New technologies are exciting! If you have not already used Artificial Intelligence (AI) you really should take time to experience the power. You may have heard about ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or any of the others. Regardless of which tool you use, there are some basic things you need to do to avoid problems.

Over the past few months, some schools decided to block students from using AI. Others have specific guidelines for how and when to use this technology. Some educators seem to have no idea that students are using AI. As a student, the responsibility is on you to understand when and how to use AI. Remember that you are responsible for the work you turn in. If that work is generated by a computer, it could have disastrous consequences for you. Here are some things to consider when you use AI to assist with your homework.

Be Transparent

This is the most important tip regardless of what the policy is at your school. It also should not shock you. You should know how to cite a source for a paper, consider AI a source. Some students use statements like “initial concept generated using ChatGPT” at the end of a paper. Others qualify the amount of AI. That way, when it is run through a checker, it should return a similar result. As an example, “Estimated 40% AI used in this paper.” Consider using something like that whenever you use AI in your coursework.

Use the Correct Tool

It’s important to understand when AI is an appropriate tool. You would not use a hammer on a screw, it can get the job done but a screwdriver is the right tool. The same can be true here. For example, Grammarly utilizes AI and can be a great resource for a history paper to make sure your spelling and sentence structure are appropriate. Using Grammarly for an English paper is not a good idea because the whole point is for you to use correct sentence structure without the aid of a computer.  Touching back to the first point, it’s a good idea to check with your teacher before you use AI.

Remember that AI is always evolving. The result you get today could be different tomorrow. Also, it is limited by its sources, and it is currently terrible at understanding what violates copyright laws. You can’t blame the computer while standing in front of an administrator who is claiming you plagiarized a paper.

Watch for Hidden AI

Be aware that some websites and apps use AI and it may not be as obvious as you would expect. For example, some are surprised to learn that Grammarly is classified as AI. Make sure you research anything you will use in your assignments, and that includes checking to see if they use AI. Some will give you the option to turn it off, but most do not.

Know the Computer

Have you heard of Information Bias? This occurs when data has flaws that may be unknown to the observer. AI has a lot of Information Bias. The systems get better with time, but if you look hard, you will see that the responses from AI chatbots can often be characterized by a specific race, gender, and ethnicity. It’s important to not make the computer’s bias your own so you need to find a tool you like and study its limitations. This is why it is important to review everything generated by AI.

Fact Check

Now that you are aware that AI has ingrained bias you should realize that you can’t trust everything the computer spits out. It’s more than reviewing the results for generic language. You also need to review the facts in the output. Many AI tools are trained on information found on the internet. Hackers are having a lot of fun finding ways to influence AI outputs and you don’t want to be a victim of these efforts. A good way to do this is to ask the AI to give you links to its sources. You can then review those links and decide for yourself how valid that information is to your goals.

I hope you do not read this blog as a list of reasons to avoid AI.  Rather, understand that it is just a tool and success is the result of your ability to use it properly.

By Jason Combs