Departmental AI Policies

Didactic Coursework Policies

Department faculty are free to declare that AI is not allowed OR to allow AI to be used (in an appropriate manner) in their courses. Faculty will post one of these two statements in all department syllabi, which will be strictly enforced. 

  1. AI-based tools may not be used on any graded assignments unless by express permission from the instructor. The use of AI as a study aid is permissible provided it does not violate copyright.

    OR 

  2. Responsible use of AI-based tools in completing coursework, assignments or assessments must be done in accordance with the following:
  • You may not use AI to generate an initial draft of an assignment
  • You must clearly identify the use of AI-based tools in your work. Any work that utilizes AI-based tools must be clearly marked as such, including the specific tool(s) used. For example, if you use ChatGPT-3, you must cite "ChatGPT-3. (YYYY, Month DD of query). "Text of your query." Generated using OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com/"
  • You must be transparent in how you used the AI-based tool, including what work is your original contribution. Faculty may check for the use of AI by using AI detector software/platforms.
  • You must ensure your use of AI-based tools does not violate any copyright or intellectual property rules. 
  • AI-based tools used without citation will be considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is a violation of the University Academic Integrity policy and subject to university sanctions.
  • Students are responsible for any inaccuracies and errors in submitted work that resulted from using AI-driven tools.

Dissertation/Thesis Policy

Any use of AI to generate a research project, data analysis, and writing should be discussed and approved by the mentor. 

 
  • You may not use AI to generate an initial draft of your thesis.
  • You must clearly identify the use of AI-based tools in your work. Any work that utilizes AI-based tools must be clearly marked as such, including the specific tool(s) used. For example, if you use ChatGPT-3, you must cite "ChatGPT-3. (YYYY, Month DD of query). "Text of your query." Generated using OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com/"
  • You must be transparent in how you used the AI-based tool, including what work is your original contribution. An AI detector may be used to detect AI-driven work.
  • You must ensure your use of AI-based tools does not violate any copyright or intellectual property rules. 
  • AI-based tools used without citation will be considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is a violation of the University Academic Integrity policy and subject to university sanctions.
  • Students are responsible for any inaccuracies and errors in submitted work that resulted from using AI-driven tools.

Appropriate use of AI includes:

  • You are free to use spell check, grammar check, and synonym identification tools
  • You are free to use app recommendations when it comes to rephrasing sentences, reorganizing paragraphs or fine-tuning outlines you have drafted yourself

Limitations of using AI-software:

  • Work created by AI tools may not be considered original work and instead, considered automated plagiarism. It is derived from previously created texts from other sources that the models were trained on and does not cite sources.  Original drafts of documents should be kept to provide documentation of writing progress.
  • AI models have built-in biases (i.e., they are trained on limited underlying sources; they reproduce, rather than challenge, errors in the sources).
  • 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).
UB's Guidance on AI

from the Office of Academic Integrity.