An investigation by the BBC found that more than 600 students in Scotland were accused of misusing artificial intelligence (AI ) for their studies last year, with ten of these students removed from their courses as a consequence.
This is the first time expulsions resulting from AI use have happened at a university in Scotland. The Student spoke to University of Edinburgh students on campus to find out more about their AI use and if they understand the university’s policy on AI.
Many students have admitted to not actually knowing the university’s AI guidance, what constitutes misuse, or what penalties actually are – inconsistent university policy seems to increase students’ confusion around this.
The University of Edinburgh has broad guidance on the use of generative AI: though broadly supportive of its use, it stresses that students should be aware of risks and potential inaccuracies, should “learn, not copy” in their assignments, and should cite its use in any capacity.
However, this is complicated by varying policies across different schools, subjects and even courses.
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology issues blanket advice on assignments, warning students against plagiarising AI.
However, this varies by course – one history course has a page stating that AI should not be used at all for assessments.
One business student noticed an incredibly inconsistent treatment of AI between courses and staff: with some forbidding it entirely, and others directly asking students to “use ChatGPT and see what it says.”
The Department of English and Scottish Literature recently put out a survey to students, stating an intent to move towards more in-person assessments than coursework, in part because of “challenges posed by AI.”
However, they ultimately reported a majority opposition to in-person assessment and a feeling that this would curb the “creativity and research” of coursework, as well as “penalis[ing] those who don’t use AI.”
All students asked said they use AI to help them in the beginning stages of assignments, significantly helping their workload at intense points of the semester.
“I mainly use it to summarise readings” a student told The Student. Another said she uses ChatGPT “to get a vague idea of what’s going on before I start an essay.”
Students generally agreed that AI use could “only be taken so far” before its presence is obvious.
However, none of those asked knew about the process of citing their use of AI. “If you aren’t using it to write then I don’t feel like it’s that deep.”
When asked if AI devalued degrees, students said they felt that it “lessens the accomplishment from a personal perspective,” as well as those who chose not to use it feeling disadvantaged.
Another student highlighted a deeper cultural devaluation of degrees, particularly humanities degrees, and suggested AI and its misuse worsen this public perception.
“Four Tulane University Students Studying January 2008” by Tulane Public Relations is licensed under CC BY 2.0.