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Academic Integrity and AI

"Cheating" and AI

student cheatingAI has complicated the concept of academic integrity. Some rationalize that "everybody uses AI" or "AI is just like any other technology tool."

Be faithful to this principle: the work you turn in must be authentically yours. Copying AI-produced content verbatim and representing it as your own without attribution is cheating.

Cheating with AI deprives you of the opportunity to develop your own skills and intellectual confidence. Your personal development requires you to do the hard work of learning.

The Bright "Red Line"

If your professor says no use of AI in their class, or on individual assignments, follow the rules. Remember that the rules may vary on certain assignments. In some cases, you may even be required to use AI. To avoid crossing the cheating "red line," ask for specific instructions on the use of AI on each assignment.

When the "Red Line" Can Be a Bit Fuzzy

Some assignments will permit or even require the use of AI. In these cases, keep these basic principles in mind:

  • When AI is allowed, use it to get oriented to a topic and gather information. Then, after doing your own research and producing a rough draft on your own, share it with the AI systems and ask for feedback and ideas about what you are missing or what could be revised. This will allow you to remain the main author of the project, with AI providing feedback.
  • No matter how you use AI, the key is to be honest and transparent, giving clear attribution to the ways AI contributed to the work.

All About Attribution

Academic honesty requires that you cite (attribute) the original source of all materials that are not your own. This transparency allows others to understand where information comes from and evaluate its credibility. Plagiarism, a failure to properly attribute sources, is a serious breach of academic integrity.

Follow instructions from your professors on how to cite the use of AI in an assignment. The rules may vary from class to class. The standards for AI attribution continue to evolve as new AI tools emerge and higher education adapts.

Basic Elements of AI Attribution

When you explain how AI was used in your work, specify these four elements:

  • Name the specific AI tools used.
  • Explain the purpose of the use (brainstorming, data analysis, image generation, copyediting, etc.).
  • Assess the extent of the AI infuence (minimal, moderate or extensive).
  • Declare the role of human oversight in reviewing and verifying the AI output.

Four Ways to Attribute the Role of AI in Your Work

  1. List the use of AI in the acknowledgments section: "The authors acknowledge moderate use of ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2024) in reviewing initial drafts of this material and suggesting revisions for clarity. The final content was reviewed and edited by the authors, who take full responsibility for the work."
  2. Cite the AI like a source in footnotes, endnotes or bibliography, using APA, MLA or Chicago style: "OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Jan 2024 version) [Large language model]. Retrieved from https://openai.com/chatgpt"
  3. Declare the use of AI in methodology: "AI-assisted data analysis using Python was used to a minimal level, identifying patterns and outlier test results which were then reviewed for accuracy by the authors."
  4. Inline attribution within the text: "According to a summary generated by ChatGPT (2025) and reviewed for accuracy by the author, the main themes of the series of essays on this topic…"

Adapted from the Student Guide to Artificial Intelligence (2025), developed by Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center in partnership with American Association of Colleges and Universities. Used with permission under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.

AI and Academic Integrity Tutorial

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