A skilled Gen-AI user should, as put by librarian Kyle Bylin from at Saginaw Valley State University, have “the ability not just to use these tools, but to collaborate with them, to shape them, to direct their generative power toward genuinely meaningful discovery and creation”.
For an increasing number of individuals, AI technology is already playing a role in their professional and personal lives and will continue to do so. As we learned in the Understand section, this technology is powerful but must be used thoughtfully to avoid AI slop.
Before looking closely at how to use Gen-AI, there are two important issues to understand: privacy and copyright. Expand the sections below to learn more.
Gen-AI tools learn from large collections of public data. They may also use purchased datasets that include copyrighted works or intellectual property. Some tools keep learning from the data you enter, which means your input could be used for training.
Once you share personal information with a Gen-AI tool, it is hard to track, control, or delete it. That information might also be shared with other users.
Before using Gen-AI tools, ask yourself: Would I be comfortable if this information were seen by many people? If the answer is no, do not enter any personal or private details into a Gen-AI tool. This includes your name, email address, income, legal or medical details, or anything else you would not share publicly.
Use general terms instead of specific details.
Before choosing a Gen-AI tool, check its privacy policy. Ask yourself:
Additionally, if you are using sensitive data such as identifiable personal data of others, Indigenous data or health and medical data, you must inform yourself of proper practices in relation to Gen-AI.
Check out ARDC’s Working with Sensitive Data page for information.
When using Gen-AI tools, make sure the text, images, or code you enter are your own work or something you have permission to use. You should not share copyrighted material like published books or journal articles with Gen-AI tools.
Some library databases do not allow uploading content accessed from their sites to Gen-AI tools. These databases are marked in the library catalogue. If you are not sure, it is safest to avoid uploading any published content.
To stay safe, use content that is Open License, Creative Commons (CC), or in the public domain when working with Gen-AI.
Also, you must not upload any Curtin University materials. This includes unit guides, readings, assessment rubrics, and lecture slides. These materials belong to the University, and sharing them would break copyright rules.
With these important points in mind, we can now explore how you can use Gen-AI at Curtin in a safe and responsible way.
Study-related purposes include all parts of your learning that will not be graded. Examples are:
Gen-AI can also help you look at topics from different angles, break down complex ideas into simpler explanations, or suggest links between concepts you are learning. Think of it as a study helper that can support brainstorming, clarify your thinking, or help you practise explaining ideas in your own words.
You must get clear permission from your unit coordinator before using Gen-AI for assessment tasks. Always follow your unit coordinator’s instructions to avoid breaking Curtin’s academic integrity rules. If the instructions about Gen-AI use are unclear or missing, ask your lecturer for help.
The use of AI detection tools, which are a type of machine learning, is not recommended. These tools can often give false results. Each tool will produce different outcomes because they are trained in different ways. This makes them unreliable.
Instead of depending on these tools, it is better to think carefully and make informed choices about when and how to use Gen-AI for assessments.
Check if the way you are using Gen-AI is allowed.
You can find more examples of appropriate and inappropriate use of Gen-AI in Curtin’s Academic Integrity Guide for Students.
Gen-AI cannot check facts or think critically, so you must always review its outputs against trusted sources, even if the response sounds professional and convincing.
Keep a critical mindset by cross-checking information, confirming that references are real, and remembering that your own judgment and expertise are more valuable than any AI tool.
Make sure you understand how Gen-AI tools work.
To learn more about checking informaton, visit the critical thinking guide.
Whenever you use Gen-AI for assessments, you must declare it by including a statement that explains the tool and prompt you used. You must also reference AI output using the unit’s referencing style.
Document your use and follow the UniSkills declaration template to disclose it.
Permitted use examples:
This list does not include every possible example, but it can help you understand the kinds of ways you are allowed to use Gen-AI as a Curtin student. These examples are here to guide you and help you use Gen-AI in a way that supports and improves your learning.
To do any of these tasks, modify the prompt template below to suit your specific need. You may not need every part of the template to get a useful answer.
I am a university student currently studying [discipline] and have [scenario or problem].
Please help me [what you want to achieve] by [task you would like the Gen-AI model to complete].
Include [additional elements, information for context].
Provide your answer in [specific format or tone].
Example #1
I am a university-level student. Please help me understand the relationship between taxation and business taxpayers, breaking down the key elements and providing examples. Include information relating to an Australian context. Provide your answer in a short paragraph using simple language that a high schooler can understand.
