The examiner for your thesis determines the extent to which and how AI tools are allowed in your thesis work. It's important to note that this decision may vary among theses, even when they share the same examiner.
Consequently, you may have permission to employ AI tools for tasks such as generating text, code, and conducting data analysis, among other applications. However, this is contingent upon executing these tasks in a responsible and transparent manner, as outlined below.
You are required to assume full responsibility
You are required to assume full responsibility for your work and must be capable of justifying the choices you've made regarding its content. This includes engaging in discussions about and defending the role AI played in shaping your thesis, demonstrating a clear understanding of how it contributed.
When using AI tools in your thesis work, it's crucial to approach them responsibly, which means ethically, ensuring data integrity and academic honesty. This involves:
- Being cautious of over-reliance on AI, which includes the risks of uncritically accepting AI-generated answers that can be biased or wrong. For example, do not uncritically accept a rewrite of your text, code, literature review, or analysis of your data.
- Understanding the potential for plagiarism and copyright infringements. For example, GitHub Copilot has used copyright protected code when helping programmers to code, so always be vary of such problems.
- That the use of AI tools must be clear and transparent. At a minimum, provide a description detailing how and to what extent AI tools have been utilized in your work. If you have used AI generated content in you thesis, this should be cited as other works.
- Recognizing the need to secure sensitive or proprietary information. For example, you might have access to valuable information in the organization you are writing your thesis and sharing it with the AI tool might not be advisable.
Always consult with your supervisor
Always consult with your Chalmers’ supervisor or relevant industry/public sector collaborators before using AI tools if you have any uncertainties, particularly concerning data privacy and ethical issues. To date, Chalmers has licensing agreements in place with Bing Chat Enterprise, which include privacy arrangements.