University of Hong Kong temporarily bans students from using ChatGPT, other AI-based tools for coursework
- HKU vice-president says any suspected violations of ban on using AI-based tools for coursework will be treated as cases of plagiarism
- Universities across city warn students against using conversational bot for assessments and papers, but have yet to introduce policies against such tools
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has temporarily banned students from using ChatGPT or any other artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool for coursework, assessments or class, with any suspected violations to be treated as plagiarism.
The tertiary education institution became the first in the city to prohibit the use of AI-based tools on campus, while Chinese University said it had set up a new committee to discuss a policy next week.
Professor Ian Holliday, HKU’s vice-president for teaching and learning, issued a campuswide email on Friday announcing the decision. Students seeking exemptions would need to obtain written permission from course instructors, he said.
With ChatGPT sweeping the internet and shaking up global education, the university planned to launch a broad-based campus debate on the implications of AI-based tools for teaching and learning at the institution, he explained.
“Since the implications are certain to be significant, however, it will take a while for us to settle on a long-term policy,” he said.
“We, therefore, need to adopt a short-term policy. This is it: as an interim measure, we prohibit the use of ChatGPT or any other AI-based tool for all classroom, coursework and assessment tasks at HKU.”
Holliday warned that suspected violations of the interim policy would be treated as plagiarism cases, saying teachers could use various methods to verify if students had used any AI-based tools to complete their work.