The obligation to restrict AI in student writing

Abstract The response to student use of generative AI in higher education has been characterized by ambiguity, and no set of policies has yet become the accepted norm. Individual instructors are, so far, able to take wildly divergent approaches. In this article, I address the use of AI to specifically produce text for written assignments, arguing that universities have an obligation to regulate such uses. I argue that, even if using AI for writing is not technically plagiarism, it undermines education in the same way that plagiarism does. For this reason, educators have a moral obligation to treat AI-generated text, in the context of student education, the same way they would treat text written by a person. Given the impact AI text generation is already having on student practice, I argue that universities have a duty to act quickly and decisively to implement preventative measures and common norms restricting the use of AI in written assignments.