Artificial Intelligence (AI)

"Writing can change the writer, opening up new perspectives and beliefs or revealing that there still is to learn." - Chris Anson

The University of Montana does not have a policy in place governing the use of generative AI on its campuses, though the UM Student Code of Conduct now includes generative AI in its definition of plagiarism. Currently, UM supports instructors in choosing their own level in which to integrate generative AI into their courses. Always be sure to check with your instructors around their expectations regarding the use of AI in class and for assignments!

Brainstorming

It's often challenging to choose a topic to write about or research for a project. AI tools can help with the brainstorming process, suggesting and refining concepts and sparking new ideas.

Crafting a Thesis Statement

AI tools can help formulate and provide feedback on thesis statements, a crucial component of writing, helping to refine and articulate a compelling argument.

Structuring Your Content

Properly structuring content in a piece of writing is important for flow, to make a compelling argument, to clearly demonstrate work that the writing builds upon, and to construct a coherent narrative. AI tools can provide suggestions to improve writing structure based on the kind of writing, the parameters provided by the user, and the writing's overall argument.

Literature Reviews/Synthesis

If an AI tool is connected to the internet (not all are!), they can be helpful in identifying and summarizing sources relevant to your research. This can be a good jumping-off point for research; however, be sure to engage critically with any sources and summaries generated by AI tools. Beware of hallucinations. Also, understand that no list of sources generated by AI tools will be complete.

Editing and Revision

AI tools can provide suggestions for editing and revising writing, including spelling and grammar as well as clarity and tone.

False or "Hallucinated" Information

While technologies are rapidly improving, AI tools may still provide false information and/or sources. AI tools are trained on large data sets largely mined from the internet. Despite their algorithmic training to derive the most useful information in response to a user's query, these tools will still draw from all the data at their disposal--truthful or not. Remember, AI tools are pattern-based, predictive machines: They are not concerned with truthfulness so much as generating plausible content.

Loss of Original Voice

Writing is a uniquely individualistic act. Using AI tools to assist with your writing, particularly in the generative and revision stages, may strip your writing of your distinctive voice.

Bias

AI tools are trained on large data sets (including the internet) originally created and generated by humans, which often retain or reflect humans' inherent biases. AI output can thus mimic those biases.

Risk of Violating Academic Integrity Standards

It can be tempting to rely on AI tools for writing: Generative AI is, well, generative. Be sure to check that your use of AI aligns with the stated AI parameters of an assignment, a course, or a publisher, and always cite your use of AI properly.