AI Ethics, Academic Integrity & Plagiarism
Guidance for responsible, authentic, and ethical use of Generative AI in academic writing
Generative AI as a Cultural Tool
Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others, are not neutral technologies. Like all tools, they are shaped by the cultures, languages, and data they were built on. Most large language models are trained predominantly on English-language, Western, and mainstream academic sources, which means they may reflect and reproduce cultural biases, omit marginalized perspectives, and flatten the complexity of human knowledge.
In a course like LI 200, one that centers different minds and different ways of knowingthis is especially important to recognize. AI-generated text often defaults to dominant cultural frameworks. Your job as a scholar is to bring your own critical lens, lived experience, and disciplinary knowledge to the conversation.
AI can reflect bias
Training data overrepresents certain voices. Be critical of whose knowledge and perspectives are centered in AI outputs.
AI lacks lived experience
AI cannot draw on personal identity, community knowledge, or embodied ways of knowing, only you can bring that.
AI is a starting point, not a destination
Use AI to brainstorm, get feedback, or understand a concept, not to replace your thinking or writing.
You are the scholar
Your analysis, your voice, and your argument are what make an academic paper meaningful. AI is a tool in service of your ideas.
Media Literacy & AI: The NAMLE Framework
National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)
NAMLE promotes the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act with media in all its forms, including AI-generated content. Their framework helps students and educators think critically about who creates media, why, and for whom.
Visit NAMLE.orgApply the NAMLE key questions to AI-generated content:
- Who created this message? What model produced it, and who built that model?
- What values or points of view are represented? What cultural assumptions are embedded in the output?
- What is omitted? Whose voices, perspectives, or knowledge systems are missing?
- Why was this message sent? What did you ask for, and how did the prompt shape the answer?
- How might others interpret this differently? How does your background and context shape how you read this output?
Prompting Effectively & Preserving Your Authentic Voice
The quality of AI output depends almost entirely on the quality of your prompt. Vague prompts produce generic responses. Specific, contextual prompts produce more useful feedback. Use AI as a thinking partner, not a ghostwriter.
Weak prompt (avoid):
"Write my thesis about neurodiversity."
This asks AI to write for you. The result will be generic, may not reflect your argument, and is not your work.
Strong prompt (model this):
"I'm writing a 2,500-word argumentative essay for a college course on neurodiversity and ways of knowing. My current thesis is: [paste thesis]. I want to argue that [your specific claim]. Does my thesis clearly take a side? What's unclear or too broad? Give me feedback only, don't rewrite it."
This gives AI context, keeps you in control of the argument, and asks for feedback, not replacement.
Your voice is your perspective, your reasoning style, and your way of engaging with ideas. It develops through writing, reading, and revision. AI can flatten or erase your voice if you let it write instead of you. Here's how to stay in control:
- Always start with your own draft. Write your paragraph first, then ask AI to help you improve it, never to write it from scratch.
- Read AI output critically. Does it sound like you? Does it reflect your actual argument? If not, revise it substantially in your own words.
- Use AI for structure, not substance. Ask AI to help you outline or organize, but fill in the ideas, evidence, and analysis yourself.
- Ask for feedback, not content. "What's unclear about this paragraph?" is more useful, and more ethical, than "Rewrite this paragraph."
- Read your final draft aloud. If it doesn't sound like you, or doesn't represent your thinking, revise until it does.
How to Cite Generative AI in APA & MLA
Plagiarism & How to Avoid It
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words, ideas, or work as your own, whether intentional or not. This includes copying text without quotation marks, paraphrasing without citation, submitting AI-generated text as your own writing, and reusing your own work from another course without permission (self-plagiarism).
Additional Resources
NAMLE, National Association for Media Literacy Education
Frameworks for critical analysis of AI and media content
APA Style: How to Cite ChatGPT
Official APA guidance on AI citations
MLA Style Center: Citing Generative AI
Official MLA guidance on AI citations
Berea College Hutchins Library
Research support, citation help, and academic integrity guidance