Skoltech has developed and approved a Policy on the Principles of Using AI Technologies in Educational Activities. Its basic premise is that the use of AI is acceptable as long as it does not undermine the human-centered approach, transparency, and the sources used are reliable and properly acknowledged. Failure to adhere to these requirements, however, will be deemed a violation of academic integrity and may lead to disciplinary action.

This framework was formulated in response to the results of a survey of instructors conducted at the Institute. The faculty cited efficiency, time saving, personalized learning, and support for creativity and idea generation through routine process automation as the benefits of AI in education. They also raised concerns about academic integrity and critical thinking in light of potential overreliance on AI tools. A majority of survey participants stated that it was necessary for the Institute to adopt some internal regulations on the use of AI in education.

“Skoltech is the first university in Russia to adopt a local act specifically on the use of AI in education. Previously, our colleagues either introduced individual rules addressing particular issues or adopted documents exclusively concerned with laying out an ethical approach. We made an attempt to establish a legal framework. Sure, these are AI-friendly rules, but they are rules nevertheless. That said, since the phenomenon itself is new as far as legal regulations are concerned, we made sure the policy makes provision for its mandatory review after a year. This will enable us to analyze our experience with the policy and account for the ways in which the technology itself will be developing,” Head of Legal Support of the Educational Activities Group Dmitry Golovanov from Skoltech’s Legal Department commented.

The policy adopted by Skoltech acknowledges the benefits of artificial intelligence for enhancing creativity and solving complex academic problems and sets the framework for faculty, students, and nonacademic employees regarding the use of AI tools in education.

The newly approved policy complies with the legal regulations that are in place in Russia and adheres to the principles outlined by UNESCO. This means upholding the human-centered approach, whereby the responsibility for making informed decisions rests with the students and instructors, who use the technology as a tool rather than a replacement for human interaction and personal engagement or critical thinking. Also, AI-generated content has to be verified for accuracy. The use of AI tools should be transparent, and a failure to acknowledge the use of AI will be deemed a breach of academic integrity.

For Skoltech as an institute that supports freedom in the choice and application of various forms and methods of teaching, it is significant that the policy reserves the right for instructors to define additional requirements for the use of artificial intelligence by students taking the course or doing a research project. For instance, a professor can set limits on the use of AI in an assignment that involves producing a paper. All such special requirements should be made known to the students before they first attend the course.

Finally, the policy is also serious about the prospect of informing students and instructors about the possibilities and the rules of using the technology. Skoltech will organize training sessions for generative AI users to ensure reasonable and effective application.

Expert group Chair Ivan Oseledets, a professor at the AI Center of Skoltech, said: “In today’s world, it is very important to quickly integrate AI technologies into education and use them to improve the quality of student learning. Our goal is to facilitate the introduction and the effective use of such technologies in all our educational processes. And the new policy fully reflects that.”