02/09/2024

Student-to-student connections: Through ICAI out to the world

Written by Meltem Baysal Caliskan , Matt Bondea, Casey Buss, Edward Li, Victoria Pearson

Attending international academic events nourishes students, especially in our disciplines and helps us to broaden our perspectives and networks. However, when we get the chance to take an active part in such events and have the chance to be heard, it not only boosts our confidence but also our motivation. That was one of the reasons why so many of us were eager to take part in the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity (IDoA). Our IDoA Student Working Group came together to discuss and generate a mindmap and an infographic about the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Another reason for our enthusiasm was involvement in the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) community which brought us together. We are in different disciplines, degree programs, countries, and even different time zones. Nevertheless, academic integrity as an interdisciplinary issue allowed us to hear voices from other students all over the world. We realized that we have similar concerns, especially about the ethical use of AI, which is a rapidly changing technology that can appeal to students as a potential new tool for use in academics. The blurred line of engaging in AI with the act of academic integrity was the main concern that we focused on and shared our own experiences.

Normally we have structured frameworks in academia, however, the unpredictable nature of AI requires different institutions to take different approaches towards it. While some are working to integrate AI into their curriculum/teaching approach, some others have already been working on AI policies and guidelines. We also realized that different disciplines require different points of view, as the flow of the classes are different from each other. For those of us in the Health Sciences, AI may pose the risk of dangerous misinformation but can be used to help analyse data more effectively. On the other hand, students may not be allowed to engage with AI tools while writing essays in a Foreign Languages department, while in statistics classes students are sometimes encouraged to use AI-generated datasets for practice. That’s why it was so satisfying for us to come together and share our unique perspectives.

Finally, we all reflected that although it is difficult to draw lines and set rules for the use of AI by institutions for now, individuals already know and feel the right thing to be done. Most students take pride in creating their own work, following proper citation guidelines, and acknowledging where their sources and inspiration came from. Issues regarding academic integrity usually arise from a lack of knowledge rather than indifference or poor intent; the use of AI only further confuses students who lack guidelines or understanding on when and where it can be used. What works for all of us is practically searching for guidelines or seeking assistance from our lecturers, instructors and those providing academic support when we have a lack of knowledge about the ethical use of AI.

Ultimately, we are grateful that the ICAI brought us together to learn from each other, encouraged us by allowing us to produce, and by emphasizing the importance of stakeholder roles in academic integrity, helped us put this into practice.

 Note: This blog post was authored by students. ICAI takes pride in highlighting student voices as students are a key stakeholder in higher education and the promotion of academic integrity. ICAI does not endorse or advocate for any position or statement made.

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