The First 48 Hours: What to Do if You’ve Been Accused of Inappropriate Use of AI
The bad news often arrives by email, but it could come in a printed letter from the dean’s office. You’ve been formally accused of AI misconduct, academic dishonesty, or a similar violation of your school’s code of conduct. Many students panic at this point, and they often say or do things that make their situation more precarious. Other students may assume it’s no big deal because everybody uses AI, they know they haven’t broken the law, and they believe the school can’t really do anything to hurt them. This reaction is equally dangerous.
The fact is that the school can and will do a great deal to hurt you if you don’t take the right steps to assert your rights and protect your reputation. In many cases, the first 48 hours after the accusation are the most crucial. The right moves can prevent irreparable damage to your reputation and future prospects.
Hours 1-2 – Don’t React. Instead, Prepare to Act Effectively
Knee-jerk reactions are extremely hard to resist, but they can make it much more difficult to resolve the situation, so it is important to take some time, catch your breath, and start formulating a plan. Don’t explain, don’t admit, don’t even respond yet. In fact, it is best to turn off your computer for a while so you’re not tempted to send a defensive, emotional response. After all, it hurts to be accused of cheating.
If you are called in to speak with a professor or other staff member, face-to-face or by phone, simply state that you need time to review the allegation before you can discuss it with anyone on campus. This includes an “advisor” that the school may have provided to “help” you through the disciplinary process. Anyone who works for the school will have divided loyalties at best, and they are likely to lack the analytical and legal skills necessary to defend effectively against the accusations.
If you work with a student defense attorney, the issues you discuss with your lawyer are protected by the attorney-client privilege. Your lawyer cannot be forced to testify against you. An advisor appointed by the school is not in the same legal position. Any information you share with them can be used against you. So in hours one and two, you can consult a knowledgeable attorney, but it is best not to speak with anyone else about the matter until you have prepared a plan of action.
Hours 3-12 – Preserve Your Evidence
Your defense against allegations of AI cheating will be much more effective when you can back it up with evidence to demonstrate the processes you used to create the assignment at issue. Save copies of all drafts and file versions. Gather the metadata that shows the timeline of your writing. If you used Microsoft Word, pull out and save the data tracking changes. If you used Google Docs, export the version history.
In addition to documenting your writing process, it is important to gather evidence of the work you put into researching your topic. Gather up any handwritten notes or outlines. Export your browser history and notate any source materials you used.
If you used AI, it is a good idea to download the prompts used and chat histories. This can be used to show that your use of AI was within boundaries allowed by the school’s code of conduct or the course syllabus. Even if the use exceeded permissible limits, your student defense attorney may be able to demonstrate that it was reasonable for you to believe your use was lawful.
Hours 12-24 – Analyze the Rules and Accusation Against You
Once you’ve ensured that your evidence is secure and cannot be erased or misplaced, it is time to understand the case being made against you. What rules are you being accused of violating? On what basis is the accusation of AI misuse being made?
Most of the time, this will involve an analysis of your school’s code of conduct and the course syllabus. If the school or your professor has issued separate guidelines on AI use, you will need to review those as well. Analyzing the school code and class rules is similar to analyzing legislation and regulations, which is one reason that the logical approach used by attorneys can be so effective in student defense. A detailed review of the rules often reveals loopholes that can be used in defense or in situations where the rule does not clearly prohibit their use in a particular case.
It is also helpful to find what triggered the accusation of cheating. Most of the time, allegations are based on the results of an AI detection tool. These tools often produce flawed results, and the known flaws can be exploited in the defense process.
Consider Your Defense
Academic investigations and adjudications can proceed similarly to criminal investigations and trials, but with some crucial differences. The process moves very quickly, so it is important to be ready to build and present your defense much more quickly than you would if you faced criminal charges. In addition, the due process protections are not nearly as well defined, and it can be easy to forfeit your due process rights if you are not aware of the steps necessary to protect them.
Your defense can incorporate contractual obligations established by the school’s code of conduct if permitted by state law. Our legal team represents students all throughout the U.S., and we know that some state courts hold that a school’s code of conduct establishes contractual obligations, while courts in other states do not accept the creation of certain contractual duties.
With your reputation at stake and your defense resting on complex legal precepts and technical metadata evidence, the matter can seem overwhelming. If it appears that way, that means you are giving the case the serious consideration it deserves. This is a good time to consider investing in professional legal guidance from an experienced student defense lawyer.
Learn More About Effective Defense Against AI Cheating Allegations
At Nesenoff & Miltenberg, we have decades of experience defending students accused of wrongdoing on campus. We know the damage that can be done when accusations are not properly defended. Colleges and universities have become so alarmed by the use of AI that they are willing to sacrifice the rights of a few innocent students to protect their institutions’ reputations.
Your rights should not be the ones they get away with destroying. We invite you to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about the defense our team could provide in your situation.