one’s own original work: (1) another person’s thoughts, language, ideas, expressions, or

experiences or (2) the substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform,

technology, or algorithm

https://apply.emory.edu/apply/faq.html

Though UC doesn’t use artificial intelligence in its application review process, AI may be helping students complete their applications. But if you’re tempted to use ChatGPT to complete your PIQs, be forewarned — that “help” may not work in your favor.

“A personal insight question written by AI is not going to be very good, because it’s not going to teach us anything about the student,” says Penman. “It’s not going to help us understand more about the student in their context, their hopes and dreams, their trials and tribulations, their achievements. That can’t be generated by a machine, it really has to come from the student.”

And, while using AI as a tool is one thing, using a completely AI-generated answer is another — and one that is equivalent to academic dishonesty. UC runs plagiarism checks on applications, and if your PIQs are found to have been generated by AI with unattributed sources, you could be disqualified from UC admission entirely.

As potential future Terriers, we expect all applicants to adhere to the same standards of academic honesty and integrity as our current students. When representing the words or ideas of another in their original work, students should properly credit the source.

We are interested in who you are, and we value what you have to say. While AI tools can be helpful in generating ideas and centering your thoughts, essays and personal statements that rely more on AI than your original thoughts miss the mark in one incredibly important way: they lack your voice, your ideas, and your very personal reflection on how your experiences have shaped you.