Academic Integrity is Critical

Academic integrity requires honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility, and respect, especially when using AI in academic work. Students should always consult instructors for assignment-specific AI guidelines, ensure their work is authentically their own, and properly cite any AI assistance following institutional or style guide standards. Submitting AI-generated content as original work or using AI to fabricate information is unethical. Since AI detection tools can be unreliable, the focus should be on genuine learning and transparency. Users must critically evaluate AI outputs by fact-checking, questioning reliability, and being aware of knowledge cut-offs. Ethical AI use also involves recognizing potential biases, protecting privacy and intellectual property, and using AI to enhance—rather than replace—personal learning and skill development.

Consult Your Instructor: Always check your syllabus and consult with individual instructors for specific guidelines on AI use for each assignment. Policies can vary significantly by course, discipline, and even assignment.
Ensure Authenticity: Check and double-check the sources that AI is using to produce its output to ensure that they are real.
Cite AI Assistance Properly: When AI tools are permitted, transparency is key. Properly cite AI assistance by clearly stating the specific AI tool used, its purpose in your work (e.g., brainstorming, editing), the extent of its influence (minimal, moderate, extensive), and the human oversight involved in reviewing and verifying the output.

CWRU Resources

AI and Academic Writing: The Writing Program at CWRU offers advice, critical questions, and resources to help you center academic integrity when engaging with AI and the writing process.
CWRU's Academic Integrity Policy

Think Critically and Apply Ethics

Responsible AI use extends to ethical considerations and data handling:

Evaluate for Bias: Actively look for and critically evaluate potential biases in AI outputs, recognizing that AI can perpetuate stereotypes or discriminatory perspectives present in its training data.
Protect Your Privacy and Intellectual Property: Understand that AI tools may retain user inputs and generated content, potentially compromising privacy or the originality of your work. Exercise caution and do not input sensitive personal information or intellectual property (your own or others') into AI tools without fully understanding how it will be stored and used.
Enhance, Don't Replace, Learning: Recognize that AI should serve as a tool to enhance your learning and productivity, not to replace the development of your own critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Over-reliance can lead to significant knowledge gaps.