# Large Language Models in Computer Science Classrooms: Ethical Challenges and Strategic Solutions
## 4 Suggested Guidelines for Ensuring the Ethical Use of LLMs in Academia
### Encouraged, Allowed, and Forbidden: Colored Use of LLMs  
Building on the need for effective guidance, it is equally important to establish clear boundaries for the ethical and appropriate use of LLMs in academic settings. To address the matter of honesty in the completion of exercises from an educational and ethical perspective, we must initially delineate what constitutes fair use of AI and what unequivocally qualifies as plagiarism. Thus, we begin by clarifying the nuanced distinctions between the recommended uses of AI tools in academic settings and those practices that are strictly prohibited, aiming to clarify the importance of defined boundaries for ethical and appropriate utilization. Leveraging AI tools can be useful in both academia and industry. Hence, it is critical for students to become proficient in their use. In particular, there may be cases where the use of AI tools is allowed--or even encouraged--in programming assignments; for example, some AI-generated sections may be integrated into large projects. In such cases, it is important to emphasize what use is possible and what use is not legitimate, and even ask the student to describe the uses they made of AI tools during their work. A widely advocated strategy--as highlighted by [PERSON] in 2023 [56]--is to assign tasks in which students are encouraged to employ AI tools. This methodology not only prepares them for a competitive job market where AI integration is increasingly prevalent but also offers educators insight into how well students can exploit the capabilities of these advanced technologies. [PERSON] [7] promoted the idea of treating AI as a type of tool, the use of which should be practiced and regulated. He also recommended refining the definition of each assignment to allow or forbid the use of these tools, as determined by the course team. However, it is important to emphasize that students should cultivate basic programming skills--even in the age of AI--for several reasons. First, in environments with stringent safety requirements, the use of AI tools is often prohibited. As a result, graduates relying solely on AI tools, without genuine programming experience, may find themselves ill-equipped. Furthermore, despite the capacity of AI to generate code snippets, a professional approach is essential to craft precise prompts, comprehend the generated solutions, critique them, and seamlessly integrate these snippets into a broader project. Consequently, fundamental programming skills remain indispensable, even with the advent of advanced AI tools. The significant issue with this approach is that it might lead to programming course graduates who can only use AI tools and do not actually know how to program. This situation could limit them from being able to audit, monitor, repair, and refurbish the products of AI tools, as well as tackle unique problems that the AI cannot solve as it has not been trained on similar problems. This scenario can be compared to programmers coding in the C programming language and then auto-converting it to Assembly; while this showcases a distinct skill set, it does not reflect proficiency in Assembly programming. Therefore, when our objective is to instruct students in programming, the foundation should be on hands-on coding, rather than relying on prompts for an AI-based code generator. It is imperative to clearly delineate what qualifies as acceptable use of AI and what is deemed as plagiarism. For instance, leveraging ChatGPT to brainstorm solutions for a glitch or to interpret an error message is perfectly valid, being akin to seeking guidance from a peer or a course assistant. However, relying on ChatGPT to complete the exercise in its entirety is tantamount to plagiarism. Note that the boundary separating permissible and impermissible AI uses can be subtle, and its position can vary based on different applications. A general guideline is that any task where seeking help from a friend, private tutor, or teaching assistant does not equate to plagiarism is permissible.