Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Crescent School recognizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a significant tool for learning and innovation. Our approach is to guide students in using AI responsibly, ethically, and effectively.

Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

All student use of AI is governed by the Crescent AI Framework, which aligns with our academic honesty policy and our mission to develop Men of Character. This framework outlines the different levels of AI use permitted, from foundational skill building without AI to collaborative use for specific tasks. Faculty will provide clear expectations for when and how AI tools may be used for any given assignment. Students are required to be transparent and honest about their use of AI, citing it appropriately and ensuring that the work they submit accurately reflects their own learning and capabilities.

Generative AI systems are not a substitute for academic rigour, professional ethics, or judgment. Using AI-generated information requires continuous evaluation of accuracy and the identification of bias. Students must always be able to demonstrate their knowledge and comprehension when Generative AI is unavailable to them.

Definitions

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Generative AI

Refers to any foundational computer model or algorithmic tool that can generate writing, computer code, images, audio, or other media with minimal human prompting. This includes writing-assistant programs, image-generation applications, and computer coding assistants.
School Community

Includes School students, teachers, parents and guardians, administration, staff, and volunteers.

Academic Integrity & The AI Integration Framework

The following section shall be read in conjunction with the School’s academic integrity policy and explicitly aligns with the Crescent AI Integration Framework.

All students must respect and comply with all federal, provincial, and municipal laws regarding intellectual property, including the Copyright Act. Academic integrity extends beyond text to all forms of media; attempting to copy, alter, or use third-party code, graphics, vectors, images, or audio clips without explicit authorization and proper attribution is a severe violation of School policy.

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Determining Permissible Use
At Crescent School, the acceptable use of Generative AI is not static; it is determined by the specific AI Level (0–4) assigned to each assessment or activity. Students must adhere strictly to the restrictions and allowances defined by the specific level designated by their teacher for that task.
- Level 0 (No AI): Students must rely solely on their own knowledge and skills; no AI use is permitted at any stage.
- Levels 1–4 (Assisted to Full Use): AI use is permitted only within the specific scope defined by the level (e.g., for editing only, for brainstorming only, or for task completion).
Potential Approved Uses (Within Allowed Framework Boundaries)
When permitted under Levels 1–4, potential uses of Generative AI include, but are not limited to:
- Brainstorming ideas, topics, outlines, or skeleton structures for a written task.
- Serving as a memory jogger, refresher, or summarizing longer articles and texts.
- Creating bullet points and graphics for presentation slides.
- Explaining foundational concepts or basic background information (provided the information is verified for accuracy).
- Receiving feedback on grammar, readability, or the strength of a thesis and arguments.
- Debugging computer code or assisting with formulas inside spreadsheet applications.
Whether or not Generative AI is used, all members of the School Community must take full responsibility for both the process used and the final product of their work.
Defining Academic Offences
An academic offence occurs when a student operates outside the boundaries of the assigned AI Level. Specifically, it is an offence to:
- Violate the Assigned Level: Use Generative AI tools in a Level 0 assessment, or use AI capabilities that exceed the permissions of the assigned level (e.g., using AI to generate new content during a Level 1 "Assisted Editing" assignment).
- Fail to Disclose (Transparency): Submit work involving AI without the required disclosure. For Levels 1 through 4, students must submit an AI disclosure statement and/or link(s) to the AI chat logs/evidence of the process with their final submission.
- Misrepresent Authorship: Representing AI-generated or third-party ideas, data, code, or media content as one’s own. This includes reproducing any portion of an AI or third-party text, image, or programming script and claiming credit for authoring that work. All permitted AI-generated content allowed under Levels 3 and 4 must be properly cited using standard academic formats (such as MLA, APA, or Chicago Style).
- Commit Substantive Misconduct: Using Generative AI to wholly or substantially complete any course assignment, be academically dishonest, or plagiarize (such as generating code for a programming class or visual art for an art class where AI generation is not the focus of the assignment).
Other Prohibited Technology Uses
- Unauthorized Account Access: Logging into a Generative AI system using School credentials, unless explicitly required to access software under license to the School. Unauthorized use creates serious data security and reputational risks.
- Data and Privacy Breaches: Inputting any data, personal information, or images of a student, staff member, member of the School Community, or the School itself into an external or public Generative AI system.
- Conduct Violations: Using Generative AI as a vehicle for bullying, harassment, or other behaviour contrary to the School Code of Conduct, the Human Rights Code, or other relevant school policies.
Disclosing, Citing, and Explaining AI Content
All members of the School community must transparently and responsibly disclose, appropriately cite, and meaningfully explain their use of Generative AI. For assignments where the use of Generative AI is permitted, students must fulfill this requirement by submitting an appendix or disclosure statement with their assignment detailing:
- Which Generative AI tool(s) were used.
- How they were used, including the specific prompts used to generate the content.
- How the results were incorporated into the submitted work, including a full reproduction and citation of any AI content directly used.
Any content produced by Generative AI must be cited appropriately according to current standard style guides (such as MLA, APA, or Chicago Style), which provide regularly updated guidelines for citing AI platforms, or by following faculty instruction.
Teacher Verification & Assessment Security
To ensure the integrity of the AI Integration Framework, teachers rely on human-centric verification methods rather than automated detection alone.
- Process Verification: Teachers may review the student's submitted AI chat logs and disclosure statements to ensure the "process" aligns with the assigned AI Level.
- Student Conferences: Teachers may meet with a student to discuss their assignment viva voce (orally) to verify their understanding of the content and the process used to create it.
- Use of Detection Software: The School advises caution regarding the use of AI-detection software. These tools can produce false positives, flagging human-written content as AI-generated. To protect students from improper accusations and to respect data privacy, reliance should not be placed solely on these software programs and sharing student work with them without permission raises privacy concerns. Therefore, reliance should not be placed solely on these software programs to protect students from improper accusations.
- Comparative Analysis: Teachers may use Generative AI to generate potential responses to an assignment prompt and compare them with students' submitted work to check for excessive similarity.

Copyright and Plagiarism Considerations

There is significant legal uncertainty regarding copyright and the use of Generative AI, including the legality of training data and the ultimate ownership of AI-assisted outputs. As an interim measure, all members of the School Community must exercise due diligence to identify the original sources an AI used for information and cite or attribute them wherever possible. Standard plagiarism detection software and techniques will continue to be used to uncover uncited content.