In this mini-lesson, learn how to locate and interpret institutional policies on AI use, reflect on when you can and can’t use AI, and be transparent about how you use AI in your work.
Whether or not you can ethically use GenAI and how will vary depending on the context. For staff, W&M is formulating institutional policies, and in the interim, has some general guidelines (see below). For faculty and researchers, different journals and funders increasingly have policy pages outlining how they permit or forbid use in publication, reviewing and grant writing. For students, each class syllabus should contain an AI use policy statement (and if not, ask your professor).
And of course, these are simply baseline policy guidelines. Given the ethical considerations we’ve seen in previous lessons, you may already have or can reflect on your own personal values and beliefs and commitments you have made to guide your use. For example, you may want to consider the following:
- Who or what might be harmed if I use GenAI for this purpose?
- Is GenAI necessary or appropriate for this particular use?
- How much thinking am I ceding to the AI tool and how much human input is there?
- How is using GenAI helping or harming my skills?
And while there are no foolproof AI detectors, W&M’s Honor Code and Code of Ethics apply to all we do.
Read
Discuss
What are some policy guidelines that apply to your ethical use of AI as seen in the GenAI Guidelines for Use for W&M? What are some personal values and beliefs you apply to your own AI use?
One reply on “thing 8: Your ethical AI use”
For my daily work, I use University policy, state & federal policy as guidelines. If I were to use AI tools to faciliate my work, I would continue to be compliant, non-discriminatory, and vetting the information generated. Personally, I would ensure I am not being discriminatory nor disclosing private information.