How to declare AI use in your thesis
Many places expect you to declare how AI was used in a thesis or group project, and it is easiest if you took notes while you worked. This guide covers what to write down, how a declaration can read and how a group can keep one shared declaration consistent. Requirements differ between universities and courses, so read your instructions and ask your supervisor.
01While you work
Write it down as you go.
One line each time is enough: the date, who used AI, which tool, what you asked for and what you did with the answer. Three weeks later nobody remembers which chat gave which suggestion, and a declaration written the week before the deadline easily turns into a guess.
02Wording
How an AI declaration can read.
One example: “We used ChatGPT to get suggestions for how to structure the methods section and to read through the language of the introduction. We revised the suggestions ourselves, and we read every source in the original.” Change it so that it matches what you actually did. It should say which tool you used, for what, and what you did with the result. Write only what is true.
03Supervisor
What your supervisor may want to know.
Your supervisor may ask: What did you use AI for, and in which part of the work? What did you do with what came back? How did you check that it was right? Who in the group did what? If the answers are already written down, the conversation is quick and it is clear what is your own work. Assume that you stand behind every sentence in the text, wherever it came from.
04The group
One declaration for the whole group.
In a group, people soon remember differently who used what. Decide from the start where the log lives, which details each line should have and who sums it up in a text before submission. Then read that text together, so that nobody declares more or less than what happened.
05Knyte
How Knyte helps.
You can keep the log in any tool. In Knyte, the group’s decisions are written down with the reasoning behind them, and sources are read with numbered paragraphs, so you can see what you built on. What an AI assistant contributes is marked as the assistant’s and attributed to the person who used it, so it can be declared. You write the declaration yourselves, with what is in the knyte as support.
Frequently asked questions
Where in the thesis should the declaration go?
Your university and course decide. It could be in the methods section, in the preface or in an appendix. Read the course instructions, and ask your supervisor if they say nothing about it.
Do I have to declare spell checking and translation?
It varies. Some courses count language checking and translation as AI use, others don’t. Ask if you are unsure, and when in doubt, declare it.
What if I haven’t taken any notes?
Write down what you remember now, and say that it is from memory. Then start keeping notes from today.
Should everyone in the group declare separately?
It depends on the course. Ask your supervisor whether the group hands in one declaration or each person writes their own. Either way it is easier if you have kept the same log all along.
Keep the declaration together from the start.
Start a knyte, invite your group and write down decisions as you go.