AI and academic integrity: writing your own honor code

School rules on AI are often vague or contradictory. Writing your own rules — what you'll use AI for and what you won't — keeps you out of trouble and clear-headed.

Some examples

• List 5 school tasks; mark AI OK or not
• Ask AI for ethical edge cases to consider
• Write a personal rule like 'AI never writes my words'
• Ask AI to stress-test your rules with examples

Try it!

List 5 things you do for school: essays, problem sets, study guides, etc. Write your own rule for each on AI use. Save the list — refer to it before assignments.

Practice this safely

Try this with a school, hobby, or family example where the stakes are low. Use the AI output as a draft you can question, not as the final answer.

1. 1Ask AI to explain integrity in plain language, then underline anything that sounds uncertain or too broad.
2. 2Give it one detail from "AI and academic integrity: writing your own honor code" and ask for two possible next steps plus one reason each step might be wrong.
3. 3Check ethics against a trusted source, teacher, adult, expert, or original document before you use it.