Artificial intelligence

AI is computer systems that can perform tasks that have traditionally required human intelligence. The type of AI tools whose main task is to understand and generate text is called language models and is a form of generative AI. These produce text based on probability, which it has calculated by having been trained on a quantity of texts.

It is okay to use AI as, among other things, a sparring partner or to suggest improvements to your text, as long as the meaning is not changed and it is permitted for your answer. If you use AI, you must be open about it. See how under the question “I have used AI in my assignment. What do I do?”.

AI should not be used to create text that you submit as your own. It is never okay to claim authorship when in reality something or someone else has written the text. That is considered cheating and plagiarism. It is not wise to have AI suggest sources to you without checking whether these sources actually exist and contain the information claimed.

No, AI is not a source like an article or a textbook. No one can find or go back to the original text. This means that you cannot use AI as a source of knowledge and as a basis for argumentation in a text.

No, you cannot trust the AI tool to give you correct information. You must therefore check for yourself whether the information the AI tool has given you is correct, by checking whether the sources exist and that they contain the information claimed.

No, you don't have to. Many people prefer to write their text themselves, without AI assistance. Before using AI, you should consider whether it is appropriate for what you are doing. AI does not necessarily give you a better text, and all text and suggestions you receive from AI must be double-checked.

Yes, you can, if language improvement is permitted for submission or examination in your subject. However, the content must be yours and you must state that you have used AI tools in the text. AI tools can, among other things, help with providing feedback on text, suggesting changes, language editing, or translating. We encourage you to save a copy of the text before using AI tools, so that you have documentation in case questions arise about the use of AI or whether the text is your own. If you want suggestions from an AI tool, you can take the finished draft of your text and paste a little of the text at a time* into the AI tool, along with an instruction on what the tool should do. Suggestions for instructions:
 

• Correct any language errors in this text
• Rephrase this sentence to make it more reader-friendly
• Does this text have an academic style, or do you have suggestions for improvements?
   

Then check the result thoroughly:
 

• AI may have changed the meaning of what you wrote. Does the AI text have a different meaning?
• AI writes text based on probability calculations. This means that AI texts often have little content, and have flat, uncreative, and imprecise language. Maybe you can improve the language yourself?
• Do not use formulations you do not understand! Ask if the AI tool can use simpler language or explain the sentence in a different way.
   

Are you unsure whether what you have done is within the rules? Bring up the topic in class or use Search and Write. Remember that you are responsible for your own use of AI and always check the guidelines for the assignment carefully. Remember that you are responsible for your own use of AI.

*The reason you should not paste in your entire text is that the AI tool has a limited working memory: If the text is too long, it will not be able to give as good feedback on the entire text. 

Submitting an assignment with AI-generated text without acknowledging it is considered cheating or attempted cheating.

If you have used AI in an assignment, you must state the following in your text:

• That you have used AI in the assignment
• Which AI tool(s) you have used
• Where in the text you have used AI
• How you have used AI in your assignment

In some cases, you should cite the AI tool in the text and in the bibliography. This applies if:

• You have used AI to perform analyses that affect your results or findings.
• Your assignment is about an AI tool and you generate content to illustrate the use of the AI tool.

If you are required to do this, it must be clearly stated in the assignment that you are allowed to do so, and in these cases, you must cite according to the template for AI referencing in Søk og Skriv. Sometimes it will also be relevant to attach the response from the chat as an appendix to the assignment. Read more about how to do this on Søk og Skriv.

Yes, you can. AI works well as a sparring partner when you need to learn new things. This is a good way to use AI. For example, you can have the AI tool test you on a subject, give you assignments, ask you questions about a topic, or check if you have the correct answer to a math problem. Many people use AI tools to have concepts and sentences explained in a different or simpler way.

AI tools can be useful in the initial phase of literature searches by suggesting keywords, refining the research question, or creating search strings. Be aware that the suggestions from such AI tools can often contain errors. AI tools that hallucinate can also give you false sources. Therefore, you must always double-check sources from AI tools.

If you are writing a literature review or similar, you should check whether the use of AI tools for literature searching is approved in your assignment.