On this page, we give a breif overview of the UBC policy towards AI use. We reccomend that you look at the website to see any potential updates by UBC and to make sure you are aware of all content that is most relevant to you, which may be different from what we present here.

UBC AI rules

Professors will specify for each class or lab what AI usage is acceptable and that should be your main guidance, as long as it fits into the AI policies by UBC. UBC has a through explanation of what is and is not appropriate here, but we highlight a few key points from this website below. Our summary is general in nature and we pulled out the elements form the UBC policy that are the most relevant to this workshop series.

Key points from the UBC GenAI website.

Principles section

Essentially, don’t upload data to the LLM and you are responsible to ensure the output are accurate.

"Most generative AI tools store and use any data that is entered by users...possible and recommended to adjust the settings in some tools to disable the use of entered data to train the model, it is not certain that these measures mitigate the risks described above."

"These analyses, at present, may not correct for bias or check for correctness, or may overcorrect for bias, and they may seem extremely believable while being inaccurate."

Teaching and Learning section

AI can enhance learning, but there are concerns about legalities. Similarly to the principles section, don’t upload data to the LLM. For class, UBC states “Students may use GenAI in work submitted for courses or other academic requirements only if expressly permitted within their courses or programs.”. In this section, UBC also points out that AI can be biased, give false information, and that passing off LLM output as your own is not ethical or allowed (plagiarism) as outlined in the Principles section.

"GenAI has the potential to enrich teaching and learning activities, and some may also support inclusion and enhance accessibility, depending on how they are used... align with existing UBC policies, procedures, and legal requirements".

Academic integrity section

UBC states that AI use is allowed in class, but only if explicitly allowed by the instructor. For instructors, the use of AI detection software is discouraged, as it has been shown to be inaccurate. AI detection software is so bad, that UBC has disabled the AI detection feature of Turnitin.

"Students may use GenAI in work submitted for courses or other academic requirements only if expressly permitted within their courses or programs."

"Turnitin’s new AI-detection functionality is not available for use in any UBC course."