Generative AI and examination at the department
Dear student, our goal for the programs offered by the department is for our students to develop into independent, thoughtful, and creative individuals who, with a solid knowledge of their subject and a broad range of skills - including a scientific approach, source criticism, problem-solving, as well as oral and written communication - can make a positive contribution to whatever workplace they end up in.
Generative AI can be a valuable tool in both your studies and your professional life, but the content it generates may contain inaccuracies and be misleading; therefore, it must always be critically evaluated and used with sound judgment. To do so requires knowledge, skills, and experience that you will acquire, among other things, during your education.
Excessive and improper use of generative AI risks hindering your development of key skills:
- Knowledge of your subject is the foundation of our teaching - we hope that it is because of a strong interest that you have chosen the specific subject you have - and it is the foundation for being able to assess the accuracy of what the AI generates. Knowledge of your subject must come first.
- Critical thinking and problem-solving are two of the most essential transferable skills you will learn during your university studies, skills that will be useful no matter where your career takes you after graduation. You develop these skills, among other ways, through reflective reading of the course literature and by independently - and in discussion with your classmates -analyzing the content and completing the assignments included in the courses.
- Academic writing/written communication are additional transferable skills that enhance your employability after graduation. Written course components - regardless of type - are therefore crucial to your ability to write various types of texts.
How does the department restrict the use of generative AI in examinations?
The department follows Uppsala University's Guidelines on the use of generative AI in teaching and assessment.
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The department - or your teachers - cannot restrict your use of generative AI in your own, individual learning process; they can only encourage responsible and ethical use that supports your own learning, not replaces it.
However, during examinations, we must be able to ensure that we are assessing your own work, and for this reason, we restrict how generative AI may be used in this context. Every time you take an exam, you have an opportunity to demonstrate how much you have learned. We therefore need to be certain that what you submit in response to assessment tasks (take-home exams, written assignments, reports, discussion posts, etc.) provides your instructors with a solid basis for determining whether you have achieved the learning objectives for the courses you are taking.
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The most common restriction at the department is as follows:
In this course/assignment, you may use generative AI as a tool to facilitate learning and deepen your knowledge of the course material, but you are not permitted to generate any content for the assignments. AI-based language tools may be used to check spelling and correct grammatical errors in an existing text, but not to generate new content.
This means that you can, for example, use AI tools as a sounding board to create study questions, answer your own questions, translate text, or as an aid to understanding articles while you are reviewing the course material (but keep in mind that the output can be both misleading and outright incorrect!). However, you may not use any part of the content generated in this way in any part of an assignment or other examination.
In this case, you may use AI-based language tools (such as Word, Grammarly, or ChatGPT) to check spelling and correct grammatical errors in an existing text, but you must not allow the AI tool to rewrite your text in order to improve the language and structure as a whole.
Please note that you should never assume that the same rules apply as in other courses you have taken or are currently taking. Different courses may very well have different restrictions on generative AI!
Ultimately, it is the course instructor who decides how generative AI may be used in that particular course. Depending on how the assessment is designed and what knowledge and skills it tests, your teachers may sometimes decide that you are not allowed to use generative AI at all. In other cases, it may be permitted, but only on the condition that you openly disclose what was generated by AI - and perhaps edited by you. And for some assignments, there may be no specific restrictions at all.
The instructor will inform you and your fellow students of the applicable rules through written information on Studium. If you cannot find the information on Studium, or are unsure of the rules for any other reason, you should contact the instructor. As a student, you are responsible for staying informed about both central and any local guidelines (UU guideline).
Remember that even though the exam is designed to allow your teacher to assess what you have learned, it is also an opportunity for you to see what you have learned and what you have not yet mastered and need to practice more.
Consequences of unauthorized use of AI
Unauthorized use of AI in connection with an exam is considered deceptive conduct in examinations.
You are guilty of plagiarism if you copy others’ texts without citing the source, or reproduce texts verbatim without using quotation marks. You are guilty of cheating if you use unauthorized aids during an exam. By using AI, you may be guilty of both plagiarism and cheating.
If your instructor suspects that you have used unauthorized aids or presented someone else’s text as your own, the matter will be reported to the Director of Studies, who will then decide on further action. If the suspicion persists, the case will be referred to the Disciplinary Board. The Disciplinary Board may decide to dismiss the case without action, issue a warning, or suspend the student from all activities at Uppsala University for a number of weeks or months. The student will be suspended from Studium, and CSN will be notified if a student is suspended. The only person a suspended student is allowed to have contact with is an administrator or study counsellor.
Läs mer om cheating and plagiarism at Uppsala Uiversity and what happens o suspicion of cheating.
Take responsibility for your use of generative AI
If you use generative AI for your own, individual reading and learning, always keep in mind that the content produced by generative AI is only as good as the material used:
- The material produced is often inaccurate: an answer is always provided, but hallucinations are common - that is, generative AI can invent both content and references
- Generative AI provides an answer but may not provide the full answer; important perspectives may be omitted, and source criticism is lacking
- The answer is no better than the question: generative AI cannot determine whether the question is reasonable or answerable
- It is usually unclear how the answer was generated, which means there is no way to verify the sources
Remember that thoughtless and excessive use of generative AI does not provide good support for your studies. Therefore, keep in mind that:
- the responsibility for how generated content is used always lies with you,
- always treat responses from generative AI as working material that must always be critically reviewed,
- train yourself to understand in which contexts generative AI is practical or necessary to use, and when, on the contrary, it is counterproductive.
Finally, knowledge of and reflective use of AI - so-called AI literacy - is increasingly in demand in our society. Stay informed and develop a responsible approach to using generative AI that helps - rather than hinders - your personal and academic development!
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Erika Weiberg, Director of Studies, undergraduate level
erika.weiberg@antiken.uu.se
Carl-Gösta Ojala, Director of Studies, master level
carl-gosta.ojala@arkeologi.uu.se
Further information
Generative AI refers to technologies that can create new content on demand based on input data. The generated material may include text, images, code, and more. At Uppsala University, all students and employees have access to the AI tool Copilot. Other examples include ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Midjourney, but there are many others. Features that use generative AI may also be built into other programs, such as Word via Office 365, or in grammar-checking tools like Grammarly.
Useful links
UU central information for students about generative AI and studies
Guidelines for generative AI with comments
Guidelines for the use of generative AI in teaching and examination (UFV 2023/2129)