Professors are including statements in their syllabi that limit or ban students from using artificial intelligence programs such as ChatGPT, following a letter from the provost’s office this summer.
“Faculty are encouraged to discuss AI use with their students on the first day of classes and place a statement in their syllabus,” Provost Christopher VanOrman said in the letter. “It is essential for faculty to be transparent with their expectations and to have frank conversations with their students about the moral implications of AI.”
VanOrman said he values academic freedom and wanted faculty to consider specific policies regarding AI tools at their own discretion.
“I hate making policies because I think that academic freedom is very important,” he said. “I want my faculty to know that if this is something they think is useful or should be prohibited, they should be able to do what they think is right in their own classroom.”
VanOrman said some STEM faculty members permit the use of AI for research purposes, while others choose to give a verbal discouragement in class. According to VanOrman, all syllabi in the English department contain a department policy statement that prohibits the use of any AI tools. VanOrman also said the history department is considering adopting the statement.
The English department policy statement said that because writing necessitates wrestling with the text, any use of AI is strictly forbidden. AI usage accomplishes the opposite of the user’s intention, according to Associate Professor of English Jason Peters.
“I happen to be one of those people who’s not all that impressed by labor-saving devices,” Peters said. “I think what those devices finally do is they don’t save labor — they get rid of laborers.”
Writing becomes beautiful, Peters said, when the reader can grasp a sense of personhood.
“Writing generated by ChatGPT is really kind of voiceless, and what makes writing interesting is this sense that there’s a real person,” Peters said.
Senior Caleb Greene spent his summer interning at a startup AI company and said he thinks faculty should not ban AI usage altogether.
“It wouldn’t be smart for an institution like Hillsdale to just be anti-AI; the reality is that it is going to radically transform the world,” Greene said. “I think we need to start owning the conversation on it now and look into how we can adopt and engage with it.”
Greene said AI can be helpful, but it becomes detrimental when students seek to use it to shortcut their education. He said faculty ought to gain more familiarity with the tool they are prohibiting.
“I think faculty should expose themselves to technology and have an understanding of how it works,” Greene said. “Otherwise they will fall behind the curve and not have the tools to combat it if needed.”
Chair and Professor of English Justin Jackson reminded students to embrace the motto of the college in his lecture to the class of 2027 on academic honesty.
“What’s the point of strength rejoicing in the challenge if you’re going to cheat?” Jackson said. “Don’t rob yourself of the education that you are paying for.”
