Artificial Intelligence and AI Writing

Statement 1:

"Learning to use AI is an emerging skill that we will explore together in this class. I expect you to use AI in this class. In fact, some assignments may require it. [suggestion: include a list of specific tools if relevant] 

However, you should be aware of the limits of AI:

• AI is a tool, but one that you need to acknowledge using. Any ideas, language, or code that is produced by AI must be cited, just like any other resource. [sample suggestion: Please include a paragraph at the end of any assignment that uses AI explaining what you used the AI for and what prompts you used to get the results.] Failure to cite sources is in violation of the Honor Code at Augustana College.
• Don’t trust anything AI says. If it gives you a number or fact, assume it is wrong unless you either know the answer or can check in with another source. AI works best for topics you understand.
• If you provide minimum effort prompts, you will get low quality results. You will need to refine your prompts in order to get good outcomes. This will take work.
• Be thoughtful about when this tool is useful. Don’t use it if it isn’t appropriate for the case or circumstance.

If you have any questions about your use of AI tools, please contact me to discuss them!" (Adapted from Macalester College)

Statement 2:

"Use of AI tools, including ChatGPT, is permitted in this course for students who wish to use them. To adhere to our scholarly values, students must cite any AI-generated material that informed their work (this includes in-text citations and/or use of quotations, and in your reference list). Using an AI tool to generate content without proper attribution qualifies as academic dishonesty." (From UMass Amherst Center for Teaching and Learning)

Statement 1:

"Generally speaking, you are not authorized to use artificial intelligence engines, software, or artwork generating programs (or similar) to produce work for this class EXCEPT on assignments that I have identified and for which you will have received significant guidance on appropriate use of such technologies. I will provide more information about the specific assignment when the time is appropriate in the course. You may not, however, construe this limited use as permission to use these technologies in any other facet of this course." (Adapted from Colorado State University)

Statement 2:

"In this course, you may use AI tools (such as ChatGPT) to help you generate ideas and to brainstorm. However, you should note that the material generated by these tools may be inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise problematic. Beware that overuse of AI may stifle your own independent thinking and creativity, and use any tools (for generating text, code, video, audio, images, or translation) wisely and carefully.

You may not submit any work generated by an AI program as your own. If you include material—including both ideas and language—generated by an AI program, it should be cited like any other reference material, both in this course and at Augustana College in general. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me." (Adapted from Macalester College)

Statement 1:

"Using AI can impede your learning. The assignments in this class challenge you to develop creativity, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills that AI does not have. Using AI technology could limit your capacity to do this type of work, and as the instructor, I urge you not to miss out on the educational opportunities that this course will provide. Work submitted by you for this class should reflect both your own ideas and your own language and you should properly cite any resources you have consulted. If you have any questions about citation or about what constitutes academic honesty in this course or at Augustana College in general, please feel free to raise these questions in class and/or contact me to discuss your concerns." (Adapted from Macalester College)

Statement 2:

"A Note on AI: This class is specifically a space for learning and practicing invaluable writing and researching processes that cannot be replicated by generative artificial intelligence (AI). While the ever-changing (and exciting!) new developments with AI will find their place in our workforces and personal lives, in the realm of education, this kind of technology can counteract learning. This is because the use of AI diminishes opportunities to learn from our experiences and from each other, to play with our creative freedoms, to problem-solve, and to contribute our ideas in authentic ways. In a nutshell, college is a place for learning, and this AI simply cannot do that learning for us. Academic integrity plays a vital role in the learning that takes place in this class, and submitting work as your own that was generated by AI is plagiarism. For all of these reasons, any work written, developed, created, or inspired by generative artificial intelligence does not lend itself to our learning goals and will be considered a breach of ethical engagement and the Honor Code at Augustana College." (Adapted from Colorado State University)

AI Conversations

Use AI as a conversation buddy to sharpen question-posing and critical thinking skills. Maybe each student starts with the same general prompt and then poses follow-up questions to the tool to see what happens. What type of conversation develops?

 “To create opportunities for conversational learning using AI, in this case ChatGPT or similar tools, as a conversation buddy. Could this type of conversations help us develop and sharpen our socratic questioning techniques, and open up to diverse perspectives? Could it be a way to practice active listening, critical reading and deep reflection? Could it open our minds to explore new connections and possibilities through questions? Could our own questions help us question our own beliefs, positionality and challenge our own assumptions and study contradictions? Could this approach help us develop our skills in creating safe and non-judgemental spaces for conversations in the spirit of Socratic questioning (Paul & Elder, 2007)? Are responses only as good as the questions we ask? And what are the implications if this is the case?”

Of course, this could also be done in a language classroom in another language.

(From Creative Ideas for using AI in Education, Slide 20)

Similarly, you could have students hold a conversation with a simulated historical figure or a famous personality.

“Students will go to either Historical Figures Chat or Hello History or Character AI and chat with a historical figure. Then they will reflect on the chat. Did the AI make any factual errors? Did the AI use the same kinds of language? Did the AI hold the same opinions? If not, where can you find sources that prove your point? This will send students to all sorts of primary and secondary documents as they reflect on their experience.”

(From Creative Ideas for Using AI in Education, Slide 39)

Have students discuss what writing is. What is their personal definition of writing? Is it simply putting words on a page? Does the definition vary from context to context, from genre to genre? What is the connection between writing and thinking?

The goal is to have a discussion about the fact that writing is (critical) thinking, that the two are inseparable. Our thoughts only become our thoughts through the process of articulating them, and for that reason, ChatGPT and other AI tools are not capable of this type of writing. This could open up a broader discussion about the goals for your course/assignment and the role that AI may or may not play in it.

Put your prompt through ChatGPT and see what it produces. Tweak and play with it. Then give the sample to your students and have them critique it. What does it do well? What is missing? What doesn’t it do well? Use your grading criteria to evaluate the paper: what grade would it receive? Why?

Variations on this: you could tell the students in advance that the paper is AI-generated OR you could not tell them until after they’ve analyzed the sample. You could have students compare the AI-generated sample with a human-generated sample and identify the difference (again, with or without telling them which is which).

Have your students ask ChatGPT to proofread a sample essay. What feedback does it provide? What is useful and what is not? How do the students feel about the suggestions that ChatGPT makes? Poll the class: is ChatGPT a useful resource for proofreading? Why or why not? How might the class response affect the class policy on using AI for proofreading?

Note the data-privacy concerns inherent in this activity. We certainly do not want to require students to add their personal writing/data to ChatGPT, but this exercise could provide a useful starting point for discussion.

“Use AI-generated text to delve into the specifics of literary styles by analyzing its approximation of different authors’ writing. For example, asking the AI to generate some text in the style of Virginia Woolf, Cormac McCarthy, and David Foster Wallace. AIs such as ChatGPT aren’t “intelligent” in the way some people think. But it is (already) good at creating pastiche texts in the style of particular authors. Considering “why” the AI emulated the style (sentence formation, word selection, punctuation and grammar, etc.) as it did requires learners to undertake deeper consideration of the works of the authors in question to pinpoint style particulars, and where the parallels are found in the authors’ work. It is at least as important to consider where ChatGPT gets things wrong.”

“AI-generated builds on traditional compare/contrast/analysis by providing another layer for considering the construction and effects of writing style. There are many possibilities for building on this kind of activity, including using different genres, having students write in different styles, or even asking them to emulate what they think the AI might produce before asking it to do so.”

(From Creative Uses for Using AI in Education, Slide 36)