Developing an AI Syllabus Statement for Your Course

It’s important to have a conversation with students regarding how you expect them to use (or not use) AI tools in your course. The guidance you provide should align with other ethical standards expected of students in your course. You may want to refer to the Academic Integrity: Overview from the NC State University Office of Student Conduct and align any statement with the same spirit of academic integrity. As of August 2023, there is no official university policy regarding AI use. See also the NC State Office of Faculty Excellence: Navigating the Landscape of Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence site.

Sample statements
Questions to consider
Examples
Discussing ethics of AI use
Resources

Sample AI Usage Syllabus Statements

The following statements are adapted from a conversation with the AI tool Bing Chat (powered by GPT-4).

Most Restrictive

Use of AI Tools: This course requires you to complete various assignments that assess your understanding and application of the course content. You are expected to do your own work and cite any sources you use properly. You are not allowed to use any artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as chatbots, text generators, paraphrasers, summarizers, or solvers, to complete any part of your assignments. Using AI tools is considered a form of academic dishonesty and will result in a zero grade for the assignment and possible disciplinary action. If you have any questions about what constitutes acceptable use of AI tools, please consult with the instructor before submitting your work.

Moderately Restrictive

Use of AI Tools: This course permits you to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as chatbots, text generators, paraphrasers, summarizers, or solvers, to get guidance on assignments, as long as you do so in an ethical and responsible manner. Essentially, you can think of these tools as ways to help you learn but not to entirely create work for assignments like discussion board posts, essays, presentation slides, and so on. AI is more like your tutor or TA, not a replacement for your independent thinking.

This means that you must:

Not use AI tools to replace your own thinking or analysis or to avoid engaging with the course content.
Cite or explain any AI tools you use. Provide the name of the AI tool, the date of access, the URL of the interface, and the specific prompt or query you used to generate the output.
Be transparent and honest about how you used the AI tool and how it contributed to your assignment. Explain what you learned from the AI tool, how you verified its accuracy and reliability, how you integrated its output with your own work, and how you acknowledged its limitations and biases.

You are accountable for any mistakes or errors made by the AI tool. Do not rely on the AI tool to produce flawless or correct results. Always check and edit the output before submitting your work. If you discover any inaccuracies or inconsistencies in the output after submission, notify the instructor immediately and correct them as soon as possible.

Using AI tools in an unethical or irresponsible manner, such as copying or paraphrasing the output without citation or transparency, using the output as your own work without verification or integration, or using the output to misrepresent your knowledge or skills, is considered a form of academic dishonesty and will result in a zero grade for the assignment and possible disciplinary action. If you have any questions about what constitutes ethical and responsible use of AI tools, please consult with the instructor before submitting your work.

Least Restrictive

Use of AI Tools: This course recognizes the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as chatbots, text generators, paraphrasers, summarizers, or solvers, to enhance your learning and creativity. You are welcome to use AI tools as supplementary resources to assist you with your assignments, as long as you do so in an ethical and responsible manner. We may also integrate AI Tools into some of our assignments. This means that you must:

Use AI tools only for tasks that are appropriate for your level of learning and understanding. Do not use AI tools to replace your own thinking or analysis, or to avoid engaging with the course content.
Cite any AI tools you use properly, following the citation style specified by the instructor. Provide the name of the AI tool, the date of access, the URL of the interface, and the specific prompt or query you used to generate the output.
- For example: Bing. “recent high quality instructional materials for teaching algebra to college students.” Accessed August 1, 2023. https://www.bing.com/chat.
Provide evidence of how you used the AI tool and how it contributed to your assignment. Explain what you learned from the AI tool, how you verified its accuracy and reliability, how you integrated its output with your own work, and how you acknowledged its limitations and biases.
Take full responsibility for any mistakes or errors made by the AI tool. Do not rely on the AI tool to produce flawless or correct results. Always check and edit the output before submitting your work. If you discover any inaccuracies or inconsistencies in the output after submission, notify the instructor immediately and correct them as soon as possible.
If you are working on a group assignment, disuss the use of AI tools with your group members adn agree to how you plan to use them and how you will be transparent with the instructor regarding their use.

