Generative AI

L Furze, M Perkins, J Roe, and J MacVaugh (2024). THE AI ASSESSMENT SCALE (AIAS) IN ACTION: A PILOT IMPLEMENTATION OF GENAI SUPPORTED ASSESSMENT.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.14692

Anna Hegsted (College of Southern Idaho) added the following statement in her Biol 250 General Microbiology Syllabus
Chat GTP and Generative AI
Unless the assignment specifically bans it, generative AI (like Chat GTP) may be used. Students who chose to use generative AI must do the follow:
• Submit the prompt and original output produced by the generative AI with the assignment when they turn it in.
• Submit the final product. Generative AI is NOT a search engine and is NOT always accurate. It is the student’s responsibility to fact check any work produced by generative AI. These changes should be in the edited final product.
• Add references in CSE format. If you ask Chat GTP to provide references, it will either (1) not do it or (2) make them up. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that all work is properly cited (in CSE format) and that the references are real.
• Acknowledge the use of generative AI.

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Eric Stoffregen (Lewis-Clark State College) added the following statement in his Biology Course
Artificial Intelligence Tools

The expert use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as the large language models like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude, may become an important skill for careers in the not-too-distant future. Therefore, we will be using these tools as part of assignments in this course. But outside of those assignments, please see the rest of this information regarding my policies on these tools.

AI tools can be valuable for augmenting critical thinking and to support learning, but it is not a replacement for either! While AI can provide a wealth of information and insights, it is important to remember that it is a machine and not a human expert. It is not capable of independent thinking or making judgments based on personal experiences, cultural contexts, or ethical considerations. Therefore, it is important that if you use these tools, they are used as a complementary tool to academic work, and not as a replacement for one’s own thinking and analysis.

Academic work involves developing essential skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication, which cannot be fully developed by relying solely on AI. Engaging in independent research, reading, writing, and discussion with peers and instructors are crucial components of academic work that should not be overlooked or replaced by technology. Think of AI tools as a resource for enhancing or supplementing academic work, but not a replacement for independent thinking and academic inquiry.

In this course, you may use AI programs to help brainstorm or fine tune your ideas, as a tool to check grammar and style in your writing, or to help you find an expression to use in your writing. There are some important caveats to this allowable use of AI tools so please continue reading.

• First, you need to acknowledge when using these AI tools. Pay close attention to the work produced from AI so that it can be properly cited and so you can explain your use when requested. My recommendation is to screenshot and save everything (i.e., what prompts you used, what answers were produced, and where, why, and how you used that information). The tools are new, but basic attribution rules still apply. Cite everything, otherwise you are likely violating academic integrity policies.
  • Since AI tools like ChatGPT are so new, it’s going to take a while for society to figure out when using these tools is/isn’t acceptable. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Work created by AI tools may not be considered original work and may instead constitute automated plagiarism. The work it produces is derived from previously created texts from other sources that the AI models were trained on, yet it does not cite those sources.

2. AI models have built-in biases (i.e., they are trained on limited underlying sources; they reproduce, rather than challenge, errors in the sources).

3. AI tools have limitations (i.e., they lack critical thinking to evaluate and reflect on criteria; they lack abductive reasoning to make judgments with incomplete information at hand).

• It is important to understand that the material generated by these programs may be inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise problematic.
  • Don’t trust anything these systems say. Assume it is wrong, unless you can verify the information with trusted sources.
• You may not use entire sentences or paragraphs suggested by an AI tool in your writing without providing quotation marks and a citation, just as you would from any other source. Citations should take this form: OpenAI, chatGPT. Response to prompt: “Explain what is meant by the term ‘Triple Bottom Line’” (February 15, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/)
• You may not have an app write a draft (either rough or final) of an assignment for you.
• AI tools are not allowed during in-class examinations or assignments unless explicitly permitted and instructed.
• This policy on the use of AI tools is specific to this course and is not an official policy of LC State. Make sure you understand the policies on the use of AI tools for your other courses, which may not be the same as these.

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