23 Module Two: Academic Writing
Overview
- Introduction to major AI tools for writing and research
- Virtual Workshop (Remote live session available): Hands-on exploration of basic AI functions
- Week Three Video Discussion (Prompt Exercise 1) Due Sunday
2.01 Review AI Ethics and Academic Integrity Lecture
This presentation from Dr. Torrey Trust provides basic information about the three biggest as of 2025) frontier large language models: ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini. I shared the presentation link with last week’s discussion question about terms of service. Please review the presentation this week with a focus on slides 39-105, which provide a good introduction to ethics concerns and academic integrity.
2.02 Complete Cyborgs and Centaurs Readings
Complete these readings:
- What’s Wrong with This Picture?
- Is the College Essay Dead?
- How Do I Prompt AI Chatbots?
- What Ethical Concerns Exist for Generative AI Tools?
- How Do I Cite and Acknowledge AI?Â
2.03 Discussion: AI, Academic Integrity, and the Human in the Loop (YOU)
In this discussion, we’ll explore how Wharton professor Ethan Mollick’s principles for working with AI intersect with academic integrity. As a reminder, here they are:
- Always invite AI to the table.
- Be the human in the loop
- Treat AI like a person
- The current model of AI that you are working with is the worst AI you’ll work with in your life (Mollick, 2024).
Let’s think deeply about what it means to use AI ethically in academic work.
- 😀 Choose one of Mollick’s four principles that resonates most strongly with you. In your own words, explain how this principle relates to academic integrity. What does this principle tell us about maintaining academic honesty while working with AI? Support your explanation with a specific example from your own academic experience.
- 🤖 Share this prompt with your preferred AI tool: “I am a college student learning about academic integrity and AI. Based on your training, what are the key ethical considerations students should keep in mind when using AI tools for academic work? Please provide specific examples of both appropriate and inappropriate uses of AI in academic settings.”
- 😀 Analyze the AI’s response. How well does it align with Mollick’s principles? What important aspects of academic integrity did the AI address or miss? Drawing from both Mollick’s framework and the AI’s response, develop your own guideline for ethical AI use in academic work. Explain why you think this guideline is important.
CLO 1b (Discuss the ethical implications of using AI in writing) and CLO 5a (Discuss issues of authorship, originality, and academic integrity in AI-assisted writing).
2.04 Watch 6 Tenets of Postplagiarism: Writing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Watch this video by one of the postplagiarism movement’s most prominent advocates, University of Calgary professor Sarah Elaine Eaton.
2.05 Read “Rethinking Plagiarism in the Era of Generative AI”
Something to think about: Could you use an AI tool to summarize this article for you? If so, which one(s) would you consider using? And as a follow up, SHOULD you use an AI tool to summarize this article for you? What are the potential risks and benefits of using Ai in this way?
2.06 Discussion: Cultural Perspectives and Post-Plagiarism in the AI Era
In his article “Rethinking Plagiarism in the Era of Generative AI,” James Hutson explores how AI is forcing us to reconsider traditional Western concepts of academic integrity and plagiarism. He notes that even before AI, different cultures had varying views on intellectual property and attribution.
- 😀 Read pages 3-4 of Hutson’s article, focusing on cultural differences in plagiarism concepts. Choose one example of how a non-Western culture views knowledge sharing and attribution differently from American academia. How might this cultural perspective challenge our traditional understanding of plagiarism? What can we learn from considering multiple cultural viewpoints on knowledge sharing?
- 🤖 Share this prompt with your preferred AI tool: “In academic writing, different cultures have different views on plagiarism and attribution. How should universities balance respect for cultural differences with maintaining academic integrity standards? What role does AI play in this discussion?”
- 😀 Hutson suggests we’re entering a “post-plagiarism” era where AI is forcing us to completely rethink concepts of originality and attribution. Locate an additional source on post-plagiarism. Drawing from Hutson’s article, the source you found, and your AI’s response, what do you think academic integrity should look like in this new era? How can we maintain high standards while acknowledging both cultural differences and AI’s role in knowledge creation?
