Palo Alto High School’s Artificial Intelligence board is making changes to the AI cheating policy, where a student would be assigned to an informational PRIME session if caught cheating.

Assistant principal Michelle Steingart, a member of the AI board, says that an official rollout of these changes is expected in the near future.

“The goal is to provide a learning opportunity for students focused on the ethical use of technology,” Steingart said.

The general AI policy can be located in the academic integrity section on the school’s website. 

It mentions that students should never input personal or sensitive information into  AI databases, including information related to college applications or essays. 

The policy also mentions that students  should talk to teachers about what amount of AI usage is allowed in the class, and cite generative AI in either MLA or APA styles when used. However, computer science teacher and AI board member Christopher Bell states that AI should never be used to replace learning. 

Bell says that the board has been working with teachers in all departments since the beginning of the year with the goal of streamlining AI course guide policies. 

Bell also mentioned that individual assignments and classes may have more flexibility regarding AI use depending on the curriculum. Bell also said that the addition of Gemini in Schoology would allow teachers to do more activities using AI. 

“We can now do activities in the classroom with AI and so you’ll see more assignments that give you some indication what they can use it for,” Bell said. “It’ll be different per assignment per class.” 

Bell recommends each department offer clear guidelines for students on the repercussions for cheating.

“These are really powerful tools, and parts of it can be used to amplify the learning instead of replacing,” Bell said. “This [AI] is going to be a tool that people are going to use in their professional lives once they graduate, so hopefully we can start to prepare them for that future.”