifiable sources. Students must critically evaluate AI-generated content and cross-check sources for validity. Additionally, AI models have environmental impacts, including energy consumption and carbon emissions, reinforcing the importance of mindful usage. For more detail see the separate section on 'Limitations of GenAI'.
Responsibilities of Students and Educators
Students:
- Understand and adhere to university guidelines for AI usage.
- Seek support and clarification when unsure about ethical AI tool usage in coursework.
- Maintain originality and ensure academic work reflects independent understanding, analysis and creativity.
Educators:
- Provide clear expectations on AI use in academic settings.
- Educate students on ethical implications and academic integrity when using AI.
- Monitor and address improper AI usage in assessments.
Legitimate Use as a Part of your Studies
Higher Education is about you developing your own subject knowledge, critical thinking, language, communication, reasoning, and creativity skills.
Your assessments are an opportunity for you to learn more about your subject area, to demonstrate your understanding and meet the learning outcomes of your modules. It’s through this process of reading, thinking and writing about your subject that most of your learning takes place. If you outsource significant parts of that process to a GenAI tool you will be missing out on valuable learning opportunities, and not developing the basic subject knowledge that employers will be expecting.
However, there are some legitimate ways in which GenAI tools can support your learning, these include:
- Conversing with AI about a topic to deepen your understanding
- Creating mock exam questions on a topic, to help with revision
- Suggesting alternative ways of structuring your assignment
- Kickstarting idea generation for images or graphics
- Experimenting with different writing styles
- Kickstarting research as a basis for further reading
- Identifying basic grammar errors
Although remember the ‘don’ts’ – especially regarding sharing original or copyrighted materials with AI.
Help and Support
For guidance on responsible AI use, students should consult university-provided policies, academic integrity guidelines, or seek support from faculty and library teams.
This article is based on guidance provided by Nottingham Trent University, UK.