What are Your Legal Rights When the Rules About AI Are Unclear?
| | Student Rights
There are longstanding jokes about anything made by a committee. Committees work slowly, and they have a remarkable ability to take a straightforward concept and make it unnecessarily complicated, awkward, and uncertain.
Campus policies and procedures are generally made by committees, and it can take these committees considerable time to adjust rules to changes in the academic environment. Nowhere is this more evident than with the use of artificial intelligence.
The technology is developing at a faster-than-lightning pace, and many people have adopted it with rapid enthusiasm. Yet, school rules and policies on the use of this technology are moving at a snail’s pace. The result is that it can be extremely difficult to determine when AI use is permissible and when it violates school policy or the rules outlined in a class syllabus.
Students accused of violating rules on the use of AI face serious consequences, such as suspension and negative marks on their permanent records. The allegations can damage their academic reputations in ways that can be extremely difficult to remedy. Therefore, it is important to understand your legal rights and how to enforce them if you have been accused of academic misconduct involving the use of AI.
Unclear Policies are a Liability You Can Turn to Your Advantage
Colleges and universities can find themselves in a precarious legal position when their policies are unclear or equivocal. To begin, students have certain due process rights. This includes the right to receive fair notice of precisely which behaviors are prohibited before being punished for engaging in them. While ignorance of the law is not an excuse for disobeying it, ambiguity in the law often does provide legal justification for dismissing accusations of a violation.
In many jurisdictions, a school’s code of conduct is treated as a contract between the school and the student. The student is deemed to have accepted the terms by enrolling. Contracts are often interpreted strictly according to the terms. When a contract is silent or vague on an issue, courts may imply reasonable terms.
But on an issue such as the use of AI, where there is not an obvious mutual understanding between the parties, courts often hold that there is no obligation on either side with regard to that issue. Therefore, in contractual terms, a student could argue that they should not be found to have breached the contract (and therefore violated a rule) regarding the use of AI because any relevant terms are unenforceable.
When a syllabus is unclear, the same contractual arguments could be applied. It may also be easier to argue that the student did not accept the terms as part of a contractual relationship. It would be essential to examine the school policies in detail to understand a student’s obligations.
Inconsistent Enforcement
If a school has established rules regarding the use of AI, but they are enforced very differently across departments or by different professors, this could be considered procedurally unfair. Selective enforcement could indicate unlawful discrimination, but it also leaves students without fair notice of what is permissible and what is not.
When individual professors have wildly divergent AI rules, this can create confusion and potential procedural unfairness for students. If the rules are not clearly stated and openly available in the syllabus or another easily accessible document, it may be unfair to penalize a student for a violation.
Protecting Your Rights
It is important to gather and preserve information that demonstrates the facts. This includes:
- Previous drafts of your work
- Search history on your devices
- Notes about the project, including ideas that were ultimately rejected
If you used AI in a way that you believed to be permissible, be prepared to explain what you did and why. For instance, if AI was used to create an outline or help refine grammar, cite that use. AI can be used as a tutor, and many professors have no objection to this. Students are often considered to have crossed the line when they use AI to produce the final content that they submit. Being prepared to show that you used AI in a way that appeared to have complied with rules indicates that you are not trying to hide anything and may justify your use of the technology.
Help from an Attorney
Professors and school administrators fear losing control, and the use of AI is one of the issues that most intensively triggers this fear. They often do not want to hear what a student has to say in their own defense, particularly if the student argues that the AI use policies were unclear.
However, when these same arguments are presented by an attorney, school representatives are often much more willing to listen.
Experienced student defense lawyers understand how to ensure that a student’s due process rights are protected in campus proceedings, both formal and informal. They should also know the arguments and evidence that are most effective for refuting accusations of academic misconduct. For instance, many professors base their accusations of improper AI use on the results from AI detection software. However, numerous studies have shown that this software produces unreliable results that effectively discriminate against certain students.
Protect Your Rights if You’ve Been Accused of Academic Misconduct Involving AI
When professors determine that a student has violated rules or policies regarding AI use, they may either file a formal complaint or simply assign a failing grade. Regardless of the approach, it is vital for students to assert and protect their rights if accused of any rule violation or breach of academic integrity. Any negative marks on the record can interfere with academic and career goals in the future and taint a student’s reputation, leading to a perception of untrustworthiness. Acting now to protect your name and reputation can prevent years of disappointment in the future.
At Nesenoff & Miltenberg, we’ve focused on student defense for decades because we know how important it is to keep your record accurate. If you’d like to find out how we can protect your reputation and preserve future opportunities, contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation.