Artificial Intelligence

Overview

This guide provides an overview of artificial intelligence tools to help students engage with AI in a responsible way.

Tip for students: If you have doubts about using AI in your assignments, check your instructor's policies and reach out to them to clarify anything that is unclear.

What Is AI?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an umbrella term for technologies which are able to do tasks in ways that resemble human intelligence.

There are many types of AI technologies, and the term is used to mean a broad range of things, which can lead to confusion. We encounter AI in many aspects of our daily lives, from Siri and Grammarly to ChatGPT and QuilBot. This guide aims to help students understand how to responsibly engage with AI technology in an academic context.

Currently Popular AI Tools by Instructional Designer

Considerations When Using AI Tools

Artificial Intelligence technologies are tools like any other. It is important to know each instructor's guidelines and rules surrounding the use of AI and to inform yourself of how to use AI responsibly by maintaining your academic integrity, using critical thinking, and following instructor guidelines and the institutional Generative AI Statement.

  • Always clarify the instructor's expectations surrounding the use of AI in assignments
  • If you are using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, make sure you understand and review what is written, and you verify any sources cited by doing your own research.
  • Show you know how to use library resources to improve your APA citation and understand academic integrity.
  • If you use AI in your assignment, you must cite it. Use the recommended APA citation format for using ChatGPT and other AI tools
  • Contact the Library if you need support at any time

AI & Academic Integrity

AI tools such as ChatGPT should never be a replacement for you doing your own work. ChatGPT is not an acceptable tool to generate a complete assignment submission.

AI can be helpful for understanding concepts and generating ideas, however you must always use your critical thinking skills and evaluate each source used, and you must acknowledge the use of AI in your assignment.


Similarity tools such as Turnitin feature AI detection. The best way to avoid an academic integrity incident is to use your own words and to always cite your sources correctly using APA format.

To better understand how to paraphrase, meet with a writing coach. This will help you improve your writing skills and be able to paraphrase independently, without relying on AI tools.

To maintain and demonstrate your academic integrity:

  • Always cite anything that isn't your own original idea, including any information gathered using AI tools
  • Write using your own words. Paraphrasing is a skill that can be improved. For help, make an appointment with the UCW Writing Coaches
  • Save multiple drafts as you write and edit your assignment, for example, an outline, first draft, middle draft, and a final draft. This can be used to show your professor your writing process. You can also use a word processing software that has version control, such as Google Docs, which automatically saves previous versions of your assignment
  • Book an appointment with a librarian to discuss these strategies or to ask questions about citation and plagiarism

Evaluating AI Tools

AI literacy is the ability to understand and work with AI technologies, recognizing AI’s capabilities and limitations. It includes questioning and evaluating AI tools to use them effectively by making better choices of which AI to use.

Use the ROBOT method to evaluate AI tools:

  • Reliability
    • Check the information source and author's credentials. Is the information from an expert or trust-worthy source? Is any information missing due to trade secrets?
  • Objective
    • Identify the purpose behind the information. People that create AI tools have various goals. Are they trying to educate, promote themselves and other ads or earn money from users?
  • Bias
    • Consider potential biases in data or from developers because they could influence AI tool results. What kind of data does the AI use?
  • Ownership
    • Know who created and controls the AI tool. Is it a company, government, or research group? Who has access to use it?
  • Type
    • Understand the AI tool's strengths and weaknesses by identifying what specific type it is. Is it a brand-new concept under development, or a practical tool used by many people? Does it require more work from real people?
       

Adapted from: Hervieux, S. & Wheatley, A. (2020). The ROBOT test [Evaluation tool]. The LibrAIry. https://thelibrairy.wordpress.com/2020/03/11/the-robot-test

 

Evaluating AI Output

AI literacy is the ability to understand and work with AI technologies and recognize AI’s capabilities and limitations. It includes questioning and evaluating AI tools to use them effectively by making better choices of which AI to use.

