IIT Delhi Introduces Strict GenAI Usage Rules for Students, Faculty

• AI-generated work must be fully disclosed to ensure transparency and integrity.
• Guidelines aim to promote responsible, ethical use of AI in academic settings.
• Users must safeguard sensitive data and verify AI-generated content accuracy.

IIT Delhi instructed students and faculty that any work or content created with the help of AI tools must be completely disclosed to guarantee transparency and uphold academic integrity in its guidelines for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

IIT Delhi is the first Indian Institute of Technology to officially release a set of guidelines for AI usage, clarifying what constitutes ethical application of the new technology to ensure academic endeavors are conducted without unintended consequences, as per officials.

The recommendations for the guidelines were developed based on a panel's findings from an internal survey indicating that a minimum of 80 percent of students and 77 percent of faculty had utilized AI tools.

"GenAI tools are gaining significant traction in academic spaces, embraced by students, faculty members, and staff alike for their ability to generate information that is contextually fitting in many instances. The widespread adoption of these tools is prompting educators and administrators to reconsider how they reshape classroom teaching, design assignments and exams, and determine more effective methods of assessment," IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee said.

"While these tools offer potential benefits such as providing personalised, real-time feedback and a customised learning experience, there are also significant concerns. With the growing adoption of Gen AI tools, there is an urgent need for educational institutions to establish guidelines that sensitise and instruct students and faculty members on fair and appropriate use," he added.

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The panel remarked that its report provides general principles for the responsible utilization of Gen AI tools, guaranteeing that academic objectives are progressed carefully without unintended consequences. 

"Any work or content generated with the assistance of AI tools should be fully disclosed to ensure transparency and maintain academic integrity. Specifically, if AI tools are used to create distinct elements, such as images, tables, data visualisations, or significant sections of text, this use should be noted as such. Such disclosure can be incorporated into captions, footnotes, or a statement within the work," the report said.

Students, faculty, and researchers are encouraged to take complete responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of their work and to take initiatives to verify that the content does not contain any plagiarism.

"All users should exercise caution when inputting data or queries into AI tools, as these inputs could potentially become publicly accessible. Before utilising such tools, users should thoroughly screen any information to identify and exclude sensitive or private details. This includes personally identifiable information (PII), confidential institutional data, and any other content that could compromise privacy or security if exposed," the report said.