CT State Student’s AI Survival Guide

By Dennis D. Phillips

By now, most of the people reading this guide should have an idea of what AI is. If somehow you managed to survive under a rock for the past few years, artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity, and autonomy. Have you ever scrolled through social media and seen a video that looked interesting, but saw limbs moving and disappearing in ways that they normally shouldn’t? Congratulations! You’ve witnessed an instance of AI ‘Slop.’

Most AI webpages have layouts similar to Google’s main search page. Some examples are Google’s own Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and xAI’s Grok where there’s a text bar that users can type in queries for the AI to compute. While generative AI is slowly becoming more accepted in society at large, it is still widely frowned upon in academia.

Many professors, especially those who teach classes that are writing-intensive, generally prohibit the use of AI in their courses. These are classes meant to challenge you to use and develop your own critical thinking skills. (For those of you who think you can get away with having ChatGPT do most of your assignment for you, there are tools to detect it so it’s probably not worth it if you.)

Some professors are even against using apps like Grammarly now, since it has woven AI deeper into the software and may trigger the detection methods professors use. With that in mind, here are some tips for you to consider:

DO:

DO use AI as a help tool. It can help you with brainstorming, research, and other tasks. Make sure you always double-check your sources when using AI this way, as AI can be wrong and/or biased with the information it presents. Be sure to cite any use of AI. Some ways to do so in MLA can be found here.

DO ask your professors which tools are acceptable to use. As stated above, some professors may accept the use of certain tools over others. It’s better to cover your bases if you’re unsure.

DON’T:

DON’T use AI to do your assignments for you. Not only does this generally fall under plagiarism, but it is also a surefire way of getting a permanent F on your record. Worst-case scenario: you are expelled.

DON’T rely on AI to do your studying for you. Remember that school is there for you to increase your own critical thinking. If you simply plug in questions and have ai answer them, are you really learning?

You are likely to find any AI policies within the plagiarism section of your syllabus. Here is an example from one of mine:

Disclaimer: Defer to the class syllabus provided by your own professors, as standards for use and what is allowed may vary.