If you’re an academic, stop worrying about AI as a tool for plagiarism, but focus on developing these AI skills instead.

I’m going to be open and honest here. My colleagues and I use AI. We talk about AI at conferences because we understand that it is another tool. So, why is it a surprise that students use it too. Yes, there are concerns of plagiarism (what’s new?), as in students are using ChatGPT to ‘help' them write assignments, but if that is already their go to, and they are comfortable using AI, shouldn’t we leverage that to ensure they are comfortable using it in the workplace?

I am referred to as an industry expert working in academia. I am not a full-pledged academic because I haven’t devoted my life to research, but I do bring my experience and workplace expectations into classrooms. There is huge potential in the fact that students are driven by curiosity when experimenting with various tools. Our role as academics is to help them channel that energy, so they can use these tools ethically, and effectively.

If you are an academic, instead of worrying about AI as a tool for plagiarism, focus on upskilling yourself and your students in these three areas:

1.????? How to write prompts?

My dad teaches me a lot about AI, and he had issues with getting ChatGPT to give him the information he needed. I suggested he tweak his prompts and it worked. With prompts you can go with basics such as “a photograph of an Irish pub”, or you can think outside the box, and have a little fun, with, “what if socks go missing because they’re secret agents? Write a mission report”. The point is, you just have to experiment and get comfortable with it. Oh, and there are negative prompts too, so much to learn! Comment "prompts" and my dad will send his default set of negative prompts to you.

2.????? What to do with results?

Remember that AI is not a human being, so it is important to review, assess, evaluate, and often refine. We have all seen AI-generated images of humans with 8 fingers. My dad tackles this problem but adding "hands in pocket", when he uses Leonardo.ai to generate images for his Instagram channel. Fact checking is also important. Remember, not everything on the internet is true, missing socks are not secret agents, or are they?

3.????? How do we test what was learned and authenticate?

It’s difficult to catch plagiarism when students are only expected to submit a written assignment or a presentation. These can be prepared ahead of time. Presentations are scripted, and it is easy to convey a message when it is just one way. I don’t have presentations in any of the assessments in the People Systems unit I designed, and teach, at 澳大利亚维多利亚大学 . I conduct interviews in class where students can learn from each other. I believe interviews are beneficial for students because it helps them practice communicating confidently, it forces them to share what they have learnt in their own words, and it creates an awareness of what they must think about when investigating or researching solutions to a problem. They also know, that if they don't know what they're talking about, it can be a very uncomfortable interview, and hopefully that will only motivate them to expect better of themselves. Students are interviewed twice, at the beginning, and the end of the unit, and I just love seeing the improvements they make over time.

Remember, we will not be replaced by AI, we will be replaced by those who know how to use AI. To all my fellow academics out there, you are doing a brilliant job, but let's use our energy to facilitate learning, not to police it. Students are often the first to test the latest technology. Let's be open to learning from them, as much as they are open to learning from us.