1.4 When is it not all my own work?
Acknowledging the use of other people's work, words or ideas demonstrates academic integrity.
If you use the work, words or ideas of other people, then it’s not all your own work.
Sometimes, you may be allowed to include the work, words or ideas of other people in your work to show that you have done your research and found evidence to support your ideas. In these instances, you must acknowledge this every time in your work. You’ll learn how to do this in Topic 3.
When you acknowledge other people properly, your teachers can clearly see what is all your own work and what is not all your own work. This way, they can make sure they’re marking you only on your own work.
When you don’t acknowledge other people properly, you are pretending that it is all your own work when it isn’t. This is called plagiarism. You’ll learn all about plagiarism in Topic 2.
What about artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence, or AI, can take many forms, but we’re just going to focus on one type: generative AI. Generative AI is when a computer generates or ‘makes’ things, such as images, videos, music or text. So how does it work?
Imagine an enormous database, a virtual library of sorts, filled with books containing millions of words, sentences and paragraphs from all sorts of different sources on the internet. When you ask a generative AI tool a question, it searches through this virtual library at lightning speed to find words and ideas related to your question. It then generates a response based on what it has found.
But the important thing to remember is that generative AI does not make original content. Generative AI works like a super-smart copycat. It searches through the virtual library of work, words and ideas created by other people and then puts them together in a new way.
Your teachers will tell you whether you’re allowed to use generative AI technology in your school work. If you’re not sure, you must ask before using it. If you are allowed to use generative AI, you must acknowledge it just like any other source you use in your work.
Why?
Because using the work, words and ideas of others and pretending they’re yours is plagiarism. It doesn’t matter if they came from another person or a machine, the point is that they didn’t come from you. They’re not all your own work.
The unapproved use of AI tools in the completion of HSC assessment tasks and exams is a breach of academic integrity. HSC assessment tasks and exams (including projects, submitted works and performances) must be your own work or must be acknowledged appropriately.
Whenever you’re not sure about how to use or acknowledge the work, words and ideas of others, you should always check with your teacher.