AI at school, without cheating

10 generally accepted uses

If they are allowed for this course, and declared when you're asked to.

1. Get quizzed. The AI asks you questions on your course and checks your answers: active recall, the most effective way to revise.
2. Explain to understand. You explain a concept in your own words, the AI spots what's missing (Feynman method).
3. Plan your revision. A backward schedule to your exams, with short, spaced sessions.
4. Find reading leads. Then always go back to the primary source: an AI is never the source of a fact.
5. Understand an assignment. You rephrase it, the AI tells you whether you got what's expected.
6. Get feedback on your outline. A critical read of your draft, without rewriting it for you.
7. Proofread text you wrote. Spelling and clarity. Some schools ask you to declare it.
8. Understand a code error. It explains the error message; you fix it and you hand it in.
9. Practise speaking. Mock defence or internship interview, with hard questions.
10. Write personal documents. CV, cover letter, emails: they are not graded work.

5 uses banned almost everywhere

1. Handing in AI-generated text as your own, without declaring it.
2. Having a text paraphrased to get past a plagiarism checker.
3. Making up data: surveys, interviews, experiment results.
4. Giving personal or confidential data (interviews, documents from your internship company) to a consumer AI tool.
5. Using AI during an assessment where it isn't allowed.