Student and Faculty Guide for using Generative AI

There are some ethical considerations to be made when using generative AI tools. Take a look below at some of the key considerations, and learn more about what to reflect on when you want to use a Gen AI tool for an assessment.

When using AI chatbots and generative AI tools, never share:

• Personal information (SSN, birth date, address)
• Financial details
• Medical records
• Login credentials
• Confidential documents
• Private student/employee information

These services may store your conversations and use them for training. Treat AI interactions like public conversations - if you wouldn't post it publicly online, don't share it with an AI.

Need help determining what's safe to share? Contact the UO Libraries for guidance.

 Here are some key considerations: 

• Skill development
  College assignments are designed to develop your skills and knowledge so that you are well equipped when you graduate. Using generative AI to create content that you have not modified, extended on, evaluated or engaged with meaningfully means you are presenting work that is not your own, and you have made little or no progress with developing your skills and knowledge.

• Accessibility
  Most generative AI tools are free - for now. However, with more and more introducing a cost, barriers will be created for those who are unable to afford access.

• Privacy
  When you sign up to use a generative AI tool, it collects and stores your data. This data could eventually be used to make changes so that users continue to be engaged, or could be sold to third parties for marketing or surveillance purposes.

• Bias
  Generative AI can potentially create biased content, as there may be biases in the datasets used to train them, or from how the tool itself interprets the data it has been trained on.

• Accuracy
  Generative AI tools often provide incorrect answers. It can't tell a user what data it drew from to generate content, so it is up to the user to determine whether the information is credible and/or reliable.

• Academic integrity
  At the end of the day, using a generative AI tool to create or re-write your assignment and then submitting the work as your own is cheating. Think of it as asking another human to do the work for you - this would also be considered cheating. Please refer to this guide when using generative AI tools to create content for any assessments.

This material was adapted from Deakin University's Using generative AI Libguide. The original work can be found here.

Here's what to consider if you're a student and you're going to be using a generative AI tool to create content for an assignment.

1. Has your instructor provided your class with any guidelines on using generative AI tools?

2. Will using a generative AI tool save you time and enhance your learning, or will you be losing an opportunity to learn an essential skill?

3. How are you going to verify the information that the generative AI tool has created? 

4. How will you consider the biases that may have shaped the content?

5. Will the content created be what you use in the final assessment, or will you make multiple edits?
 

This material was adapted from Deakin University's Using generative AI Libguide. The original work can be found here.

Generative AI tools are continuously evolving and updating. With that in mind, here are some final considerations for keeping up to speed and for further broadening your understanding of generative AI:

1. Use UO's Library Catalog to find scholarly and popular articles on generative AI topics
2. Work on some free modules with LinkedIn Learning that focus on generative AI topics
3. Follow newsletters, podcasts or blogs that cover the latest generative AI news and developments, such as OpenAI's blog or the podcast Plain English with Derek Thompson
4. Ask questions and practice critically evaluating generative AI content!