AI tools and academic study

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NEW: LSBU's Guidance on Student Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (click to read)

Quick introduction to using AI tools for academic study

Using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude, to name but a few, in everyday life is very popular right now. You will probably have tried out asking the AI bot an inane question and been amazed by the complexity and humanoid nature of its response. And if you've thought about using an AI tool to help you answer an academic question, you're certainly not alone.

Copying the words, arguments or ideas of an AI tool without proper citation and referencing (in other words, asking an AI tool to write an answer to your assignment question) would count as plagiarism.

Furthermore, AI tools can sometimes provide incorrect or entirely fabricated information in response to a question or topic that they don't know much about.

They can also be biased towards a certain view of the world depending on the content of the data they have been trained with. 

So there is a lot to be wary of, but you certainly can make use of generative AI tools to support you in your studies. Here are some ideas about how you could use them without compromising your academic integrity:

1. To get a general introduction to a subject area
2. To summarise a complex topic, or to break down a complex task 
3. To generate some initial ideas, for instance around the structure of an essay
4. To help you be a more critical and reflective student.

LSBU's AI Guidance for Students and Academic Misconduct Policy

This guidance document indicates what is permissable in terms of using a generative AI tools to help you undertake any academic work. If you would like more help understanding the guidance and want to learn about using generative AI tools ethically and responsibly, please register to attend a Skills for Success AI workshop session.

As with plagiarism, it is possible to accidentally use AI tools in a way that violates LSBU's academic misconduct policy. It's important you develop a strategy for using AI tools in your work before you start. This means you can keep track of how and when you use them, which will help you avoid accidental plagiarism/misuse and help you complete any declarations that need to be submitted with your assignments.

Please review the documents below:

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