What is the University of Glasgow’s position on use of AI?
The University of Glasgow (with Russell Group peers) believes artificial intelligence (AI) tools are potentially transformative as well as disruptive. They increasingly feature in academic and professional workplaces. Consequently, rather than seek to prohibit students’ use of these tools, we want to support students in learning how to use them effectively, ethically, critically, and transparently. Our students will graduate into an AI-augmented world. The university has a responsibility to prepare students for this world, providing space to experiment with, and understand the potential of, AI in an ethical way.
The university welcomes the opportunity to consider more meaningful assessment approaches and ways for students to develop critical thinking, analysis skills, decision-making and good judgement through their use of AI. An over-focus on catching cheating is misplaced effort – instead we must adapt our thinking to embrace new technology to enhance opportunities for learning.
Whilst these technologies are attractively powerful and easy to use, they can also provide misleading or incorrect information, and can negatively impact students’ learning as they can appear to offer shortcuts that reduce the need for critical engagement that is key to deep and meaningful learning.
Additionally, staff and students need to be aware of the difference between reasonable and appropriate use of such tools, and at what point their use might be regarded as creating an unfair advantage. The University of Glasgow’s states:
Cheating or gaining an unfair advantage in an assessment, or attempting to do so, or helping another student to do so. This includes:
- plagiarism from published or online materials, course materials, other students’ work, or one’s own work previously submitted for assessment at this or another institution;
- purchasing work or having it produced by any other person or commercial service;
- providing or sharing one’s own work with another student to use for assessment, or producing work for another student, or collaboration in the preparation of an assessment unless explicitly permitted (such as with groupwork assignments)
Thus, it is important for students to understand that they should not use AI tools to generate assessment content and submit as if it was their own work. Rather, they should understand how AI might be used and how to acknowledge its use.