A Trinity College lecturer has stated she avoids generative AI entirely, and opposes its use in universities. 

Dr Clare Kelly, associate professor in the School of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, says using tools like ChatGPT “undermines the very skills [students] come to university to develop”. 

“I am certainly not an expert in computer science or AI, but I have taken the time to learn as much as I can,” she said. 

“I have carefully followed the discussion and debate. I have learned about how generative AI works and its educational, social, environmental, and economic impacts.” She continued, “I have been able to connect what I have learned with my own expertise as a developmental cognitive neuroscientist, who studies the brain and thinking changes over development, and as a result of experience.” 

Dr Kelly draws upon the research of numerous experts in AI, computer science, computational cognitive science, and linguistics. 

“I find it interesting to reflect that some of the strongest critics of AI are both experts in the field, and are women, people of colour, or members of other groups that are disproportionately affected by the biases and other negative impacts of genAI,” she said. 

Dr Kelly says she explains her stance to her students and discusses how she believes AI use will “generally result in mediocre work at best”.  

She also raises the ecological and environmental impacts, but accepts that it may not be enough to discourage its use: “I’m not naive – appealing to students’ better natures is not going to stop all use, particularly when there are so many other pressures that students have to deal with.” 

Instead, she designs assignments that “demand authentic human thinking and experience” – typically “active, creative” tasks. 

“This makes genAI use trickier – perhaps more effort than it would take to just do the assignment with your own brain,” she said. 

Students who still feel the need to use AI in her modules are told it is acceptable, as long as they fully declare how it was used. 

“Even still, there will sometimes still be undeclared use. This is often easy to spot because it has characteristics that are not typical of genuine student-authored work,” she said. 

Universities across Ireland are struggling to establish just how widespread AI use is.  

When approached for figures surrounding unauthorised AI use among students, Trinity College could not provide any information, as they do not differentiate between AI cheating and other forms of plagiarism. 

New information obtained by TheCity through Freedom of Information requests show that unauthorised AI use now accounts for almost half of all academic misconduct cases investigated at two major Irish universities in recent years: the University of Galway and University College, Cork. 

Dr Kelly says students are in an “impossible bind”. “Due to pressures both inside and outside the university – cost of living, lack of housing, concerns about their future employability, the climate crisis, rising authoritarianism – students are time-poor, outcomes-focused, and many feel the future is bleak.”  

She continued: “Under this kind of pressure, shortcuts to grade maximisation can be irresistible. Considerable responsibility for addressing this situation lies with the universities and educators.” 

Dr Kelly remains firm in her belief: “For me, resisting and refusing AI is essential to a human and humane future for all.”