Using generative artificial intelligence during your studies

What is GenAI?

Generative artificial intelligence tools or services can be used to generate text, video, audio and image content in response to questions or instructions, often referred to as prompts. They can give responses to data that is input into them too, such as code or text. 

The most common example of a GenAI tool is ChatGPT.

Our views on using GenAI

At the University of Southampton, we aim to develop our teaching, learning and assessment to ensure that an education prepares you to be:

• critically digitally literate
• a responsible, ethical, skilled user of GenAI
• ready for work and life in an AI-enabled world

Student and members of staff currently have access to the generative AI tool CoPilot within Microsoft Office365.

GenAI tools can be enormously useful in supporting your studies by generating ideas, or by checking or editing work.

However, they often get things wrong, include biased information, and create generic, bland text that does not show the knowledge, understanding and critical thinking your university studies give you.

Using GenAI in your studies

You are allowed to use GenAI tools like ChatGPT to develop your learning and support your studies. However, you should never submit work that has been created or part-created by GenAI for assessments that you claim as your own work.

Work submitted as your own  should genuinely be your own work.  If you submit work that has been created by someone other than yourself (including GenAI), then this breaks our rules on Academic Responsibility and Conduct. We will take disciplinary action that may result in penalties on your marks.

Always talk to your module tutor to check how to use GenAI to support your studies in their subjects. How far, and in what ways, you can use generative AI will depend on the particular task or learning you are carrying out and what capabilities you are expected to demonstrate. 

This includes situations where you may not be allowed to use GenAI tools because learning outcomes indicate you need to develop and demonstrate your own individual skills and knowledge. In other cases, you may be asked to complete a declaration statement that describes how you have used generative AI. For some learning activities your tutor will build use of GenAI into teaching and give guidelines on how to use the tools.

Acceptable and unacceptable GenAI use 

Please check with your tutor before using generative AI in your work.

Acceptable uses include:

• using GenAI as an assistive technology by arrangement with our Disability and Inclusion team
• using GenAI as a study buddy, for example, giving feedback on some of your writing for spelling or grammar errors, or for getting started with ideas
• citing or clearly referencing your use of GenAI
• summarising complex ideas or academic texts

Unacceptable uses include:

• copying and pasting information created by GenAI straight into your work
• asking GenAI to write or rewrite your work or part of your work for you
• directly asking GenAI to answer an assessment question
• sharing the materials and resources from your module tutors in a GenAI tool - you do not have permission to share these materials openly because they belong to the University

Further guidance for students and staff

Guidance for students:

• Artificial intelligence tools and academic work – Student Hub advice for all levels of study 
• Searching and Generative AI – advice from our Library Services

Guidance for staff (links open in SharePoint):

• Using GenAI in education and the University’s position 
• Using University tools to support the use of GenAI and digital capabilities
• AI and research at Southampton