The final workshop in the Library-Graduate Student Club (GSC) collaboration series has wrapped up successfully. This second run of the Foundations for Academic Success series brought together three workshops, covering essential topics such as navigating library databases, boosting academic productivity with AI tools, and, in this latest session, exploring the ethical use of AI.
Entitled Chatting or Cheating? Navigating the Ethical Use of AI for Academic Work, the final workshop took place on September 11, 2024, with Associate Professor Tan Seng Chee leading a one-hour session on the challenges surrounding generative AI in academic work. Held in the Library Research Commons and via Zoom, Assoc. Prof. Tan provided a thorough examination of the issues and challenges relating to the use of generative AI in academic writing and research.
Highlighting the fact that AI tools can produce academic writing of reasonable quality in a matter of seconds, combined with the increasing difficulty of distinguishing between human produced and AI generated content (leading to what some researchers termed as AI "contamination” of scholarly communication), Assoc. Prof. Tan raised some tough and important questions surrounding the issue. He also discussed the limitations of Large Language Models, touching on crucial concerns such as bias, hallucinations, privacy risks, data ownership, harmful content and interaction risk – the last referring to users of AI attributing human characteristics to machines, excessive trust in AI and the adverse impact on interpersonal communication.
In addition to exploring ethical dilemmas, Assoc. Prof. Tan also highlighted issues related to copyright and authorship, its impact on learning and writing (possible homogenising of writing styles, stifling of user expression) and the issues of research integrity - the accountability of researchers, data privacy and transparency. With so much to consider, what should students do when using AI?
Assoc. Prof. Tan introduced a set of "living guidelines" to students, a reflection of the fast-evolving nature of AI. Key among these was the need to declare or acknowledge AI use and ensure proper referencing when incorporating AI-generated content in academic work. He also fielded thoughtful questions from the audience, such as: How much AI use is too much? The answer? It depends on the learning objectives and the guidelines set by individual lecturers.
Another hot topic was how students can protect themselves from false plagiarism allegations, given the unreliability of AI detection tools. Assoc. Prof. Tan’s advice: keep a paper trail of your original input to stay on the safe side.
Participants gave glowing feedback, especially appreciating the relevant AI issues discussed that resonated with graduate students.
Assoc. Prof. Tan Seng Chee highlighting the increasing capabilities of generative AI.
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