AI Use Policy
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Graduate Program's AI Use Policy
Graduate students and faculty supervisors are expected to meet higher expectations of BYU regarding academic and research integrity in scholarship. The use of generative AI tools must always uphold research integrity and academic rigor with full transparency. This includes transparency between all parties in advance - students and faculty advisors, students and their readers or audience, etc. A transparent description and citation/s are necessary for any use of generative AI tools in creating or assisting scholarly work.
Unauthorized usage of AI tools for scholarly work may be considered an offense of research misconduct and an offense against the Honor Code and the university’s Academic Honesty Policy, and in turn, could result in an unsatisfactory rating and possible dismissal from the program. Students who plan to use generative AI tools in graduation required documents – such as the thesis/dissertation - must always document clearly, in writing, the planned uses of generative AI and seek approval from their advisor and committee, in advance.
It is of utmost importance that within the graduation documents, the generative AI tools are cited appropriately, and the use is described in the research and writing process. The descriptions should not be vague and should have a clear direction of how and why the AI tool was used. For example, a description may explain searching methods, the help of designing, the help of outlining original ideas, the help in paragraph construction of original ideas, editing of the thesis or dissertation, etc.
When the advisor and committee approve the use of generative AI tools, the student must be able to show clearly between their own original contributions versus generative AI contributions. In the end, the student must be able to show that they have made significant original contributions to suffice the graduation requirement to a satisfactory standard. This is especially true to receive a master’s or doctoral-level degree.
In addition, it is the responsibility of the advisor and committee to be clear in the evidence needed, from the student, to show original contribution versus the generative AI tool, and how the student will be assessed based on the student’s proposed AI use versus the final thesis/dissertation document (or other graduation document). Students must be able to successfully describe and defend any use of generative AI, as well as the contents of the thesis or dissertation during their final oral defense and examination.
Students are legally responsible for the content/output of their final document which may include scholarly printing, etc. All corresponding authors, if associated with the thesis or dissertation, must be aware of the use of the AI tools. If the contents of the thesis or dissertation are produced falsely, including misleading information, broken privacy laws, etc., the graduate student who initiated AI use is responsible for all legal ramifications of the fabricated document.
A few examples of a citation would include:
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, in response to “Edit for grammar without major rewording.” March 31, 2023, OpenAI, https://chat.openai.com/chat
2. Paragraph ordering generated by ChatGPT, in response to “Construct these paragraphs in logical order.” Topic sentences were then edited for style and content. March 31, 2023, OpenAI, https://chat.openai.com/chat