There is so much promise in the use of AI and as with all tools, new and old, and responsible, equitable, and ethical use of these tools is essential to our role as a university. As the University works to finalize its guidance, the following interim guidelines offer students, faculty, and staff a framework for responsible use of AI tools. This guidance was developed with support of the Responsible Use of AI Working Group that has been formed by Chief Information Officer and Acting Provost to advise and make recommendations on responsible use of AI to the President’s Cabinet. 

Use of AI tools to support work at AU should be done ethically, in compliance with all university policies, and with transparency and accountability. 

No decisions without humans 

• The outcomes generated by AI must be subject to human oversight. No decisions impacting real persons at American University (e.g. employment, admissions, students) may be made without human oversight and accountability.  

Data usage 

• Treat information given to an AI tool as if it were public. 

• Do not use any Confidential or Official Use data in an AI platform, unless approved by the University, as many of them do not provide sufficient security and the data may be shared outside of the university in unexpected ways. The Data Classification Policy provides specific information about protected data: https://www.american.edu/policies/information-technology/data-classification-policy.cfm  

• When in doubt, do not input or share data with an AI platform until you have discussed with your supervisor or consulted with department or division leadership. 

Academic Integrity 

• Student use of generative AI is not prohibited by the Academic Integrity Code (AIC); there is no one-size-fits-all university policy for academic use of AI. Faculty should communicate course policies for generative AI, giving clear syllabus and assignment guidelines for what constitutes appropriate use. The AIC requires that students submit work that is an authentic representation of their capabilities in response to a given assignment. Student use of generative AI without permission or to replace work assumed to be their own may constitute a violation of the AIC. Visit the Academic Integrity Code and Academic Integrity SharePoint for further information. 

• Faculty assigning use of AI tools for the completion of assignments should do so in a manner that prioritizes equity. Tools with a required cost should be covered by the department. 

Employee Use 

• Be transparent about the use of AI. Disclose to unit leadership work product that was wholly or partially using an AI tool and, if appropriate, how AI was used to create the work product. 

• The AI user is responsible for validating the accuracy of created content with trusted first party sources and monitoring the reliability of that content. Users are accountable for their use of content created by AI and the impact of that use on their work. 

Privacy 

• Be aware that most AI tools and services use input and data from users to train their models. Data entered into them, including personal data, cannot be deleted or retrieved in the future. Some tools may also access data in other open windows or applications on your device.