Example #2
I am a university student currently studying Occupational Therapy and need practice roleplaying a professional interaction with a potential client. Please help me with this process by pretending to be a patient who is recovering from knee surgery. Provide your answer in a chat format and we will talk back and forth. Please let me know how I did and how I can improve in future.
Example #3
Please help me discover alternative search terms for the following terms keywords: social media, body image, adolescents.
For more information on creating detailed prompts, view the effective prompts section.
If you receive specific approval from your unit coordinator, there are various ways Gen-AI can be used in assessments. It is important to follow the permissions you have been given. Not all suggestions below may be appropriate, even when given permission, so check your unit guidelines carefully. What is allowed in one unit may not be authorised in another, so contact your UC if you are unsure.
University helps you understand topics and ideas. It also teaches you to form opinions, think clearly, and share your thoughts. Because of this, you must have clear permission to use Gen-AI to create or review content, including:
If you have permission to use Gen-AI tools for any of these tasks, review the prompt engineering information in the Upskill section to see which formulas will be the most effective for your purpose.
Sharing Curtin-owned content like unit guides, assessment tasks, questions, or academic resources breaks Curtin’s copyright and intellectual property rules. To avoid this, do not upload:
Using Gen-AI properly means thinking carefully at every step. This section can be used as a checkpoint that will help you make responsible choices—from deciding whether to use Gen-AI, to making sure your work still shows your own learning and ideas.
Read about the important points to consider and complete the Gen-AI Checkpoint challenge to receive helpful tips and feedback about how you are using Gen-AI.
This step helps you make thoughtful decisions instead of just using Gen-AI because it is easy or familiar. You need to think about your learning goals and what your assessment requires.
You should ask yourself:
Should I use Gen-AI for this task? Which tool is the best one to use?
Using Gen-AI might save time, but it can also stop you from learning important skills. If your assessment is designed to help you practise research or critical thinking, relying on Gen-AI could mean missing out. You are expected to show your own understanding, so be honest about what is your work and what Gen-AI helped with.
Even when Gen-AI is allowed, using it too much or in the wrong way can affect your academic integrity. Being intellectually honest means being clear about what you know, what you have learned, and what work you have done yourself. Be clear about your learning goals and whether Gen-AI supports or replaces your thinking.
Choosing the right tool matters. Some Gen-AI tools are better for writing, others for researching, creating images, or writing code. Each tool has limits—some cannot access academic sources or give reliable citations. Others may store your input, which is a risk if you are working with private or sensitive information.
To learn more about common Gen-AI tools and what they are good at, check out the Upskill section of this module.
This step recognises that using Gen-AI can involve different levels of collaboration. You need to understand how and why you are using it, especially in areas that are not clearly defined but still affect your learning.
You should ask yourself:
Have I clearly defined the role Gen-AI is playing in my process? Have I made sure the output shows my learning and not just what Gen-AI produced?
Brainstorming is a common way students use Gen-AI. It can help you explore ideas, ask questions, or get started when you are stuck. You learn to see Gen-AI’s responses as starting points or sounding boards, not final answers.
You might ask it to suggest different ways to approach a topic, come up with questions to explore, or help you notice connections you had not thought of. These ideas can help you build your own analysis and understanding.
Feedback is more complex. Gen-AI can point out general writing issues, but it does not understand your assessment goals or course content. You cannot upload Curtin materials like rubrics or instructions, so its advice may not match your learning needs.
Use its feedback as one perspective, not a final judgement.
Editing is the greyest area. Asking Gen-AI to improve clarity is different from letting it rewrite your work. You must stay in control of your voice and choices. If you cannot explain your decisions, Gen-AI may be doing too much.
The key about co-creating with Gen-AI is staying actively engaged in the thinking and decision-making throughout the process.
This step is about making sure Gen-AI’s output is accurate and trustworthy. Gen-AI can sound confident, but it often includes mistakes, bias, or outdated information. It cannot think or fact-check—that is your job.
You should ask yourself:
Have I compared the output with what I already know or checked it against a trusted source?
Even if Gen-AI gives links or names, it does not confirm if they are real. You must read carefully and check everything against reliable sources. Gen-AI tools often cannot access academic materials behind paywalls, so the information may be incomplete.
In brief, when checking Gen-AI outputs, you should:
Ask yourself:
Always use your own knowledge and critical thinking to decide whether the output is useful. Spot-checking and comparing with trusted sources helps protect your academic integrity and ensures your work is based on reliable information.