Using AI tools in an unethical or irresponsible manner, such as copying or paraphrasing the output without citation or evidence, using the output as your own work without verification or integration, or using the output to misrepresent your knowledge or skills, is considered a form of academic dishonesty and will result in a zero grade for the assignment and possible disciplinary action. If you have any questions about what constitutes ethical and responsible use of AI tools, please consult with the instructor before submitting your work.

Questions to Consider When Developing Your Own AI Syllabus Statement

Does your statement cover different types of assignments, i.e., tests, essays, presentations, group work, etc.?
Do you want to ask students to verify or check sources of information used by an AI tool when possible?
Do you want to ask students to consider representation in any AI responses that they use in their work?

Example Syllabus Statements From Various Institutions and Instructors

University of Minnesota: Different “levels” of AI use from encouraged to limiting to prohibiting
UNC Charlotte: Prohibitive Statement and Encouraging Statement/Guidelines
Duke University: Guidance related to plagiarism, cheating, attribution, and acceptable use
Penn State University: Syllabus Statements | AI, Pedagogy, and Academic Integrity
Oregon State University: AI Sample Syllabus Statements and Assignment Language
Multiple Institutions: A crowd-sourced, growing listing of policies at various institutions

Discussing the Ethics of AI Use With Students

Consider summarizing for students at the beginning of the semester some of the positive uses of generative AI and some of the negatives and problems with using generative AI. You may want to ask some guiding questions to engage students in a discussion about AI use.

Positive aspects of AI use	Concerning aspects of AI use	Guided Discussion Questions
Generate blog posts, emails, social media posts, or website content and more based on keywords, topics, or data	Gender and Racial Bias in AI	How can AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard help people with their writing? What are some of the concerns about gender and racial bias in AI tools? How can we mitigate gender and racial bias in generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard?
Create lesson plans and example problem sets, examples of content, etc., for students.	Students may cheat, and AI may generate false data	What are the ethical implications for using AI tools for content creation in courses? What kind of citation or credit should be expected of instructors and students in our course when AI tools are used?
Exploring new forms of art and media from AI-generated images and creative works	Diminished human creativity and expression and copyright or intellectual property concerns with how AI systems are “trained.”	What are some of the potential benefits of using AI tools for art and media creation? How can we ensure that AI tools are used in a way that benefits human creativity?
Reduction in errors in basic coding, writing samples, and so on	Lack of basic skill development	{These basic skills} are important in our field. How can we both use AI tools in our course while ensuring students learn basic skills to be able to grow as an expert in the field? How can we ensure that AI tools are used in a way that promotes basic skill development, including {important basic skills}?

Ideas for discussing positive and concerning aspects of AI use with students

Ideas for Activities

Class Debate: Divide the class into two groups, one representing the proponents of using generative AI for course assignments and the other representing the opponents. Have each group research and prepare arguments to support their stance. Conduct a structured debate where students present their points and counter-arguments.
Case Studies: Assign students to research real-world examples where generative AI has been used in different fields of study, such as writing, art, or coding projects. Have them analyze the outcomes, benefits, and potential drawbacks of each case. Encourage discussions on ethical implications and impact on creativity. Examples:
- Healthcare – Generative AI used to develop new drugs, treatments, design devices, provide chatbot art therapy, and more.
- Finance – Automate trading, develop new products, detect fraud
- Arts – creating new works
- Marketing – using data and algorithms to connect to end users
Ethical Dilemmas: Present students with hypothetical scenarios where the use of generative AI could be considered both advantageous and problematic. Encourage them to explore the ethical considerations, potential biases, and implications for originality and creativity. Examples.
Brainstorming Sessions: Hold brainstorming sessions where students collectively explore potential applications of generative AI for solving real-world problems or enhancing creative outcomes. Discuss the implications of these ideas and how they could be integrated into coursework.