Written by Ruby Kim
Recently, AI and generative tools have been spreading quickly in universities. AI is starting to feel less like a special technology and more like an everyday study tool, similar to search engines or translation. Many students use tools like ChatGPT to organize ideas, understand difficult topics, or structure their writing. It can also help when students are writing in English and want to check their expression.
I studied in Korea before coming to Canada, and now I am experiencing a different academic environment. In both contexts, I can see that interest in AI is growing very quickly. At the same time, there is still a lot of discussion about how these tools should be used in academic work.
From what I have read in university guidelines and articles, many institutions in Korea are also discussing the role of generative AI in education. Some universities say that AI can be used as a learning tool, but they also raise concerns about academic integrity. One common concern is that when students submit AI-generated text without explanation, it becomes difficult to see the student’s own learning process.
Because of this, the issue is not simply whether a student used AI or not. A more important question is whether the student’s own thinking is still present in the work. In the past, plagiarism mainly meant copying someone else’s writing. Today, generative AI can produce very polished text, which means that work can look good even when the learning process behind it is weak.
SFU also addresses this issue in its academic integrity guidelines. According to SFU, the use of generative AI may depend on the course or instructor. When it is allowed, students are expected to be transparent about how they used AI tools, and their final work should still reflect their own understanding and ideas.
Personally, I see AI not as a tool that replaces studying, but as a tool that can support thinking. AI can quickly show different perspectives or starting points. However, deciding which ideas are meaningful still requires human judgment.
For that reason, I think the future question in universities will not simply be whether students use AI. Instead, the real question will be how students continue to think and learn honestly in a world where AI is always available.
Resources
Simon Fraser University – Academic Integrity
UNESCO – Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research