AI for Students

1. Know your course policy

• Policies vary by course and professor
• When in doubt, ask your professor before using AI for a class project
• Ask proactively to discuss course expectations and whether AI tools should be part of that process

2. Practice full transparency

• Cite and disclose AI use like other outside sources
• Document prompts and tool contributions
• Demonstrate your own thinking so your professors can respond to you and help you learn

3. Be accurate and responsible

• Keep a human in the loop and check AI-generated information before sharing
• Verify claims and check sources—AI tools predict language patterns, not facts
• Misinformation is always possible—treat responses as a starting point

4. Guard personal data

• Protect personal information and sensitive research data
• Never enter private data in public unsupported AI platforms
• Google Workspace is college approved—use Google Gemini and Notebook with your Smith ID to protect your data

5. Embrace ‘desirable difficulty’

• Seek out friction in the learning process—wrestling with ideas supports real cognitive growth
• Cultivate your own unique voice to say the things that only you can say from your perspective and lived experience