September 19, 2023
The Group of Eight (Go8) universities, comprising Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, are committed to the ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence and to preparing our students, researchers and staff to be leaders in an increasingly AI-enabled world.
The rapid rise of generative AI has the potential to significantly impact the ways in which we teach, learn, assess and access education. Our universities are committed to ensuring that generative AI tools can be used for the benefit of students and staff – enhancing teaching practices and student learning experiences; ensuring students have equal opportunity to access, and benefit from, generative AI and develop skills for the future within an ethical framework; and enabling educators to benefit from efficiencies to develop innovative methods of teaching.
Go8 universities place a premium on applying a principles and ethics-based approach to the development of appropriate policies and strategies for the use of generative AI by our students, researchers and staff.
Go8 universities have collectively developed the following principles, benchmarked against Australia’s AI Ethics Principles, to guide the approach to generative AI tools across our universities.
- Maintaining academic excellence and integrity in teaching, learning, assessment and research will continue to be a priority for Go8 universities as they adapt and lead in the responsible use of generative AI.
- Go8 universities will promulgate clear guidelines for the appropriate use of generative AI technologies by their academic staff, researchers and students.
- Go8 universities will develop resources to empower students, academic and research staff to engage productively, effectively and ethically with generative AI.
- We will work to ensure equal access to generative AI.
- Go8 universities will engage in collaborative efforts to exchange and implement best practices as generative AI technology and its role in society continues to advance.
1. Maintaining academic excellence and integrity in teaching, learning, assessment and research will continue to be a priority for Go8 universities as they adapt and lead in the responsible use of generative AI.
- Generative AI represents a substantial acceleration in technological impacts on society and many believe it is as important as the Industrial Revolution. Generative AI will continue to evolve and will be an ongoing feature of work, study and leisure.
- No one approach will provide the ‘silver bullet’ for ensuring academic integrity in higher education.
- Go8 universities will continue to prioritise academic excellence and integrity. We will pursue a range of strategies, appropriate to each field of study and research, to provide our students, the regulator and the public with confidence in the world-class education and research we undertake.
2. Go8 universities will promulgate clear guidelines for the appropriate use of generative AI technologies by their academic staff, researchers and students.
- Generative AI can generate content that may infringe upon intellectual property rights and may also generate material that is incorrect. Clear guidelines will help educate staff and students about the importance of respecting intellectual property and provide guidance on avoiding potential legal and academic misconduct issues that may be associated with generative AI-generated materials.
- Go8 universities will continue to review their academic conduct and research policies and guidelines as generative AI technology evolves to ensure it is clear to students, researchers and staff where the use of generative AI is appropriate/inappropriate.
3. Go8 universities will develop resources to empower students, academic and research staff to engage productively, effectively and ethically with generative AI.
- By providing resources, universities enable students and staff to harness the full potential of generative AI, allowing them to explore innovative approaches, enhance their learning experiences and develop valuable skills that will be relevant in their future careers.
- Generative AI technologies come with ethical challenges and potential risks. Developing resources that emphasise ethical guidelines and responsible practices ensures that students, researchers and staff are equipped to navigate these complexities. By promoting ethical engagement with generative AI, universities can help prevent misuse and mitigate unintended consequences, fostering responsible innovation.
4. We will work to ensure equal access to generative AI.
- Go8 universities are committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their background or circumstances, have an equal opportunity to access and benefit from generative AI technologies regularly used by individual institutions. Equal opportunity in this context may include access to generative AI technologies available via subscription or other payment. This promotes fairness and inclusivity, reducing the potential for disparities in educational outcomes.
5. Go8 universities will engage in collaborative efforts to exchange and implement best practices as generative AI technology and its role in society continue to advance.
- As the nation’s leading research-intensive universities and educators of future leaders here and internationally, Go8 universities are committed to leading in the development, exchange and implementation of best practice in the use and management of generative AI in higher education.
- While each Go8 university will set its generative AI policies, guidelines and practices in response to its local circumstances and individual missions, we commit to ongoing collaboration in developing and implementing best practice in the interests of optimum outcomes for our staff, students and researchers.