Use AI responsibly

Use this page for assessment permission, disclosure and privacy. The assessment brief or explicit staff guidance takes precedence over this general guidance. You remain responsible for what you submit.

What’s allowed How to disclose AI use Ethics checklist

Tip: Keep a short AI use log while you work (date, tool, what you did, what changed). It helps you describe the actual contribution of AI and the checks you completed.

What’s allowed? (quick guide)

Always check your assessment brief or explicit staff guidance. Permission differs by task and module; these examples do not authorise AI use. Disclosure does not make prohibited use permissible.

Uses that may be permitted — check your assessment

Brainstorming topics and outlines
Explaining concepts in your own words
Checking grammar and clarity
Creating revision questions from your notes

Assessment-dependent uses — check first

Summarising readings where upload permission needs checking
Rewriting paragraphs for you
Producing reference lists (risk of fabricated citations)
Uploading material whose sharing permission is unclear

Normally inappropriate unless explicitly permitted

Using AI-generated submission material outside the permitted uses
Replacing the reasoning or practice you are required to demonstrate
Using AI during closed assessments without permission
Automating tasks the brief asks you to do yourself

Permission varies between assessments

Some assessments prohibit AI, some permit specified uses, and some require it. The assessment brief or explicit staff guidance takes precedence over this general guide. If permission is unclear, ask your lecturer before using AI.

Check the permitted contribution

For example, planning or grammar feedback may be permitted while generated submission text is prohibited. An assessment may instead ask you to critique AI output. Follow the specific task, not a general category.

Keep responsibility with you

Permission to use AI does not remove requirements to demonstrate your learning, protect data, verify claims or disclose the actual contribution. Disclosure does not make prohibited use permissible.

Invented evidence and misrepresented sources are not made acceptable by permission to use AI. For claim and source checks, follow the detailed verification guidance.

How to acknowledge AI use

Follow the assessment's disclosure requirements for location, detail and records. Describe what AI actually contributed, what you changed and what you checked. Naming a product alone is insufficient. Adapt these examples to your actual use; do not make claims about authorship or verification that are untrue.

Short disclosure (generic)

I used [tool and date/version, if required] to suggest possible essay structures and comment on clarity. I selected and revised the structure, developed the argument and wrote the submission. I checked the claims against [sources actually read]. [Describe any AI-generated wording retained and the checks completed, if permitted.]

Disclosure for source analysis and editing

We used [source-grounded tool] to suggest summaries of [permitted readings] and [editing tool] to suggest wording changes. We checked the proposed summaries against the original passages, corrected [identified issues] and developed our synthesis. [State which generated material was retained, if permitted.] Records of prompts, decisions and checks are in [required location].

AI use log template (copy into your notes)

Date | Tool | Purpose | Prompt/Action | What changed | Checks
—|—|—|—|—|—
2025‑10‑07 | ChatGPT | Brainstorm outline | “Suggest 5 angles on …” | Picked #3; added my examples | Facts checked in readings
2025‑10‑08 | Grammarly | Edit | “Clarity + active voice” | Shorter sentences; no content changes | Compared edits with original meaning; checked claims against sources

Protect your data

Choose the smallest exposure that fits the job. A more private tool can reduce data risk, but it does not make AI output accurate or automatically permitted for an assessment.

Do not upload unless clearly allowed

Remove names, IDs, emails, and any personal/health data
Do not upload other students' work, feedback or private messages
Do not upload placement, employer, client or workplace material
Do not upload unpublished, confidential, embargoed or copyrighted material unless you have permission
Do not upload assessment briefs or data if your module says the work must be completed without AI

Good habits

Prefer institution-approved tools for anything beyond public, low-risk material
Check whether chat history, training, retention and sharing settings are turned on
Check configured data flows and current terms even for services described as private or local; still verify the output
Verify claims against original evidence — do not paste AI references blindly
Keep an AI use log; save key prompts and iterations
If permission is unclear, ask your module leader before using AI; follow the assessment's disclosure requirements

VALID-AI: before it goes near your assignment

Use this quick reminder for AI-supported work. The detailed verification guide explains how to check claims, sources and reasoning.

Verify sources

Check that every citation exists and says what the output claims.

Assess authority

Prioritise your module readings, library sources, primary material and official data.

Look for bias

Ask what voices, methods, places or perspectives are missing.

Identify limits

Separate evidence, interpretation and speculation before you use anything.

Document use

Record the tool, date, prompt, sources provided, changes made and checks completed.

Quick ethics checklist

Sense‑check a tool or workflow before you use it.

Think wider than the assignment

Bias & discrimination

Models can mirror historical bias. Cross‑check and bring multiple perspectives.

Privacy & surveillance

Know what data is collected and where it goes.

Truth & plagiarism

Avoid passing off AI work as your own; cite tools where appropriate.

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