Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly AI-based generative language tools such as ChatGPT, has had a lot of media attention in recent years. The University recognises that AI is here to stay and may be relevant and useful when you complete assessments. This guidance will help you to understand when it is appropriate (or not) to use AI.

Non-generative AI tools, such as spelling-checkers or basic grammar-checkers, have been widely used for many years. For instance, Microsoft Word telling you that you have misspelled a word is not going to lead to accusations that you have used AI tools inappropriately.

However, AI-based generative language tools (e.g., ChatGPT), are different from non-generative tools. Generative AI tools are trained to produce a human-like response from pre-existing large data sets (e.g., websites, journals, textbooks, etc.), by responding to requests to generate an outcome which is not necessarily correct, despite often sounding authoritative.

A good simple rule to follow is that you MUST NOT use generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) to create content (text or concepts) that is presented as your own work. You MAY use non-generative tools, such as a spelling-checker or basic grammar-checker. The most important thing to remember is that you must be able to demonstrate intellectual ownership of your work. If you have further questions, you can speak with your Personal Tutor or Year Director.

AI and the Study of History

Historians take a deliberative approach to studying the past, critically assessing their sources as well as scholarship in the discipline. Many of the skills you are learning in history, including critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, a sensitivity to the strangeness and unknowable nature of the past, attentiveness to complexity and contingency, the deployment of evidence, and the development of your individual voice, cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence. As you develop these skills over the course of your degree, it is vital that you maintain, and can demonstrate, intellectual ownership of your work.

Generative AI tools undoubtedly possess great potential, but they must be treated with caution as there are various issues and dangers with using them, especially for history, where the processes of reading, thinking, and writing are so intertwined. Generative AI, when unable to provide an accurate answer, can have a tendency to simply invent things – whether footnotes, quotations, or “facts.” Google admits that Gemini, its AI technology, "may display inaccurate info, including about people, so double-check its responses." In terms of history research, there are also illuminating examples of the possible pitfalls of relying on AI rather that seeking out sources yourself. See for example: Ned Benton, ‘Artificial Intelligence and Slavery Research’.

The use of Generative AI for writing can also have the effect of flattening creativity and individuality. This piece by Curtis Sittenfeld (£) demonstrates how AI-created writing can be “proficient on a sentence level but… shallow in sentiment.” Much of history learning is about learning to write, so it is crucial that you demonstrate your own individual voice in your assignments.

Appropriate and Inappropriate use of AI

The most important thing to remember is that you must always be able to demonstrate intellectual ownership of your work. The History department’s current position is that the generative AI must always be used in a responsible and open manner, and use of AI must be acknowledged in a statement at the start of your essay.

Individual assignments may have specific instructions regarding the use of AI that differ from those in this handbook. You should ensure that you follow these closely, and if you have any questions, contact your seminar tutor.

You MAY use non-generative tools, such as a spelling-checker or basic grammar-checker.

While you may find it useful to use generative AI as one of many tools as you go about your assessments, you should ensure that you do not use AI in place of your own learning or thought processes. Intellectual ownership of your work includes critical reflection and analysis, for example in the development of your argument or structure. Your essays should always be written in your individual voice, rather than the voice of a machine.

A good rule of thumb is that you should not use AI for any part of your assessments that you would not ask another human to do. You wouldn’t ask your friend to plan your essay for you, or to come up with an argument for you, or to rewrite a paragraph for you, so don’t use AI for these tasks either.

However you may find it useful to use AI to help you organise your thoughts, to test out ideas, or to explain concepts to you in simpler terms, in the same way that you might speak to your seminar tutor for guidance on these issues. However, if you use an AI tool to help you generate ideas, make sure that you critically reflect on what it is telling you. Generative AI does not have the same level of expertise in history as your seminar tutor, and may not give the best advice.

It may sometimes be appropriate to use generative AI to translate source material from one language to another. However, such translations should be handled with great care as they are sometimes inaccurate and misleading.

Acknowledging use of AI

You should acknowledge any use of AI in the same way as you acknowledge any other sources that you use for your assessments. You will have to confirm in your declaration of originality at the point of submission that the work remains yours and you have intellectual ownership of it.

If a generative AI has been used in the process of completing an assessment, you should clearly state in your submission:

• WHY you used a generative AI;
• WHAT it was used for;
• WHICH AI and what prompts were used;

Appropriate use of AI will not result in any penalty, but your marker may comment on your use of it.

AI should NEVER be used to gain an unfair advantage or to create content which is presented as your own work. This is Academic Misconduct.

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