University of Saskatchewan researchers may encounter artificial intelligence (AI) at different stages of their work, including research design, data analysis, writing, and dissemination.
Decisions about how AI is used depend on the discipline, project, and approach being taken. In some cases, it may not be appropriate to use AI at all.
This page provides guidance to support those decisions and encourages researchers to draw on established standards, seek appropriate guidance, and apply informed, critical judgment when using AI in research, scholarly, and artistic work (RSAW).
Ethical and responsible use
AI use in research, scholarly, and artistic work involves considerations related to integrity, accountability, and the responsible use of data.
- Responsibility: Researchers are accountable for the integrity, quality, truthfulness, and accuracy of their output.
- Attend to equity and diversity: Researchers recognize that AI outputs are subject to bias, inequities, the generation of misleading information (e.g. literature references that do not exist), and other potential inaccuracies.
- Protect data: Researchers recognize that data input into AI data processers may be accessed by others resulting in privacy breaches and/or disclosure of confidential information.
Related policies and guidelines
Certain aspects of AI use are governed by university policies and institutional guidelines. These may apply in specific situations depending on your research activities and the requirements of your work.
Literacy
AI literacy supports informed decision-making about how AI may be evaluated, applied, and discussed in research, scholarly, and artistic work.
- Familiarize yourself: Researchers should familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of AI, including its benefits, limitations, and potential applications, as well as its social, cultural, and ethical implications.
Change and innovation
AI may influence how research methods, data handling, and scholarly practices are developed and adapted.
- Consider security: Researchers consider the security of AI tools to prevent the leakage, accidental or otherwise, of confidential, proprietary, or sensitive information.
- Content submission: Researchers avoid submitting content that is not their own into any AI tool that uses inputs for training purposes or to improve performance. When using AI tools, researchers are responsible for the content they submit and complying with all applicable laws, research ethics, and regulations.
- Transparency: Researchers should be transparent about their use of AI throughout the research lifecycle.
Managing tool use
The use of AI in research, scholarly, and artistic work may require ongoing evaluation, adaptation, and consideration of discipline-specific expectations.
- Responsive: Each unit at USask should adapt these guidelines to provide discipline-specific guidance for researchers, staff, and students, as needed.
- Engage: Researchers should actively engage in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impact of the use of AI in RSAW.