Check your course syllabus, departmental guidelines, or relevant administrative policies first, as AI usage allowances vary across disciplines, assignments, and operational contexts.
Choose trusted platforms
Access AI tools only through their official websites or app stores. Prioritise HSUHK ChatGPT to ensure your personal data and intellectual property remain protected within the university’s secure "walled garden."
Audit Your Input Data
Be mindful of copyright; never upload full-text library PDFs, sensitive research data, or others' creative works into public AI models without explicit permission.
Fortify Your Digital Workspace
Secure your AI sessions by using unique, strong passwords paired with two-factor authentication (2FA) and ensure your operating system and security software are fully updated to the latest versions.
While You Use
Establish a Secure & Verified Connection
Always access AI platforms through a secure network or VPN, avoiding unprotected public Wi-Fi, and verify that you are using an official, trusted AI tool to shield yourself from phishing attempts and malicious links.
Practice "Prompt Engineering" with Privacy
Craft detailed prompts to get better results but keep them "sanitised" by removing any personally identifiable information or confidential institutional data.
Fact-check Against Scholarly Sources
Treat AI-generated outputs as "drafts" that must be triangulated. Utilise Library-subscribed materials and search engine to verify any claims, dates, or citations to ensure credibility and validity. For code, review carefully to ensure accuracy and prevent hidden vulnerabilities.
Maintain Your Creative Agency
Use AI for iterative brainstorming rather than one-shot generation - keep a "dialogue log" to show how your own thinking evolved alongside the AI's suggestions.
After You Use
Clear your digital traces
Clear browser history, cache, and cookies to reduce exposure of your activity.
Disclose with Transparency
Acknowledge the use of the AI-generated content with proper citation. Include an "AI Disclosure Statement", if necessary, that describes which tool you used and exactly how it contributed to your final product.
Record Usage
Screenshot or export your dialogues with the AI as references and supporting documents to showcase your interactions with the tool, helping to uphold academic integrity and protect yourself.
Reflect on Human-in-the-Loop Judgment
Review how AI influenced your work, and identify where human judgment, oversight, and accountability were essential.
Guidelines
ITSC’s Guideline on Responsible and Ethical Use of Generative AI