Department of Computer Science Policies for Using Generative AI (GAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs)

Last updated Nov. 25, 2024

The CS Department has defined a policy for using GAI/LLM (generally “AI”) in courses and all other academic activities such as research, publications, and theses.  This policy largely follows the one published by the Graduate School.  As AI is becoming more popular and pervasive, this policy is designed to protect both instructors and students from potential pitfalls that may lead to possible academic integrity/dishonesty violations.  This default policy applies to all CS Department courses and academic activities, and will be reviewed and updated periodically as the AI field advances.  Note that this merely defines a policy: we do not take a position at this time on the challenging problem of detecting the use of AI tools (which is orthogonal to this policy).

 

General Prohibitions:

  1. AI use must be attributed (e.g., you must cite your sources and how they were used).
  2. AI may not be used as a wholesale substitute for the work expected of students: solution generation, coding, or scholarly writing (e.g., writing major portions of essays and papers).
  3. AI should have very limited use in theses and dissertations, and then only if it is integral to the work itself (e.g., developing LLMs or a thesis on AI itself).

 

General Acceptable Use:

  1. AI may be used for brainstorming ideas, for exam preparation, for finding initial information, for generating initial lists of ideas and/or related papers to investigate, and for some image generation.
  2. AI may be used to polish up some text you have written (e.g., like an advanced spell/syntax checker).

 

Individual Instructor and Course Policies:

  1. All instructors are encouraged but not required to define their own AI policy.  For any course that does not have a specific policy, this document defines the default AI use policy.
  2. Undergraduate: AI may be used in undergraduate classes if and only if the instructor permits it in writing, and with prior written approval of the Undergraduate Program Director (UPD).
  3. Graduate: AI may be used in graduate classes if and only if the instructor permits it in writing.  This includes regular lecture courses as well as “tutorial” style classes (e.g., projects, independent studies, seminars, and the like).  Instructors of graduate classes are encouraged (but not required) to discuss any class-specific AI policy with the Graduate Program Director (GPD).
  4. Furthermore, all instructors who wish to define their own custom AI policy must publish it on their class website, in syllabi, and/or in assignment documents.
  5. Finally, whether AI is used or not, students should be able to stand in front of a class, instructors, and/or TAs, and explain their entire solutions and work in a controlled setting (e.g., like a closed-book exam).