AI Literacy in the Age of ChatGPT

Discuss the use of ChatGPT with students

You can help students care about being transparent in their use. Discuss ChatGPT and create a policy for whether and how to use it.

• See this crowdsourced list of policies on use of generative AI from other universities.
• And some ideas from the University of Kent: How should we talk to students about Generative AI?
• From AI to A+: Prepare Your Students for Using ChatGPT and other AI - Ryan Watkins, George Washington University

Help students understand why giving credit is important

Discuss with students how AI fits in with larger picture of academic honesty and the importance of citations and giving credit.

Go beyond traditional citations

Professor Ethan Mollick (Wharton School), recommends going beyond traditional citations. He asks his students to include an appendix to their papers, where they list each prompt they used in ChatGPT and discuss how they revised those prompts to get better output.

See: Mollick, Ethan R. and Mollick, Lilach, Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts (March 17, 2023).

Citation guidelines

Here are the guidelines for citing generative AI in MLA Style, APA Style, and Chicago Manual of Style.

It's also worth reading this advice, since some uses don't fit the standard way of citing: 

• Should I cite the AI tool that I used? by Dr. Kristin Terrill, Iowa State University
• How to Cite AI Tools by Dr. Kristin Terrill, Iowa State University

For guidelines on citing other formats of generative AI, see How to Cite AI Tools: A Guide for Students.

Publisher policies

Here are some statements from academic publishers about the use of generative AI.

• Science Journals policy: "Text generated from AI, machine learning, or similar algorithmic tools cannot be used in papers published in Science journals"
• Nature publishers: "... researchers using LLM tools should document this use in the methods or acknowledgements sections.”
• Taylor & Francis 
• Cambridge University Press.

  • AI use must be declared and clearly explained in publications such as research papers, just as we expect scholars to do with other software, tools and methodologies.

  • AI does not meet the Cambridge requirements for authorship, given the need for accountability. AI and LLM tools may not be listed as an author on any scholarly work published by Cambridge

  • Authors are accountable for the accuracy, integrity and originality of their research papers, including for any use of AI.

  • Any use of AI must not breach Cambridge’s plagiarism policy. Scholarly works must be the author’s own, and not present others’ ideas, data, words or other material without adequate citation and transparent referencing.

    Please note, individual journals may have more specific requirements or guidelines for upholding this policy.

Other publishers are also coming out with statements like these.