# Collaboration, Academic Integrity, and AI ## Homework and collaboration You are encouraged to discuss course material, practice problems, and project ideas with classmates. Unless stated otherwise, written and programming assignments may be submitted in groups of at most two students. Each group must produce its own submission, list all group members, and clearly acknowledge any additional collaboration. Discussion is encouraged; copying is not. After discussing a problem with people outside your submission group, you should write the solution in your own words and make sure that you can reconstruct the argument independently. Code, text, figures, proofs, and ideas obtained from outside sources must be cited as described in the academic-integrity policy below. For class-problem presentations, students may discuss the problem with others in advance, but the presenter must personally understand the solution and be prepared to respond to questions. ## Academic integrity All students must follow the University of Fribourg's [directives concerning violations of scientific integrity](https://commonweb.unifr.ch/EcoDean/Pub/site_ses/img_online/A_2016/Directives_plagiat_1.pdf) and the [applicable faculty and study regulations](https://www.unifr.ch/scimed/en/assets/public/scimed/faculty/Reglement_451-100_BSc-MSc-English.pdf). In particular, plagiarism, ghostwriting, fabricated information, unauthorized assistance, and presenting another person's work or ideas as one's own are violations of scientific integrity. ## Use of generative AI **The use of generative AI tools is allowed in this course.** You may use tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, or similar systems for purposes including brainstorming, obtaining an alternative explanation, editing prose, translating, debugging, generating or reviewing code, and exploring possible approaches to a problem. Permission to use AI is not permission to outsource your understanding. You remain fully responsible for: - the correctness of every claim, proof, citation, computation, and piece of code that you submit; - verifying references, since AI systems can invent or misrepresent sources; - distinguishing your own contribution from material produced by other people or tools; and - understanding and being able to explain all submitted work. Every written or programming homework submission and the final project report must include a short sources and AI-use statement. At minimum, identify any AI tool used and the purpose for which it was used. When AI materially contributed text, code, mathematical ideas, experimental design, or references, describe where it contributed and how you checked or modified the result. A suitable statement might read: > **AI-use statement:** I used [tool/model] for [purpose]. It contributed to [specific part of the work]. I verified or revised the output by [method]. When no generative AI tool was used, write: > **AI-use statement:** No generative AI tools were used in preparing this submission. The in-class problem presentations and final-project presentation are important parts of how understanding will be assessed. They are a big part of your grade by design. I may ask any student to explain a proof, code segment, experimental choice, or source used in a submission. Work that a student cannot adequately explain does not demonstrate the learning required by the assignment and may receive reduced or no credit, even when the submitted artifact appears correct. This is exactly why generative AI is allowed in this course: the decisive assessment of understanding happens live, where no tool can stand in for you. The final-project presentation is eliminatory: below 4.0, the written report is not graded and the course cannot be passed (see the [syllabus](../Course_Info/Syllabus/Syllabus.md)). Prepare for it as seriously as for the report itself. ## Sources, collaboration, and attribution You may use printed, online, computational, and human resources to help you learn and solve problems. This includes books, research papers, webpages, Wikipedia, Stack Exchange, code repositories, prior course materials, class discussion channels, other students, commercial solution sites, and AI systems. However, any source that materially contributes to your work must be acknowledged. A precise citation is always better than disguising a borrowed idea as an original one. Cite the book when you use an idea from a book; cite the paper when you use an idea from a paper; cite the webpage, code repository, prior solution, classmate, discussion channel, or AI system when it contributes to your solution. This list is not exhaustive. Citing a source will not lower your grade. Failing to cite a source may constitute plagiarism. You may not: - copy text, mathematics, code, figures, or solutions without attribution; - submit work produced by another student, a third party, or an AI system as though it were entirely your own; - submit fabricated citations, data, computational output, or experimental results; - allow another student to submit your work without credit; or - claim to understand work that you cannot explain. By submitting an assignment, every named student affirms that the work was completed by the named individual or group, that all sources and tools have been disclosed, and that each group member understands the full submission. When you are uncertain whether a form of collaboration, reuse, or tool use is permitted, ask me before submitting the work. Suspected violations will be handled under University and faculty procedures. Under the applicable regulations, fraudulent conduct or plagiarism may result in a grade of **1.0** for the relevant assessment and may lead to additional disciplinary proceedings.