To learn more about checking informaton, visit the critical thinking guide.
This step is about staying in control of your work. You are the author, and Gen-AI is just a tool you guide.
You should ask yourself:
Have I used Gen-AI to support my ideas and perspectives, not replace them? Does the final product feel like I produced it?
Every suggestion from Gen-AI should be checked against your original thinking. Ask: Does this match what I want to say? If it takes you in a new direction, decide whether to follow it or not.
If Gen-AI is allowed in your assessments, its output should help you express your ideas—not do the work for you. Research by Peters and Chin-Yee shows Gen-AI often overgeneralises, especially in summaries. Without clear goals, your work may lose important detail.
Always read Gen-AI output carefully. Replace vague phrases with your own examples and adjust the tone so it sounds like you. Your voice should be present in every decision—what to keep, change, or reject.
Using Gen-AI carelessly can weaken your work. Like a calculator in maths, Gen-AI is useful only when you understand what you are doing. The final product should reflect your thinking, not the tool’s.
Here are some tips on how to keep your unique voice and ideas while using Gen-AI:
Define your position first: Write down your main argument, perspective, or creative vision in your own words before using any Gen-AI tool. This gives you something to check against later.
Set clear boundaries: Decide in advance what role the Gen-AI will play. Are you using it to generate initial ideas, refine existing work, or create supporting materials? Knowing this helps you maintain control.
Know your own style: Look at your past work to understand your usual academic or creative style, tone, and point of view. What makes your work unique?
Start with your draft first: Write your own version, even if it is rough, before asking Gen-AI for help. This keeps your ideas in charge.
Use it as a sounding board, not a writer: Instead of asking “write this for me,” ask “what are the weaknesses in my argument?” or “what perspectives am I missing?”
Prompt with your voice: When asking for suggestions, include phrases like “in a conversational tone” or “for an undergraduate audience” to guide outputs towards your style rather than accepting generic AI voice.
Edit heavily: Treat Gen-AI output as a rough draft. Change sentence structure, replace formal language with your own phrasing, and add personal examples.
Read it aloud: If it does not sound like something you would say in a conversation or presentation, revise it until it does.
Sketch first: Even simple drawings or mood boards help you explain your visual idea before using Gen-AI.
Iterate with intention: When Gen-AI gives you an image, look closely at what matches your idea and what does not. Change your prompts to get closer to your vision.
Combine and modify: Use AI-generated images as elements within a larger composition you control, rather than as final products. Add your own edits, overlays, or context.
Document your creative decisions: Keep notes about why you chose certain elements, colours, or compositions. This helps you explain your artistic choices.
Understand before implementing: Never use code you do not understand. Research unfamiliar functions and logic patterns.
Write the structure yourself: Plan your functions, classes, and layout before asking Gen-AI for help with details.
Refactor to your standards: Gen-AI code often uses generic styles. Change it to match your own naming, comments, and preferences.
Test and validate: Run the code, identify issues, and fix them yourself. Understanding why something works (or fails) keeps you in control.
Ask questions first: Decide what you want to learn from the data before using Gen-AI. Do not let it choose what is interesting.
Verify interpretations: When Gen-AI suggests patterns or insights, check them against the raw data and your own knowledge. Do they make sense?
Create your own visualisations: Use Gen-AI results as a starting point, but design your own charts and graphs to match your message and audience.
Provide context: Gen-AI does not know your subject, your audience, or your goals. You must explain the findings using your own understanding.
Compare with your original vision: Return to what you wrote down at the start. Does the final product still reflect your core ideas and perspective?
Remove AI-isms: Delete phrases like “it is important to note,” “in conclusion,” “delve into,” or “multifaceted”—these are telltale signs of generic AI voice.
Add specific examples: Replace vague Gen-AI content with your own experiences, observations, or research.
Check for overgeneralisation: Gen-AI tends to overgeneralise. Add nuance, acknowledge limitations, and include other viewpoints or exceptions.
Get feedback: Ask someone you trust if the work sounds like you. If they say it does not, revise it.
Reflect on the process: What did you learn? What decisions did you make? If you cannot explain your decisions, Gen-AI may have taken over too much.
This checkpoint provides a quick framework to help you stay in the driver’s seat while using Gen-AI. You are responsible for the quality, accuracy, and integrity of your work—Gen-AI is a tool to assist you, not replace your critical thinking and judgment.