Editorial | Timely review of AI guidelines at Hong Kong universities essential
It is incumbent upon the higher education sector to set good examples in this new era of rapid technological advance
The disclosure is shocking, not just because the case involved a respectable scholar and a doctoral student under his supervision. It also reveals glaring negligence in the basic yet essential step of citing and verifying references in academic studies. Yip said he found out about the problem from the student after seeing allegations of fake references online, but he was adamant that the content of the paper was valid. The journal that published the paper also said the core conclusion, empirical data validity and theoretical framework integrity were unaffected.
Whether the incident constitutes a breach of standards and ethics is open to debate. However, it certainly raises concerns and affects the perception of academic integrity.
Local universities have guidelines encouraging responsible use of artificial intelligence. For example, HKU has reminded staff and students that policies and regulations regarding plagiarism and academic misconduct supersede all other regulations, and that the misuse of AI or misrepresentation of AI work as one’s own independent creative work violates the university’s regulations as well as generally accepted principles of community, integrity and honour.
The guidelines should be reviewed regularly to keep up with technological advancement. Users must also stay alert and follow best practice.