In short: When you use AI, be smart about it:

• Check institution rules: Check your institution's guidelines.

• Say you've used it: Be clear about how you use AI.

• Be radically transparent: Share links to AI conversations.

• Don't use it only for text generation: Use AI to interview you, or to write while walking.

Check institution rules

Many young professionals use AI tools like ChatGPT in their work and personal lives. So it's pretty natural that they also want to use these tools for academic writing. The first thing to do is check what your institution says. Every place has different rules on how much you can use AI and how you should disclose it. For instance, within the Master Service Design of HSLU, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, students can use AI but must disclose its usage.

Say when you've used AI and for what

There are various ways to disclose your use of AI. Don't just say: "I've used AI". Explain how you used it.

• Did you generate content from scratch?

• Did you rewrite something?

• Did you use it to brainstorm ideas?

This level of detail helps maintain transparency.

Be radically transparent

Many AI tools, like ChatGPT, allow you to share direct links to your conversations. By doing so, you can show exactly how you used the tool for a particular text or chapter. I often do this in my own Service Design projects. I feel it's not only a good act of transparency, but it also reveals how you think. And from time to time, people learn also a new way to use a tool that they already knew.

Don't use AI only for text generation

AI isn't just for generating text. One powerful way to use it is by having the AI interview you about your work. This can help clarify your thoughts and identify. The output isn't as important as the process itself. In fact it's pretty nice to be able to have an interview partner available when everybody else is sleeping.

To go further on this the lovely people behind the writing tool IA Writer have written an interesting article that shows when AI is useful and when it isn't when it comes to writing.

Tools like AudioPen that transform audio recordings into texts can also be pretty useful. Such tools makes writing more enjoyable, as you can do it outside while walking, and less daunting, as for many it's easier to talk than to write.

Written with AI help
This article is based on an audio note I took while walking that was transcribed and cleaned using Audiopen. I then reviewed and improved the text by hand.