Ethics — Plagiarism, Attribution, and When Not to Use AI

AI raises profound ethical questions — about academic integrity, about creative ownership, about transparency, about fairness. As AI tools become more powerful and more integrated into daily work and education, these questions become increasingly urgent.

This lesson is not about telling you what to think. It is about giving you the framework to make informed, ethical decisions about how you use AI tools.

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Academic Integrity: What Counts as Plagiarism?

The Fundamental Question

If a student uses AI to write an essay and submits it as their own work, is that plagiarism?

Most educational institutions say yes. The reasoning is straightforward: plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as your own. If AI generated the text and you did not disclose that, you are presenting work that is not genuinely yours.

But the reality is more nuanced. Consider this spectrum: