Disclose any AI-assisted academic work: IIT-Delhi issues new guidelines

The guidelines emphasise that AI use should be approached with a clear understanding of its potential consequences to avoid any unintentional negative outcomes

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi has issued new guidelines encouraging students and faculty members to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) tools thoughtfully and responsibly into their academic pursuits, but has called for full disclosure of any such work.

 

Underscoring the importance of maintaining transparency and upholding academic integrity, the prestigious institution has made it mandatory for all individuals to explicitly disclose any work that has been generated, assisted, or influenced by AI tools.

 

"Any work or content generated with the assistance of AI tools should be fully disclosed to ensure transparency and maintain academic integrity," the guidelines stated.

 

The new advisory emphasises that the use of AI should be approached with a clear understanding of its potential consequences to avoid any unintentional negative outcomes.

 

"GenAI tools are gaining significant traction in academic spaces, embraced by students, faculty members and staff alike for their ability to generate information that is contextually fitting in many instances. The widespread adoption of these tools is prompting educators and administrators to reconsider how they reshape classroom teaching, design assignments and exams and determine more effective methods of assessment," IIT-Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee said in the advisory. 

"While these tools offer potential benefits such as providing personalised, real-time feedback and customised learning experience, there are also significant concerns. With the growing adoption of generative AI (GenAI) tools, there is an urgent need for educational institutions to establish guidelines that sensitise and instruct students and faculty members on fair and appropriate use," he added.

 

Increasingly, students worldwide are utilising GenAI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for learning. Although the use of these tools creates easy access to learning, they can also limit the scope for retaining new information if the students try to use it to create projects.

 

"Specifically, if AI tools are used to create distinct elements — such as images, tables, data visualisations, or significant sections of text — this use should be noted as such. Such disclosure can be incorporated into captions, footnotes, or a statement within the work," the guidelines say.

 

The new rules also highlight the risk that inputs into GenAI tools might be exposed to the public. Hence, it is crucial to carefully review any information being submitted to ensure that it does not contain sensitive or private content, the institute said. This includes personally identifiable information (PII), confidential data belonging to the institution, or any other information that, if inadvertently disclosed, could jeopardise privacy and security, the report cautioned. 

 

(With inputs from PTI)