Use the SIFT method to evaluate AI output:

  • Stop
    • Pause before you use any information from AI
  • Investigate
    • Look for information about the source such as the author and the website
  • Find
    • Search for other sources on the same topic to compare
  • Trace
    • Check the information from the original source and whether it’s a reliable source. In the case of ChatGPT, the author is OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT


Sometimes AI tools generate fake citations. These citations will look real, but contain fake titles, authors, and journal names. Follow these guidelines to help identify if AI is citing a real source. Note that AI technology is rapidly changing, so it may not be possible to be completely sure if a citation is real.

Other Tips for Evaluating AI Output

Compare sources: Find other reliable sources that support the AI's claims. Look for different sources on the topic or try to find where the AI got its information

Verify citations: You can ask the AI for references, but be cautious as they could be fake. Search for the citations in the library or the web to make sure they're real

Confirm source articles: Ensure that the articles cited by the AI have the information it provided and are not made up

Check for recent information: Verify if the information is up-to-date, especially for news and research. AI may have outdated information, like ChatGPT (GPT-3.5), which uses 2021 data and cannot access current internet data

Indigenous Knowledge & AI

When working with information by and about Indigenous peoples, some unique ethical considerations apply. This section outlines what we need to know about Indigenous information and AI.

Information in this section is adapted from the University of Saskatchewan Generative Artificial Intelligence Research Guide and the sources cited within.

Data Sovereignty?

Data sovereignty refers to Indigenous people's right to control how their data is used. Indigenous data includes:

  • Texts
  • Voices
  • Traditional knowledge and techniques
  • Languages
  • Any other information or material belonging to Indigenous people (UNESCO, 2023, para. 5).

AI can interfere with the right to data sovereignty. When we input data into an AI tool, we do not know where it is going or how it will be used. The data could be entered into a larger database or shared with another user of the AI tool.

Before inputting information related to Indigenous people into an AI tool, we should consider these questions:

  • Is the information meant for the public to see? Was it published broadly for anyone to access, or was it shared only with a smaller group
  • Is the information related to any sacred practices? Sacred practices include things intended only for certain community members or contexts.
  • What have Indigenous people said about how the information may be used?

 

AI Bias & Impacts

AI tools are created by humans and trained using human-made information. That means human biases like racism and colonialism are built into AI tools. If we use AI to search for information about Indigenous people, we must know that the AI tool might provide biased information.

  • Consider these questions when evaluating AI-generated information about Indigenous peoples:
  • Does this information align with information created and shared by Indigenous people?
  • Does the AI output use respectful and current language when speaking about Indigenous people?
  • Does the AI output centre Indigenous personhood and concerns? Or does it mostly represent white European perspectives?

To learn more about bias in AI, we recommend reading Algorithms of Oppression : How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, by Safiya Umoja Noble [Available from UCW Library as an eBook]

 

Cultural Distortion

Cultural distortion occurs when AI collects large amounts of data about Indigenous languages or cultural practices. When this data collection happens, Indigenous languages and cultural practices can be distorted and misrepresented by bias and misinformation (Chandran, 2023).

Examples of cultural distortion:

  • Books intended to teach Indigenous languages containing mistranslated or made-up words (Bettens, 2024)
  • Representations of Indigenous art that contain inauthentic or distorted designs
  • AI-generated text about Indigenous cultures or practices that gets facts wrong

How to prevent cultural distortion:

  • Ensure Indigenous people are at the center of all initiatives aiming to preserve their cultural heritages
  • Allow Indigenous people to make decisions about AI's use of their information
  • Do not use AI to generate text or images about Indigenous cultures

 

Art by Indigenous Peoples and AI

AI tools that generate visual artwork can appropriate and harm Indigenous artists and communities. This appropriation happens when AI generates art that mimics traditional and modern Indigenous art styles.

Why is this harmful?

  • Incorrect styles and designs can be very disrespectful to the meaning of the art
  • Non-Indigenous audiences can develop incorrect ideas of what traditional art by Indigenous peoples looks like
  • Selling cheaper, inauthentic imitations of Indigenous art styles can prevent Indigenous artists from making money from their crafts (Carlson & Richards, 2023)
  • You can prevent these harms by making sure you purchase art created by Indigenous artists and communities and do not use AI to generate art that imitates Indigenous designs.

