Using ChatGPT and other LLMs is fraught with ethical questions. As a general rule in this course, I will distinguish between two uses of AI:

1. Copy-Paste. An assignment you are turning in for credit includes text that was generated directly by AI or modified by AI.

2. Not Copy-Paste. You used an AI to help you, but no text was directly copied or pasted from an AI or paraphrased. Examples include brainstorming ideas, explaining text, generating practice questions, helping design an outline, or providing feedback on a draft.

Any work that falls under (1) Copy-Paste must be acknowledged with a citation and a link to the conversation and includes strict boundaries around its use. Any work that falls under (2) does not require a citation or acknowledgement, but you may provide a citation just to cover your bases.

I encourage you to use AI under (2). AI can be very helpful as a learning tool if you use it to enhance your own work, not replace it. I highly discourage use that falls under (1), as you are outsourcing learning to an AI. While I will allow you to use content generated by an AI, you must adhere to the following guidelines:

• All AI-generated content, modified or unmodified, must be accompanied by an in-text citation as well as accompanying links to the conversations used. You should be very up front about what work was generated by you and what work was generated by an AI.
• You take full responsibility for the accuracy and quality of work generated by the AI. If it doesn’t meet the criteria for the assignment, you will not get full credit. I will hold your work to a much higher standard if you choose to use AI-generated content.
• You should not use an AI for personal reflection assignments. I will ask you in this course for your thoughts and opinions. An AI cannot generate your thoughts and ideas for you. I want to hear from you, not the AI.

If I suspect you used an AI to complete an assignment without acknowledgement, the following actions will be taken:

• I will put a temporary hold on the assignment or question with a 0.
• I will contact you. If you did use AI, you may provide the conversations with LLMs and get the points back for the assignment immediately.
• If you did not use AI, you will be invited to meet with me in person to walk me through your development process. Things you may choose to bring to demonstrate your work are previous versions of your solution and your pseudocode and other personal notes.
• If the issue can’t be resolved with these remedies, I will escalate the incident to the Dean’s office to be resolved independently.

Unacknowledged AI use has a two-strikes policy. The first incidents will not be docked after the links to AI conversations are provided. On the second occurrence, the assignment in question will receive a 0 and the student will be referred to the Dean’s office.

In summary:

• AI use for consultation but not content generation is allowed without citation.
• Direct content from AIs must be acknowledged with a direct link to the full conversation.
• AI use for personal reflections is prohibited.

AI Acknowledgement

Each homework assignment you complete includes the following AI Acknowledgement statement that you must complete in order to get credit.

Please indicate if and how you used ChatGPT or other LLMs on this assignment. Use the option that best fits your use case:

☐ I did not use ChatGPT/LLMs.
☐ I consulted ChatGPT/LLMs (to brainstorm, to debug, to get information, to give feedback), but I did not copy and paste or use text directly from ChatGPT/LLMs.
☐ I copied and pasted portions of code directly from ChatGPT/LLMs.
☐ I consulted other outside sources other than ChatGPT/LLMs.

Please provide any and all links to ChatGPT/LLM conversations or other sources used in this assignment and describe how they were used:

Use AI Only In Approved Circumstances With Acknowledgement. Students are allowed to use advanced automated tools (artificial intelligence or machine learning tools such as ChatGPT or Bard) for limited purposes assignments in this course if that use is properly documented and credited. For example, text generated using ChatGPT version 4 (ChatGPT-4) should include a citation such as:

• “ChatGPT-4. (YYYY, Month DD of query). “Text of your query.” Generated using OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com/”
• Material generated using other tools should follow a similar citation convention.
• Students are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of any information provided by an AI tool.

