It is a fundamental belief of the Department of Art History that writing your own words about works of art is the best way to look closely and think critically about those works. This is challenging work and takes time, effort, and practice, just like mastering a sport or a musical instrument. Employing a large language model (LLM) or generative artificial intelligence (AI) to do the work would defeat the very purpose of any writing assignment. Furthermore, the intellectual work of the humanities: assimilating material, thinking about it critically, synthesizing new insights and ideas, and expressing those ideas in writing, must be practiced in a sustained way, over many assignments and courses. The process of learning to do this work would be hampered and undermined by relying on an LLM. Therefore, the use of such tools is not allowed in art history courses, except where an exception is explicitly made by the professor.
Students may not use LLMs or generative AI for any of the following, with or without citation, unless exceptions are explicitly made by the professor:
- visual descriptions and analysis
- historical narratives
- artist’s biographies
- summaries of assigned readings
- explanations of specific topics
- essay drafts
- answers to homework or exam questions
- contributions to class discussion
AI tools are not reliable sources for descriptions of artworks, or information such as attributions, titles and dates, and provenance, to say nothing of interpretation. They should not be relied on for such material.
Due to the rapidly evolving nature of LLMs and AI, the department will review and, if necessary, revise this policy every year.
Faculty members in the department will not use LLMs or generative AI to do any of the following:
- write syllabi
- generate bibliographies for courses or syllabi
- write class lecture notes or generate PowerPoint or other presentations
- write exam questions
- write essay prompts
- grade student work
- write letters of recommendation for students or colleagues