AI (artificial intelligence) is now widely accessible and used across the globe for a wide range of applications in business, education, healthcare, industry, transportation, manufacturing and robotics.
AI has also become a go-to resource in the workplace and among students and learners of all ages, for example, ChatGPT which can be used to provide instant answers and information.
AI is a useful tool, but when does using AI become plagiarism? And does it matter?
What is plagiarism?
“Plagiarism means taking someone else’s work or ideas and presenting them as your own,” says Nevra Sezgin, the Impellus Assessment Team Manager. “This includes copying or paraphrasing information from websites or AI programs and using it in your assignments without citing/referencing where the information came from.”
Impellus checks all assignments for plagiarism and AI content using a special software tool.
“If plagiarism or AI content is detected in your assignment, we will send you a report highlighting the sections that you’ll need to rewrite in your own words.”
Why is it important to avoid plagiarism?
“It can be easy to plagiarise without meaning to,” says Nevra. “However, it’s important to be very careful when writing ILM assignments as you may be disbarred from the qualification if plagiarism or AI is detected in your work.”
Use it, don’t abuse it: avoid plagiarism by following these AI dos and don’ts:
Do:
- Ensure your assignments are your own work, mainly written in your own words and including your own original ideas and critical thinking.
- Use a wide range of books, articles and online materials to carry out thorough research into the topics you are writing about. Ensure these are correctly referenced if quoted or paraphrased within your assignment.
- Use AI programs, if you wish, as part of your research toolkit, for example, to point you in the right direction or come up with suggestions for further reading.
- Make it clear if and how you have used an AI program as part of your research, for example, in your list of references at the end of your assignment. (Extensive use of AI is not acceptable, even if you acknowledge this in your references.)
Don’t:
- Copy or paraphrase any text from AI programs as if it were your own work.
- Rely on information provided by AI to write your answers.
- Cite references and bibliographies generated by AI unless they are books or articles you have genuinely used for research.
- Trust the information that AI provides. It can provide inaccurate and misleading information, including fake references to books and articles. Always carry out further research to double-check and verify the information.
- Use AI as a paraphrasing tool to make your work sound better as our systems pick this up as direct use of AI.
We’re here to help
Always ask the Impellus Assessment Team for advice if you are unsure about the use of AI when writing your assignments. We’re always happy to help.
Discover our ILM Assessment Team resources including Q&As, learner timelines and how to pass notes.
