Recommendations of the Faculty of Science on the use of generative artificial intelligence

Version December 2025

 

Preamble

The University of Geneva's position statement on the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) presents general recommendations concerning its integration into teaching and assessment and addresses issues of responsibility, legality, academic integrity, and transparency. At the same time, the Digital Transition Office (BTN) has published a practical guide to GAI, also available in PDF format, which includes:

This statement specifies that each faculty and interfaculty center is responsible for defining the terms and conditions for integrating AI into its teaching activities, as well as the specific conditions for using AI tools in research, teaching, and learning contexts.

The present recommendations apply to the entire Faculty of Science community, including students and faculty, in the context of teaching, learning, preparation, evaluation, or academic production.

They concern two categories of individuals:

 

The following are considered students:

  • Individuals enrolled in a bachelor's or master's program;

  • Doctoral students;

  • Participants in continuing education or micro-certification modules, provided they are involved in teaching or academic assessment activities.

The following are considered teachers:

  • Any person who actively contributes to teaching activities within the Faculty's programs;

  • Supervisors of projects, theses, or laboratory sessions;

  • Individuals who evaluate, supervise, or oversee student work;

  • Thesis advisors.

The status of teacher is determined by the educational role assumed, regardless of administrative status. Researchers without teaching duties are not affected.

The recommendations cover all Faculty programs, courses, assignments, and exams, as well as the use of generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, PerplexityAI, DeepSeek, DALL•E, Copilot, Midjourney, and other similar platforms.

Translation and rewriting using GAI tools (e.g., DeepL Translate/Write) are uses of GAI. When authorized by the instructor, they must be declared in accordance with the Directive. The student remains responsible for the accuracy of the content (meaning, quotations, references).

This document supplements the Faculty of Science Directive on the use of generative artificial intelligence.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STUDENTS

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools can be used to write, translate, solve problems, or generate visual or computer content, often with impressive quality.

However, their use raises important issues: factual errors, unintentional plagiarism, difficulty in identifying the origin of content, the risk of disclosure of private or sensitive data to third parties, and the lack of a reliable method for detecting the use of GAI. In this constantly evolving context, a responsible, critical, and transparent approach is essential.

 

Recommended uses of GAI in learning:

  • Interactive discussion on a topic to better understand it

  • Creation of questions/answers for self-testing

  • Translation assistance/reduction of language barriers, provided that the results are carefully checked

  • Summary of documents

  • Exploration of writing styles (e.g., rephrasing a text in the style of Shakespeare)

  • Writing or correcting code in a programming language (e.g., writing a program in Python)

  • Generating illustrations using AI to visualize a concept

  • Detecting errors in computer code.

 

Prohibited uses:

  • Producing an entire assignment without understanding it

  • Circumventing personal work

  • Passing off texts, codes, or images generated by GAI as one's own

  • Providing exam questions to GAI

  • Providing sensitive, confidential, or protected data (e.g., personal data or unpublished research results) to a GAI tool, including unpublished research results intended for inclusion in a thesis or other peer-reviewed manuscript.

 

Important reminder:

 

Miscellaneous:

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHERS

GAI is profoundly transforming academic practices. Teachers are encouraged to promote the informed, responsible, and transparent use of GAI tools, while ensuring that academic integrity is preserved and the diversity of teaching practices within the Faculty of Science is respected. These recommendations aim to encourage the pedagogical, critical, and responsible use of GAI tools by clarifying the practices authorized in the context of studies and promoting transparency and academic integrity.

 

Responsibilities of teachers

  • Teachers are free to allow or prohibit the use of artificial intelligence in their courses and for assignments given for assessment purposes.

  • They must clearly specify in writing and in a timely manner the specific rules for each course, module, or type of assignment (see Templates for Declarations on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence)

  • When an exercise is designed to assess personal skills such as critical thinking, autonomy, or reasoning ability, the use of GAI should not be permitted, unless the exercise specifically focuses on the use of these tools.

  • When the use of GAI is permitted, teachers must define the framework for its use, indicate the referencing requirements, and, where applicable, require that prompts be saved and submitted.

  • Teachers are encouraged to supplement the assessment with an oral test to verify mastery of the content.

  • Teachers using sensitive data in their courses, projects, or assessments must explicitly inform their classes that this data cannot be entered into any generative AI tool, regardless of the purpose.

 

Training and support

Workshops will be organized by the Faculty or in collaboration with the Library to:

  • Provide training in the critical and ethical use of GAI tools;

  • Raise awareness of the biases, hallucinations, and limitations of these technologies;

  • Support teachers in developing clear and educational guidelines.

See: