The purpose of this statement is to help both students and faculty make informed decisions about the use of AI models like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and the Google AI Assistant.
In the Writing Center, we believe that AI cannot replace human intelligence. Written and spoken communication is most effective when it is intentional, meaningful to the writer, and is used not just to report on what others have written, but rather to communicate original ideas. In other words, we in the Writing Center are much more interested in what students have to say than what AI has to say! Writing is also a way students learn. No one, including an AI assistant, can learn for you.
However, the UDWC staff acknowledge that the development of LLM-based generative AI models have changed the way people interact with texts. Because the writing center’s goal is to empower students to learn effective writing and communication strategies, we welcome conversations with students about the advantages and drawbacks of using generative AI as part of their reading, researching, drafting, revising, and editing processes. Students: you will never be penalized for discussing the use of AI with a writing center tutor. Having these conversations is a key part of being a good writer! The UD Writing Center’s goal is to help students understand AI as a language learning tool (not a replacement for learning) and learn how to make choices about using AI in an ethical way.
The UD Library offers an excellent learning model about generative AI. We encourage you to check it out!
Generative AI as an ethical and effective learning tool
The UD Writing Center recognizes that LLM-based generative AI can be useful in helping students:
- Understand how a question or topic has been discussed by others in order to inform the student’s own position;
- Identify keywords about a topic that will lead to better searches in the library’s databases;
- Generate models of different genres of writing a student can compare their own draft to;
- Translate pieces of text written in another language;
- Suggest how to revise a wordy passage for clarity and concision;
- Edit their own writing to conform to standard American academic English.
However, we encourage students to be aware that:
- Generative AI sometimes gets facts wrong;
- Citations and quotations may be inaccurate or falsely attributed;
- AI responses to prompts or questions may contain hidden biases;
- Unreflective use of generative AI may lead to dependence, harming a student’s learning processes and reading/writing abilities;
- When a student inputs their own writing into an LLM system, it stays in the system for others to see and use without attribution;
- Inputting or uploading others’ texts into an LLM system is often copyright infringement;
- Unethical use of generative AI is a violation of UD academic integrity policies Unethical use includes things like using AI without disclosing that to your readers or uploading others’ work into an LLM system.
Generative AI and your assignments in the Writing Center
Like any other learning tool (calculators, study guides, translation software, a thesaurus, language verb wheels, citation management tools, etc.), class instructors set the rules for students’ use of LLM based generative AI programs like Grammarly or ChatGPT in their own classes. It is not the Writing Center’s job to tell you that you should or shouldn’t use generative AI. But, it is helpful for us to know if you did, so we can better understand how to support your learning. So, if you make a writing center appointment to work with a tutor on a draft you used AI to compose, please:
- Tell your tutor or consultant exactly how you used it and why;
- Share your instructor’s expectations and guidelines for AI use, so they two of you can ensure that your usage is ethical
- Be ready and open to discussing alternatives with your tutor or consultant.