Teaching with Generative AI

This LibGuide page includes guidance from these two documents, shared here for your reference.

ChatGPT

Required Use

Can you require ChatGPT by OpenAI for use in your class?

Perhaps. Students must not be required to sign up for ChatGPT, but GPT 3.5 can be used without a login. ChatGPT's Terms of Use restrict sharing of accounts.

Usage Requirements

• It must be optional for students to sign up for an account.
• Students must be provided with an alternative to using ChatGPT.
• Declining to use ChatGPT cannot affect grades or course participation.
• If student use of ChatGPT is required for course completion and no alternative is available, contact the IAPO (privacy@bcit.ca) prior to class implementation. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) may be required.
• Instructors must inform students of OpenAI's Privacy Policy and the risks associated with use of this tool. Students should be warned against uploading, inputting, or disclosing any information they would not want to be public on the internet.
• Uploading copyrighted material needs to fall under fair dealing guidelines.

Data collected by ChatGPT

ChatGPT collects information/data from users via the following points:

• Registration: Registering for a ChatGPT account requires users to provide their name, email address, and birthday. OpenAI's Privacy Policy states that your Personal Information may be shared with third parties without further notice to you. Data is stored outside Canada. Never use your BCIT password for any other account.
• Prompts/Forms: Users interact with ChatGPT by asking questions, writing prompts, or uploading files. Do not upload, input, or disclose any personal information. Do not upload, input, or disclose any information that should not be made public.
• Training Data: OpenAI uses data to train ChatGPT on how to respond. This includes anything you write or upload to ChatGPT, which is why you should not input any information you would not want to be made public. Learn how to opt out of having your data used for training.

Additional information about use of ChatGPT, including employee use for business purposes, can be found in the Acceptable Use of Technology: ChatGPT document at the top of this page.

Bing Chat/Copilot

Required Use

Can you require Bing Chat/Copilot for use in your class?

Perhaps. While BCIT has not published Acceptable Use of Technology Guidelines for Bing Chat/Copilot, it may be used without registering for an account or providing any personal information. All BCIT policies must still be followed.

Usage Guidelines

• Students may be required to use Bing Chat/Copilot if all BCIT policies are followed.
• Students cannot be required to enter personal information into Bing Chat/Copilot, and should not do so.
• Students cannot be required to upload their copyrighted work into Bing Chat/Copilot.
• Students should be cautioned not to enter anything into Bing Chat/Copilot they would not want public on the internet. This is because their input could be used to train future versions of Bing Chat/Copilot.
• Uploading copyrighted material needs to fall under fair dealing guidelines.

Here are some items you should be aware of when requiring the use of Bing Chat/Copilot within your course.

 Data Collected by Bing Chat/Copilot

• Anything entered will be shared outside BCIT.
• Bing Chat collects user data, including prompts and chat interactions.
• In the Edge browser’s sidebar, it gathers data from content loaded in the browser, such as PDFs.
• Data is shared with Microsoft affiliates and subsidiaries.
• Data may be shared with 3rd parties such as OpenAI.
• Data is processed and stored outside Canada.

 Privacy

• IP Addresses are stored for 6 months, other identifiers for up to 18 months.
• Users may not be able to delete this data.
• Authentication is not needed, so users can use this without logging in.

 Recommendations

• You may ask students to use this tool, but caution them in its use.
• Do not require students to enter any information they would not share publicly on the internet.
• Remind them to be cautious about sharing any information they would not share publicly on the internet.
• Bing Chat can be accessed using Microsoft Edge browser in BCIT computer labs.

Sample Syllabus Language

Usage of Bing Chat in this course

Bing Chat/Copilot can collect basic information about you such as your IP address, what you search or prompt, and documents you upload or view in your browser. It can store information for up to 18 months and you may not be able to delete this information. Do not enter personal or private information, or any information you would not share publicly on the internet, into Bing Chat/Copilot.

This language is just about Bing Chat. For more general syllabus language, refer to our Recommended Learning & Teaching Practices page.

The Bing Chat/Copilot portion of this page includes factual privacy guidance from The University of British Columbia, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license. It is intended to help faculty make informed decisions about use of Bing Chat/Copilot, and does not constitute institutional policy. BCIT has not published Acceptable Use of Technology Guidelines for Bing Chat/Copilot at this time.

AI Surveillance Technology

Academic surveillance technology takes many forms, and can be particularly harmful when it uses AI. These technologies purport to detect academic dishonesty by monitoring student behaviour, but in fact create false positives which exacerbate inequity.

AI Detection Tools

Companies such as Turnitin use GenAI technology to attempt to detect the use of GenAI in student submitted work. Research by the Washington Post has shown that the rate of false positives by Turnitin can be as high as 1 in 16. Researchers from Stanford University found that AI text detectors are biased against non-native English authors, a conclusion the company denies. Researchers from University of Maryland have cast doubt on whether AI-generated text can ever be reliably detected.

In 2023, BCIT's Educational Technology and Learning Design Committee voted to discontinue the AI detection functionality in Turnitin. There is no approved AI Detection tool at BCIT and they should not be used 

No AI Detection tool (such as GPTZero, Copyleaks, and ZeroGPT) has been evaluated for compliance with BCIT policies. Uploading student personal information to an unvetted service may be a breach of British Columbia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Additionally, it may be a violation of the Copyright Act as students own copyright of their work.

There's a saying, "if you're not paying for it, you're the product". It is unethical to pay for academic surveillance technology with student data.

AI Proctoring Tools

Intended for remote exams, AI proctoring is a technology which monitors student bodies and behaviours through surveillance of their webcams, microphones, and screens. Head movement and eye movement are typically tracked, flagging students who look away from their screen or step away from their computer. Common criticisms of these technologies include:

• Discrimination against students with disabilities, by flagging so-called "abnormal" behaviour exhibited by neuroatypical students.
• Perpetuation of racist biases through the use of facial detection algorithms which regularly fail against students of colour.
• Unwarranted invasion of privacy by requiring students to undergo video surveillance in their own home.
• Emotional harm caused by the stress of unwarranted surveillance and false positives.

If you need assistance designing assessments without surveillance, contact the Teaching & Learning Centre for support.

On September 18th, 2024, BCIT Librarian Ian Linkletter presented "The Case Against AI Proctoring and AI Detection" with BCcampus. The video is above and a transcript is on the webpage.

Teaching with Generative AI LibGuide by BCIT Library Services is licensed CC BY-NC, meaning it can be used for non-commercial purposes if attribution is provided. Learn more about Creative Commons licenses on the BCIT Open Education LibGuide.

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