Is using generative AI cheating?
It can be.
Different professors have different policies about whether they allow generative AI to be used at all and, if they do, what uses are acceptable and what uses are not. Before using generative AI as part of any assignment, you will want to check with your professor first.
A few tips:
- Before contacting your professor, check your course syllabus for an AI policy first. If there is one, this should outline whether using AI is acceptable for this particular class. That said, you may still have questions even after reading the policy. That’s okay! You can still ask them. Your professor will just want to know that you took this step first.
- If you’re contacting your professor through email, do not have generative AI write the email for you. Most professors will prefer to hear from you in your own words and will be more likely to look kindly on a message you wrote yourself, even if it contains grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
- Be clear with your professor about how you want to use generative AI and how you think it will help you. Remember that professors are still learning about this technology too—knowing more about how it can be helpful for learning helps them better understand the ways in which generative AI can assist students with their course work.
- Emphasize how you will be using generative AI to support your thinking rather than replace it. When you use generative AI to do all the work for you, the generative AI tool may be learning something from your interaction with it, but you are probably not. That’s why it’s better to use it as a support rather than a replacement.
- If you’re trying out a strategy from this guide, tell your professor that and send them a link to the relevant part of the guide to learn more. They may still not be comfortable with you using generative AI, but knowing more about where you got the idea will be helpful.
