CRES 371: Contemporary African American Literature and Culture (Knight)

Should I use AI in my School Work?

There are a lot of conversations happening right now concerning AI and academics both on campus and on a national scale. People are sort of split into one of two groups: they either view AI as a time saving and essential tool for their productivity, or they think it is a monumental waste of time and serious ethical concern. Sometimes these two view points are so loud that it can be hard to find actual guidance on what AI tools like chat GPT or Claude can actually do, and whether or not you're even allowed to use them as a part of your academic work. The guidance on this page will hopefully clarify a few things in this regard.

Check your Syllabus!

When trying to determine if you are allowed to use AI tools in your course work, the first step is to check your course syllabus or check with your professor. Holy Cross does not have an overall AI use policy; instead, each professor is allowed to set the limits for what is allowed and useful to their students in their course. Most of your course syllabi have a section about the AI policies for the course. If not, have a conversation with your professor about what they are comfortable with. 

What is "Ethical" AI use?

The choice to use an AI tool for personal or academic reasons is complex, given that so many ethical concerns are tied up in the single action of navigating to chat GPT in your browser. When considering whether to use an AI tool, there are a few things you should consider.

1. Is it condoned by my professor? Check your syllabus or speak with your professor about what you'd like to do with the tool and whether that is acceptable to them. Check in with them even if you are only using the tool for grammar or spelling matters - it's best to be entirely transparent to avoid any misunderstandings!
2. Am I using AI to aid my research and critical thinking, or replace it? There is such a thing as AI over reliance. Generative AI is powerful, fast, and can seem like it's an all knowing entity. But when it comes to learning and thinking, especially in school, offloading these tasks to an AI can backfire.  It may interfere with how we develop understanding, remember or apply what we’re trying to learn. When you replace your own thinking and analysis with an AI tool, you degrade your ability to think and reason for yourself - exactly what your professor is trying to teach you! 
3. Is AI doing the bulk of the work for me? AI should never be writing your paper, supplying your ideas, or creating things on your behalf. While it can be helpful for some tasks, using it to replace your own efforts at your school work will cost you academically and mentally. 
4. Is AI knowledgable enough to give me the right information on my topic? Remember, AI tools are generative - meaning they predict the best answers based on what you feed them and the data it was trained on. Often times, this means that AI will give you false or biased information based on what it thinks YOU want to hear. Consider if that would be harmful to the research you are trying to conduct.
5. What about the environment/social justice aspect of AI? There is a lot going on in the world when it comes to AI right now, from creative artists suing AI developers for copyright to the large amount of freshwater data centers take from the communities they are built in. The library can't answer these kinds of questions for you - it's up to you to do your research and decide how you feel about engaging with AI. What we can help you do is become educated on the topic - we have lots of resources, training, and events on campus meant to do that very thing! If AI is something you want to learn more about, please get in touch with a librarian, the Academic Services and Learning Resources team, the Writing Center, or Digital Media Services and Educational Technology to learn about how we can help you navigate the world of AI.