Statement on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Teaching at Masaryk University

Introduction

This document presents the basic position of Masaryk University on the issue of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in university education. The intention of Masaryk University is to promote the use of AI tools and at the same time to formulate conditions and recommendations for their active use by both students and teachers. The aim is to formulate principles that can become the basis for ethical, creative, beneficial and safe use of AI tools in the university environment.

AI tools are becoming widely available and are increasingly used in academia. We see the development and use of AI tools primarily as a challenge and opportunity, not just a threat or risk. MU is aware of the dynamic development of AI technologies, the potential benefits and pitfalls associated with these technologies. Working with AI tools also raises fundamental questions related to the ethics of academic work, its standards and academic integrity in the broadest sense.

Masaryk University recommends the following when using AI tools:

To Students

• Be enquiring. Familiarize yourself with the principles of AI tools and follow developments in this field. Be interested in how AI tools work, what they do and how you can use them meaningfully in your studies. The competencies associated with actively using AI tools will become increasingly important and can be expected to be required by your future employers.
• Be pragmatic. Use AI tools first and foremost to support your learning and to develop study-related skills. AI tools can be an excellent tool for studying. They can help with processing data, formulating answers to the various questions you will encounter in your studies and, of course, drafting texts. But at the same time, AI tools can easily lead users astray.
• Be conscientious and honest. Although the use of AI simplifies studying in many ways, it must not lead you to slack off in your study efforts and rely entirely on the outputs provided by these tools. Always follow ethical guidelines and approach your work with AI tools critically. Always be cautious about the outputs provided by AI tools and check them carefully. At all times, verify and validate the information you obtain through these tools. Be aware that the outputs provided by AI tools may be misleading, erroneous, based on stereotypes or prejudices, or discriminatory.
• Be transparent. Use of AI tools must be consistent with principles of academic and personal moral integrity and must be transparent. If your teacher, thesis advisor, or faculty does not recommend the use of AI tools in certain cases, respect that. Openly declare or cite the use of AI tools at all times, especially in written work. The rules of academic integrity are not new; on the contrary, they are well established and widely known. In this respect, the unacknowledged use of AI is in principle the same as ghostwriting, which is a form of plagiarism.
• Be responsible. AI can multiply human abilities in both good and bad ways. Remember that the human user is always responsible for using the AI output. Be aware that by using AI tools, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions formulated by their providers. If you provide information and/or personal data to AI tools, be aware that it may be accessed by unauthorised persons.

To Teachers

• Be open to new information. Keep abreast of developments in the field of AI tools. Look for ways to make the most of them in your teaching or related academic work. Where appropriate, actively use these tools in your teaching work. Encourage the use of AI tools by learners.
• Be resourceful. Think about how to integrate work with AI tools into teaching and combine them with other teaching methods. Be prepared to change these methods continuously, adapting them to developments and examples of good practice.
• Spread the idea of fairness. Introduce learners to the basic principles of academic integrity, not only when using AI tools. Suggest ways for learners to declare the use of AI tools in their work.
• Be mindful of accountability. Explain to learners that AI is a tool that is always taken into the hands of a specific person – and that person is responsible for the purposes for which they use it.
• Be responsive, transparent and set clear rules. Formulate openly the conditions under which you will consider learners' use of AI tools appropriate in their studies, homework or written work. Provide opportunities for learners to develop their skills in using AI tools. Guide learners to acquire competences that will be increasingly important for their future careers. If you decide not to recommend or even prohibit the use of AI tools, explain your decision to learners.
• Be pragmatic. Use AI tools to improve learning. Adapt both teaching methods and learner performance assessment to developments in AI. Where possible and practical, consider replacing written work with other forms of output. When assessing student written work, place greater emphasis on monitoring the process of its production and on the presentation of written output by learners.
• Be cautious. Remember that by using AI tools you are giving their providers a range of information that may be sensitive in nature. The University does not recommend the use of freely available text provenance detection tools that promise to detect the use of AI tools. Submitting student work for checking in some external tools may violate the personal and copyright rights of learners, not to mention that proving unacknowledged use of AI tools is very problematic.

Conclusion

Masaryk University ranks among modern and progressive educational institutions. It actively follows and implements the latest trends in teaching, including AI tools. The use of AI tools in teaching is in line with the University's commitment to continuously develop and adapt to new, more effective teaching methods, the latest trends and modern technologies.

The group for AI in teaching at Masaryk University,
in the responsibility of Mgr. Michal Bulant, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Education and Quality
(April, 2023)

Contact: Mgr. Jakub Havlíček, Ph.D.