Decolonizing Archives: Video & AI
This studio art course policy encourages nuanced AI decisions and instructor-student collaboration on an AI agreement.
Course Info:
- ARTSTUDI 122 "Decolonizing Archives: Video and AI"
- Spring 2025
- Instructor: Morehshin Allahyari
Pedagogy:
This AI policy allows the usage of AI as a tool for generating ideas or visual sketches for projects but not for replacing the critical thinking, communication, and researching skills needed to complete assignments. The instructor works with the class to co-create an agreement on the use of AI tools, and includes a prohibited-use example.
Course Policy
Course Policies for the Use of Generative AI
Depending on the context, artificial intelligence (AI) can either enhance and impede learning. There are times when these tools might provide us with new ideas and understandings (e.g., brainstorming or getting feedback). At other points, practicing skills and synthesizing ideas on our own will be crucial for the learning process. Thus, being mindful of when to use these tools will help us navigate the complexity of interacting with AI technologies in the classroom and beyond. In this class, you are allowed to use AI tools, including ChatGPT, midjourney, etc as a way to generate ideas or visual sketches for your projects. At the beginning of the course, we will co-create a class agreement on the use of AI tools that ensures everyone has equal access to such tools and knowledge of their benefits and limitations; understands the appropriate use of them; and is clear on policies and procedures for their use (including proper citation), and how they connect to the idea of academic integrity. Our class agreement will be consistent with guidance from the Board of Judicial Affairs regarding use of AI and the Stanford Honor Code, which notes that use of generative AI to “substantially complete” an assignment or exam by entering the prompt and submitting the output as one’s own work is not permitted.
Prohibited Use Example:
While artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be valuable in certain contexts, in this course it is important that students develop their own skills and abilities to research, think critically, and communicate without the use of this technology. To maximally gain from the intentionally designed learning experiences in the course, it will be crucial that all members of the course community rely on personal efforts rather than use of AI tools. In fact, in many cases, it will be the effort itself (not the product) that is most valuable! For this class, all assignments should be written in your own words. Just as you cannot take credit for others’ writing in your assignments, you cannot use paraphrasing software (“spinbots”) or AI writing software (like ChatGPT) and submit the output as your own. Doing so in this is a violation of the Stanford Honor Code.