This assignment invites students and lecturers to collaboratively create a GenAI Manifesto: A shared set of principles and guidelines for the responsible and meaningful use of GenAI in your course. It promotes open discussion, ethical awareness, and joint ownership of GenAI practices in education.

The assignment

Description

Purpose: Creating a joint GenAI Manifesto that captures how students and lecturers of a course work with GenAI technologies, including guidelines for applications and ethical use.

Duration: 1 hour.

Optional preparation for students: Follow the e-learning about responsible GenAI use.

What is a manifesto: A manifesto is a descriptive document in which a group of people establishes a set of beliefs or rules of conduct. It often serves as a public statement of intentions, motives, or visions, and is used to define a common direction or basis for action. In the context of GenAI, a manifesto can help provide clarity on how GenAI technology is deployed in a responsible and ethical manner, and provides a basis for joint compliance and evaluation.

Steps

1. Introduction (10 minutes):

Welcome and explanation of the purpose of the activity.
Short explanation on what a manifesto is and why it is important, especially in the context of GenAI.
Explaining the content and structure of a manifesto. If needed, show an example.

2. Brainstorming session (20 minutes):

In groups of 3-4 students, brainstorming about crucial issues surrounding GenAI use in this course. Think about themes such as ethics, privacy, data use, transparency and responsibility.
Write down rejected uses of GenAI and possible guidelines.

3. Presenting Groups (10 minutes):

Each group presents their ideas to the whole class.
Open discussion in which ideas are collected and put together.
Make sure there is room for each and every point, not showing any personal interest.

4. Formulating the Manifesto (20 minutes):

Based on the collected ideas, jointly write a draft text for the manifesto. Share your screen so that all students can watch and provide input.
Formulate clear statements: “We believe/intend to…”

5. Wrapping up (10 minutes):

Finalise the manifesto.
Post the manifest on Canvas and optionally invite everyone to respond to it for a final revision.
Conclusions and agreements for implementation and compliance: How or where will you get back to this manifesto?

Note: Please discuss with colleagues of your programme that you would like to implement a GenAI Manifesto. Because if you do, that might have implications for the courses before or after your own.

An example

Example GenAI Manifesto

GenAI Manifesto from [Your Education]:

We take responsibility for the ethical use of GenAI technologies during our studies. Any application of GenAI must be based on respect for human dignity and privacy.
We are committed to transparency in the use of GenAI by clearly communicating our methods and intentions. Students have the right to clarity about how and why GenAI affects their learning process. Where we use GenAI, we will clearly state this according to the agreements or assignment.
We respect the privacy and protection of personal data. Data will only be used after explicit consent and for clear and specified purposes in the context of our study.
We are committed to ethical reflection on GenAI use within our study programme. We strive to use GenAI in a way that contributes to our academic and personal well-being and can enrich our learning.
We make sure that GenAI is accessible to all students. We avoid discrimination by addressing and correcting conscious and unconscious bias.
We are committed to using the GenAI tool UvA AI Chat responsibly during our studies. This tool serves as a tool to enrich our learning, not as a substitute for our own thinking and creativity.

* During the writing process of this assignment, the UvA AI Chat was used for input.

This content is created by TLC Science for the UvA Science Faculty. Do you work at another UvA Faculty? Please follow your faculty’s specific guidelines.