Alternatives to AI

Alternatives by Instructional Designer

Citing AI in APA Style

Before You Cite

Permitted use: Be sure you have permission from your instructor before using Generative AI tools in your research and writing process. Follow their requirements outlined in the course syllabus.  

  • Generative AI tools include but are not limited to: ChatGPT, CoPilot, Claude, Gemini, Grammarly, and translator tools. 

Evaluation: Be sure you evaluate the Generative AI tool and its output before using it in your research and assignment. See the Evaluating AI section of the Artificial Intelligence Guide for more details.

Best practices:

  • If you use Generative AI tools in your work, disclose and describe how you used them in the introduction, methods, author note, or where appropriate in your assignment. Be clear about what text is generated by an AI tool and what is your own work.
  • Keep a record of your prompts for future reference and sources of data. This can be added as an appendix if needed and helps to increase transparency of the research process.
  • In general, you do not need to cite Gen AI tools if you use them like a search engine to perform research. However, you are responsible for verifying the credibility of the output and citing the suggested sources of information. Be cautious of fabricated information and sources. 

Citation Examples

Specific chat generated by Generative AI

Reference List Format:

AI Company Name. (year, month day). Title of chat in italics [Description, such as Generative AI chat]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the chat

Example:

OpenAI. (2025, August 21). High school grammar concepts [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/68a77b60-0ee4-800c-9acc-cd3fd573c311

 

Example In-Text: (Open AI, 2025)


Note: Do not include page or section numbers for direct quotation, as there is no permanent record of the generated text.

General use of an AI tool

Reference List Format:

AI Company Name. (year). Tool Name/Model in Italics and Title Case [Description; e.g., Large language model]. URL of the tool

Example:

Anthropic. (2025). Claude 4 Sonnet [Large language model]. https://claude.ai/new

 

Example In-Text: (Anthropic, 2025)

Note: Include citations for the general use of an AI tool when it would be unhelpful, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate to cite a specific chat, or when you want to point to the existence of the AI tool but not necessarily cite specific information from it (i.e. when it is used to refine your writing, translate small sections, generate code, images, or other visual information, or used as part of the overall methodology of your work).

Citing AI Generated Images

AI generated images are cited like all other figures, such as photographs, graphs, charts, etc. Figures require a figure number, title, and a figure note in the body of your work, along with a citation in the reference list. It is good practice to also include a transcript of the AI conversation in an appendix. This guidance is based on existing best practices, please confirm this citation format with your instructor.

 

Stable link provided

Reference List Format:

AI Company Name. (year, month day). Title of image prompt in italics [Description; e.g. Generative AI chat]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the chat

Example:

OpenAI. (2026, March 16). Working in the library [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/69b851d8-de0c-8012-b7b5-112114748a3b


Figure Note Format

Note. Description and "prompt", by AI Company Name, Tool Name/Model, year (URL).

Example: 

Note. Image generated using the prompt "Create an image of a person working on a computer in a library", by OpenAI, ChatGPT, 2026 (https://chatgpt.com/share/69b851d8-de0c-8012-b7b5-112114748a3b)

AI generated image of a person working in a library

Stable link not provided

Reference List Format:

AI Company Name. (year). Title of image prompt in italics [Description; e.g. Generative AI chat]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the tool

Example:

Microsoft. (2026). Microsoft Copilot [Large Language Model]. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://copilot.microsoft.com/


Figure Note Format

Note. Description and "prompt", by AI Company Name, Tool Name/Model, Retrieval date (URL).

Example:

Note. Image generated using the prompt "Create an image of a person working on a computer in a library", by Microsoft, Microsoft Copilot, Retrieved March 16, 2026 (https://copilot.microsoft.com/)

AI generated image of a person working in a library

Some of this guidance may be updated as recommendations evolve.

For more information on citing AI tools, see the APA Style blog post on How to Cite ChatGPT and Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 1—Reference formats.

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