THE FACULTY of Arts and Letters (AB) recently conducted a Google AI (artificial intelligence) Pro training to acquaint students with the responsible use of generative AI in academic work.
The online workshop came more than a month after UST’s rollout of an AI policy manual covering all research activities in the University, one of the few institutions in the country to adopt a formal guideline on the technology.
READ: UST issues AI policy on research and publication
AB followed with an update to its thesis writing guidelines, which now require students to report any usage of AI in their manuscripts.
READ: Artlets now required to declare use of AI in thesis manuscripts
UST Educational Technology Center specialists facilitated the session, with instructor Romelito Clorina of the Department of Psychology guiding participants through demonstrations of AI language model Gemini Pro and research tool NotebookLM.
According to a memorandum from the AB administration dated Nov. 18, all academic units of the faculty were invited to join the online workshop held via Zoom from Nov. 20 to 21.
While the training aimed to help students use AI tools to support learning, Clorina reminded participants that “given all of the tools that were presented to you, you need to be reminded that these are tools.” He encouraged them to use AI ethically and only as a means for assistance while upholding integrity, authenticity, and originality.
AI must remain a guide rather than a replacement for academic work, Clorina added.
Participants were shown how the AI tools can aid in reviewing concepts, creating study prompts, organizing research materials and generating summaries.
The facilitators also emphasized that students’ own analysis must remain at the center of these activities.
Slides presented during the session stressed the need to cite every contribution of AI-generated content to one’s assignment, as they highlighted transparency as a core academic standard. Students were also urged to verify information, because outputs from generative systems may contain errors.
AB officials said further guidance is expected as the faculty continues to refine academic practices as more people take advantage of the technology. F
