Policies, Bias, and Responsible Use

Overview  

Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) can be a powerful tool for teaching, learning, and working more effectively and efficiently. As such, Dartmouth has invested significantly in Dartmouth Chat, our community’s fully-featured online chat platform.

While we encourage members of our community to utilize Dartmouth Chat as part of their day-to-day work, we ask users to be be informed about its effective and responsible use. The following provides some background on generative AI and points to some relevant Dartmouth resources.

Bias  

AI models are trained using human-generated data, which often reflects existing prejudices, stereotypes, and specific world views. This bias can be further reinforced by how data used to train the model is selected and labeled, as well as by how models and return algorithms are designed and implemented.

It is important to note that while some biases might align with yours, you might find others to be objectionable. Through prompting, you can influence these biases to some degree, both intentionally and unintentionally.

In short, be aware of model bias and seek to apply your understanding and critical thinking skills to your use of these tools and the information they provide.

Policies and Responsible Use  

While the benefits provided by Dartmouth Chat and similar platforms can be significant, so are your responsibilities. It is encumbant on all users to think critically and act responsibly when using GenAI.

You can find resources below that provide background on the underlying technology, discussions about its benefits, and explicit policies about its use at Dartmouth. Please review these resources carefully and seek out clarification if you have questions.

Resources  

Whether you are student, faculty, or staff member, the College has an extensive library of resources designed to provide an overview of GenAI’s capabilities as well as guidelines for its acceptable use:

• For Students:

  • Dartmouth Policy Portal. This policy sets forth some basic guidelines for students engaged in coursework at Dartmouth.
  • GenAI at Dartmouth. Generative AI can be a powerful tool for student learning, but should be used wisely.
  • Policy for Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Educational Environments. This resource comes from Geisel and outlines guidelines for the responsible, ethical, and privacy-conscious use of GenAI in medical and health sciences educational environments, for both teaching and learning.
  • Guarini School GenAI Policy. This resource comes from the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies and provides guidelines to support the advanced use of AI by graduate students.

• For Faculty:

  • Teaching with Generative AI. This resource offers a range of considerations and resources to help faculty begin to answer questions related to AI and make the best decisions for their courses and assignments.
  • Policy for Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Educational Environments. This resource comes from Geisel and outlines guidelines for the responsible, ethical, and privacy-conscious use of GenAI in medical and health sciences educational environments, for both teaching and learning.

• For Staff:

  • Using Generative AI at Dartmouth - Staff Overview. Generative AI tools should be used with care and in compliance with college policy.

• For Everyone:

  • Dartmouth Libraries. This guide is meant to be a resource for Dartmouth students, faculty, and staff to learn more about Generative AI and the potential use in the research process and academic publishing.
  • Tuck. Guidelines to help the Tuck community navigate the evolving landscape of generative AI tools responsibly and effectively.

Didn’t find what you needed? Please reach out to research.computing@dartmouth.edu.