AI Policy

Much like group work, generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), or AI systems designed to to use machine learning to create new content based on prompts or input, is a valuable tool. This includes systems such as ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot and others.

It would be inexcusable to not learn how to use this tool, and therefore I do not prohibit the use of generative AI in my courses. I believe that students should experiment and learn to use this tool. However, you should not become reliant on the tool, or substitute this tool for real learning. You should use AI to complement your learning efforts. Some examples are illustrated below.

If you find that you are providing a prompt to an AI tool, then copying and pasting the response into your answer (in any way), you are misusing this tool. You have allowed the tool to do your homework without adding to your understanding in any way. You are not learning, you are simply copying and pasting. This is not acceptable use. An example of this would be to copy a problem statement as a prompt into a generative AI and then paste the program provided into a text editor and submit that as a solution to a problem.

Acceptable use includes Asking an AI to :

• provide basic information.
  • Please explain the for loop in c++.
• help you study by generating a problem, quiz, or set of questions.
  • Please generate a 10 question quiz testing to see if I understand for loops in c++ at a college level.
    • ChatGPT responded with a reasonable quiz, along with answers. I will use a few of these in further examples.
  • Please create a programming problem to test my knowledge of for loops in c++.
    • The ChatGPT responded with " Write a program in C++ that counts how many prime numbers exist between two integers, A and B, inclusive." I will use this for further examples.
• explain an answer.
  • Please explain why the following loop will execute three times

    for(int i = 7; i <= 21; i += 7) {
       cout << i << endl;
    } 

• help design a solution.
  • Help me design a solution to the following problem: Write a program in C++ that counts how many prime numbers exist between two integers, A and B, inclusive. You must use a for loop to check for prime numbers. Please do not provide code, only an algorithm.
• critique an answer.
  • Critique the following code:

    bool IsPrime(int number) {
        bool prime{true};
    
        for(int j = 2; j <= number; ++j) {
           if (number % j == 0) {
               prime = false;
           }
        }
        return prime;
    } 

• explain an underlying concept.
  • Please explain when to prefer a for loop in c++.
• help find/diagnose bugs in code.
  • Please help me find why the following code does not work.

    bool IsPrime(int number) {
        bool prime{false};
    
        for(int j = 2; j < number or not prime; ++j) {
           if (number % j == 0) {
               prime = true;
           }
        }
        return prime;
    } 

• generate test cases for a problem/code.
  • Help me design test cases for the following problem: Write a program in C++ that counts how many prime numbers exist between two integers, A and B, inclusive. You must use a for loop to check for prime numbers.

Please note, the above examples are limited by my experiences and creativity. This is not an exhaustive list. You can employ an AI to help you learn, I encourage you to do so. I expect that in each of the cases above you would be activly engaged in the process.

• Thurougly Read and understand the answer provided.
• Ask yourself if you understand the solution/answer.
• Ask yourself if this is a good solution/answer.
• If you do not understand the answer provided, ask further questions, of the AI, a colleague, a faculty member, a mentor, someone. Pursue this until you understand what you are looking at. Remember, anyone can copy and paste into a generative AI. You need to understand concepts.

The key is to use the AI as a tool, not as a crutch. I can not, and will not, attempt to determine what was generated by AI, copied directly from the web, solved by paying someone else to code, or any other method of avoiding learning the material. If you are using any of these methods, you should ask yourself "Why am I doing this?" If the answer is just to get a grade, consider what you will do in the future when you need to know the material to pass the next class or earn a living. If the goal is to master the material, you must engage with it fully, even if that means struggling with the concepts at times.

If you use an AI to generate answers to homework/programs, you should provide a statement indicating this.

This policy was based on the university policy (AC072: Artivicial Intelligence Acceptable Use. I tested all prompts in ChatGPT and asked ChatGPT for wording suggestions. Some text from this policy is copied from ChatGPT, orignal sources not given.

Created 12/24