Approved Uses: 

• Debugging: Ex. “Why does “df$missing <- is.na(df$variable]” in R return an error?
• For citing us of AI for debugging, just note that you used AI for debugging
• General function advice:
• Ex. “What function in R allows me to combine two dataframes?”
• Cite the actual query here as AI often returns different ways to do this than we’ve learned
• Regular Expressions:
• Ex. “Write a regular expression to select the first two numeric elements in a string that are followed by a “k” or an “m”.
• We likely won’t need these in this class, but I never plan to write a regular expression again without AI so to prohibit your use would be hypocritical
• Spelling and grammar checking of already completed assignments:
• Ex. Does text have any obvious spelling or grammar errors?
• To cite, you can simply note that you checked grammar with AI

Unapproved Uses:

• Asking AI to generate an output from the assignment prompt.
• Asking AI to generate code for you.
• Ex. “Write code in SQL to join table a and table b and find the median of consumption”
• Generating text for answers
• Ex. “Turn these bullet points and table into a paragraph answering whether higher stress leads to higher video game sales”

Unapproved or excessive use of AI will result in a failing grade for the assignment and an exciting meeting with me to go over appropriate use. Students may redo the assignment with no assistance from AI for up to 50% of assignment credit. Subsequent inappropriate use will result in a 0 for the assignment and potential referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

Use AI Only In Approved Circumstances With Acknowledgement. Students are allowed to use advanced automated tools (artificial intelligence or machine learning tools such as ChatGPT or Bard) for limited purposes assignments in this course if that use is properly documented and credited. For example, text generated using ChatGPT version 4 (ChatGPT-4) should include a citation such as:

• “ChatGPT-4. (YYYY, Month DD of query). “Text of your query.” Generated using OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com/”
• Material generated using other tools should follow a similar citation convention.

Students are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of any information provided by an AI tool.

Using an AI-content generator such as ChatGPT to complete assignment without proper attribution violates academic integrity. By submitting assignments in this class, you pledge to affirm that they are your own work and you attribute use of any tools and sources.

Learning to use AI responsibly and ethically is an important skill in today’s society. Be aware of the limits of conversational, generative AI tools such as ChatGPT.

• Quality of your prompts: The quality of its output directly correlates to the quality of your input. Master “prompt engineering” by refining your prompts in order to get good outcomes.
• Fact-check all of the AI outputs. Assume it is wrong unless you cross-check the claims with reliable sources. The currently AI models will confidently reassert factual errors. You will be responsible for any errors or omissions.
• Full disclosure: Like any other tool, the use of AI should be acknowledged. At the end of your assignment, write a short paragraph to explain which AI tool and how you used it, if applicable. Include the prompts you used to get the results. Failure to do so is in violation of academic integrity policies. If you merely use the instructional AI embedded within Packback, no disclosure is needed. That is a pre-authorized tool.

Here are approved uses of AI in this course. You can take advantage of a generative AI to:

• Fine tune your research questions by using this tool.  Enter a draft research question. The tool can help you find related, open-ended questions
• Brainstorm and fine tune your ideas; use AI to draft an outline to clarify your thoughts
• Check grammar, rigor, and style; help you find an expression

Unapproved use of AI will result in referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

*Adapted from Alexa Alice Joubin’s syllabus for Introduction to Critical Theory, George Washington University link

Students are allowed to employ generative A.I. tools in specific exercises when instructed so, always under the following conditions:

1) All creative writing —including concept, dramatic design, and final text—, must be original of each student.

2)A.I. tools may be used only for assistance with research, brainstorming, and proofreading.

3) If an A.I. tool is actually used, an addendum must be turned in with each exercise, with a live link to the chat for accountability purposes.

4) The use of AI tools when not permitted, or their improper use, will be considered academic misconduct.

DIRECTIONS FOR SPECIFIC EXERCISES

1) A.I. Usage Level: Writing Assistant

You may use ChatGPT only as a dictionary, thesaurus, and proofreader.

2) A.I. Usage Level: Sounding Board

Feel free to use ChatGPT as a brainstorming buddy for developing, testing, and expanding your original ideas.

3) A.I. Usage Level: Character Interview

Once you have created your character and its general description, you may feed it to ChatGPT and ask it to respond your questions in character. Then, query it about the aspects of your character you are still trying to figure out.

4) A.I. Usage Level: Prompt Generator

Choose a character, a setting, and a subject of conflict. With these elements, you may ask ChatGPT to create a concise premise for a short scene. (Thereafter, you must write the scene on your own, only with Level 1 assistance if needed.)

Improper use of AI will result first in a zero for the assignment and second offenses will be referred to the Student Board of Conduct.

*Adapted from Pablo Castrillo’s Introduction to Screenwriting, Universidad de Navarra link