Use of AI-based applications

Artificial intelligence can be utilized in education either as an aid to teachers or as a tool for students. The use of artificial intelligence must always be stated upon on a course-by-course basis, as the possibilities for its use vary according to the learning objectives, content, learning tasks, and assessment methods of each course unit. The recommended approach is to use the AI chatbot available to the higher education community, that is Copilot. In Copilot, data privacy and security are significantly better than in free consumer versions. You can log in to this AI application using your TUNI account, and the information processed does not get stored by the AI nor is it used to train the AI. Additionally, messages exchanged with the AI automatically expire at the end of the conversation session. However, please note that Copilot should not be used to handle personal data or confidential information. Processing internal information is allowed.

More information on the use of AI in studies is available in, e.g. Tampere University Library’s Information searching guide

The use of AI applications is generally allowed. These applications are tools that students will need in their future jobs, which makes learning to use them beneficial.  Forbidding the use of AI applications is not practical because a denial would be impossible or hard to control. However, students cannot be expected to use external online services that require registering as a user. 

Teachers should estimate whether the possible use Al applications has created a need to develop the current way of assessing learning outcomes.  In remote assessment methods, where AI usage cannot be controlled, assessments should involve applying acquired knowledge in some way.

• Tasks can be tested by inputting them into a conversational AI application and evaluating the response. However, due to the randomness of language models, testing alone is not sufficient to guarantee that an acceptable answer cannot be obtained directly from AI.
• If updating assignments is not sufficient, discuss changing the completion method with the Education Specialist of your degree programme. 
• The preferred option for home essays or exams etc. is the TUNI EXAM system where a centrally invigilated examination or another electronic demonstration of learning can be implemented. 

If a student uses an AI application in an assignment or a thesis, for example, as part of language editing, this must always be reported in detail. Presenting an AI-generated solution or text as your own amounts to academic misconduct. The use of an AI application for language revision is justified, for example, to produce a grammatically or structurally fluent text (cf. proofreading and translation tools and similar tools). See below for information on how to explain the use of artificial intelligence applications in connection with theses, the same instructions can be applied to other written works. The teacher can give more detailed instructions depending on the assignment.

Students are always responsible for the content of the texts they submit for assessment. Note that AI applications may produce texts that look very competent on the surface, but contain factual errors or even contradictions. 

Use of AI in Bachelor's and Master's level theses

Using an AI application to produce elements of texts, images, or graphs for a thesis (bachelor’s and master’s theses, and advanced level theses) and collecting or analysing data must be reported in detail in the thesis to make clear how and which AI application has been used. The author of the thesis is responsible for adhering to good scientific practice and he or she is responsible for the content of the thesis.

Texts related to using AI are added to the thesis on its own page after the abstract in accordance with the following template:

“The AI tools used in my thesis and the purpose of their use has been described below:

Name of the tool (and version)

Purpose of use and the part in which it was used: for example, drafting the structure of the manuscript or data analysis"

The following text is added after the list “I am aware that I am totally responsible for the entire content of the thesis, including the parts generated by AI, and accept the responsibility for any violations of the ethical standards of publications”.

Use of AI in theses of postgraduate studies

The purpose of postgraduate degrees is, among other things, to demonstrate the competence in mastering research methods independently and critically, and in producing scientific knowledge. It must be possible to assess the potential effects of the use of AI applications on the reliability of the produced knowledge. Mastering research methods also includes following the principles of research integrity: reliability, honesty, respect, and accountability. The use of AI in postgraduate theses (licentiate thesis or doctoral dissertation) needs to be mentioned with enough details so that these perspectives are considered, and that the student's own contribution to the work is not unclear.

Drafting the structure of the content and editing the text without changing the meaning do not need to be mentioned. Use in research design, methodology, analysis of results, and drawing conclusions should be mentioned. Regarding the content, a description how the applications have been utilized to produce text, images, and graphic elements is needed.

Original sources should be respected when using AI, i.e., the original information should be found and referred to appropriately. AI applications can also be used to generate ideas, conclusions, and even broader theories that may contain new information that is not traceable to the original sources. Such use should be mentioned, and the correctness of the generated outputs confirmed. The author of the thesis is solely responsible for ensuring that the use does not violate the rights of others.

In article-based doctoral dissertations, it is not necessary to describe the use of AI applications in all included publications if they themselves already have descriptions of the use in accordance with this guideline.

In cases that are open to various interpretations, the use of AI applications should be mentioned.

This guideline will be updated and refined if necessary.