Incorporating generative AI (GenAI) in teaching and learning is controversial. Some argue that it can be leveraged to empower instructors and students and contribute to pedagogical innovation. However, there are many valid concerns about using GenAI uncritically and inappropriately. Many instructors and students are wary of using AI tools in courses for a variety of reasons, but three concerns have consistently been brought to OTL’s attention by instructors, TAs and students:

  1. Using GenAI to assist with important cognitive processes required for learning and developing critical thinking skills.
  2. Using GenAI in ways that violate academic conduct standards.
  3. Having GenAI replace human interactions that are important to learning and campus life.

graphic of a blue brain with squiggle lines with circles at the ends running through it

 

The Office of Teaching and Learning has created and collected the resources on this page to help faculty, TAs and students make informed decisions about GenAI use in courses.

  1. OTL’s GenAI in Classes webpage: How to adapt instruction with GenAI in mind
  2. AI 101 - Course Edition: Sample class policies, prompts, and privacy
  3. AI 102 - Fundamentals of AI Literacy: What GenAI is and isn’t, how AI is built, biases hallucinations, AI in disciplines and industries
  4. AI Community of Practice with a Teaching and Learning special interest group
  5. OTL Guidance regarding GenAI writing assistance technologies
  6. UCSB Writing Program AI Policy
  7. Office of Student Conduct: Information about academic integrity, including AI use in courses
  8. OTL’s Instagram and OTL’s YouTube have social media and interviews about GenAI at UCSB
  9. UCOP’s Responsible AI Principles (see page 8)
  10. UCOP AI Primer: Core Concepts and Fundamentals interactive online training

Important Considerations about GenAI for Instructors and TAs

Instructors and TAs are well-positioned to address concerns about GenAI in teaching and learning as you help students investigate and/or use GenAI responsibly and appropriately. In fact, students want instructors to discuss its pros and cons with them, and to be explicit about class policies and guidance for its use. They are also interested in instructors’ insights on how AI is used in related careers. Some key points and questions to consider when deciding how to address and/or allow students to use a GenAI tool in courses are:

  1. Stay focused on the learning process, not the product or assessment. Ask yourself: What specific thinking skills do I want students to learn and practice? Can GenAI help them practice those thinking skills?
  2. What part(s) of my assignments or activities could be potentially completed by a GenAI tool and still receive a passing grade? How can I modify these assignments to focus on the process instead of the product? What can I do to promote academic integrity and rigor in those assignments?
  3. What do my students gain from using GenAI in my course? What do they lose? How will I talk with them about these tradeoffs?
  4. Write a policy on GenAI use in your class, and/or for particular assignments/activities. Consider writing parts of it with student input.
  1. Every AI is purpose-built and trained on a massive, but limited dataset. When considering a GenAI tool, investigate information published by its creator. Are their training, testing, and validation methods publicly available? What do knowledgeable third-party evaluators have to say about it? What dataset is this tool trained on, and what can it subsequently produce as output? What biases does that dataset and the AI’s algorithms perpetuate?
  2. What are the other risks that would negatively affect some of my students, such as digital privacy violations, intellectual property or copyright infringement?
  3. Figure 1 shows trends that indicate that students with two or three effectors of opportunity, (defined as intersections of minoritized, first generation, and low income characteristics) are using GenAI systems less frequently than students with zero or one effector. These differences reflect inequitable access and awareness around GenAI technologies. What can I discuss with my students about these inequities? What could equitable GenAI use in my course look like?

Bar chart showing the frequency of student use of AI. Percent of students on the y-axis and effectors of opportunity on the x-axis. Approximately 25% of students with zero or one effector have never used AI, and approximately 20% of them use it weekly or more. In contrast, approximately 40% of students with three effectors have never used AI and about 10% of them use it weekly or more.

Figure 1 - Frequency of AI usage by University of California undergraduate students from never (at the bottom in yellow) to daily (at the top in indigo) by effectors of opportunity, which are student intersectional identities including first generation, minoritized, and low-income students.

Key Questions for Students to Consider about AI

As a UCSB student, it is important to be aware of GenAI in your current life and in future careers that interest you. We encourage you to consider your own knowledge and uses of AI for learning, possibly asking yourself the following questions:

  1. What are my own ethical boundaries on using AI for learning and coursework?
  2. Am I becoming dependent on the use of AI for this task? Can I do this task without AI? 
  3. How much of my cognition (brain thinking power) am I offloading to the AI, and what will I lose by doing so?
  4. Would my instructor/TA think this is an ethical use of AI? What are the class policies on AI use?
  5. Every AI is purpose-built and trained on a massive, but limited dataset. What dataset is this tool trained on, and what can it subsequently produce as output? What biases does that dataset perpetuate in the AI’s output?
  6. Privacy is important: How does the GenAI system use my data, inputs, and interactions?
  7. How can I fact-check the output of the Gen AI tool with other accurate and reliable sources?
  8. What are the other risks, drawbacks, and ethical issues associated with my use of GenAI?

 

UCSB Security Recommendations for AI use

From Jackson Muhirwe, CISSP, Ph.D., Chief Information Security Office Oct 2024 memo:

Before using AI chatbots or any AI-powered services, carefully consider the information you are submitting. Once you provide personal or sensitive data to an AI service, you lose control over where it might be stored or how it could be used in the future.

Do not share personal information such as your home address, phone number, social security number, or government-issued ID numbers with AI tools. These details could be at risk of exposure if the AI platform isn’t secure.

It is essential to be aware of the AI policies and regulations in place at the organization or institution you are working with. You can check out UCOP's Presidential Working Group On Artificial Intelligence to better understand how the University is handling the integration and utilization of artificial intelligence.

If you work with sensitive or proprietary data, avoid discussing it with public AI chatbots. These systems may not have adequate security measures in place to protect your information.

When possible, use enterprise or educational AI services. These versions are designed to keep your organization's data secure and prevent it from becoming part of a public learning model.

Be cautious when sharing original ideas with AI chatbots, as anything you provide may be accessible to others. If you want to protect your intellectual property, refrain from sharing it with AI unless you are comfortable with the possibility of it being used more broadly.

References

California State University Dominguez Hills Library. (n.d.). LibGuides: Using and Evaluating AI Tools: Evaluating AI. Retrieved January 29, 2025, from https://libguides.csudh.edu/c.php?g=1409969&p=10441177

University of Alberta Library, K. (2025, January 21). Subject Guides: Using Generative AI: Deciding Whether to Use AI. https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/generative-ai/whether-to-use

University of Texas Libraries. (2025, January 29). LibGuides: Artificial Intelligence (AI): Ethics and Privacy. https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/c.php?g=1363366&p=10070764