CMDI AI Syllabus Examples

Check out some examples from your CMDI instructional colleagues:

APRD 1003

Course AI Policy

  • Understanding effective, professional and ethical use of AI is imperative for strategic communication professionals, and you will be allowed and even encouraged to use AI in various classes in APRD. In this class, however, students are not allowed to use advanced automated tools (artificial intelligence or machine learning tools such as ChatGPT or others) on any assignment. Each student is expected to complete each assignment without assistance from AI. Use of AI will be treated as a form of academic dishonesty akin to plagiarism or cheating.

APRD 2005 Strategic Writing

Note on AI

  • AI is used in creative industries such as advertising and public relations and we’ll have several assignments that reflect this use. The purpose of incorporating AI into your assignments is so that you have working knowledge of how to use AI as a tool to assist in your writing versus to replace your original, creative, and critical thought. If AI is not listed on an assignment it is expected that the work you submit is you own original content and any breach of this, e.g., by using AI or copying the work of a peer, is considered a violation of the Honor Code.

APRD 2006

Acceptable Use of AI in this Class

Students in this course may choose to use generative AI tools and services (such as Adobe Firefly) to generate specific, detailed, partial visual components and related assets to be included within larger, original projects - similar to the minimal… specifically integrated - use of purposeful stock assets.

Various AI tools can also be useful for the purposes of ideation and concepting and can be effective at jump-starting a block in creativity which you can then expand upon in a more traditional manner.

It is never acceptable in this class to simply generate a majority of project components using AI tools. Consider anything beyond 20% generated content a violation of this policy. When using any of these tools and services - you are to use them minimally, responsibly, and ethically as a small portion of your own unique creative work.

APRD: AI statements used by Dan Ligon:

AI Statement

Using Artificial Intelligence is required for this class. We will treat it as a learning and research partner to enhance our experience. The University provides these AI tools to students: NotebookLM and Gemini app. You can find the other CU approved AI platforms here https://www.colorado.edu/information-technology/ai-cu-boulder/ai-tools-list

AI-Less Exams

Even though AI is required as part of the learning of this class, AI or any technology will not be allowed during the mid-term or final exams. The mid-term and final exams will be analog multiple choice entered on scantron answer-keys. There will not be an online or remote option. If you miss the exam periods there will not be an opportunity to retake the exams.

APRD: General AI statement used by Steve Sanders

Technology and AI

I am fine if you use a laptop or a tablet to take notes during class.  Please, no phone usage though as I find it distracts you and others.  In general, if we find that the use of technology is distracting, we will switch to a no technology policy in the class and pen and paper will be required to take notes. 

For AI, I am fine if you want to use it as an initial research tool / search engine for assignments or for general knowledge.  However, use of Generative AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Duet AI, etc.) is prohibited to create assignment submissions or answer quiz questions. The goal is for you to develop the innate knowledge and critical thinking skills on your own, not train AI how to do it for you.  You will also be asked to present and discuss your work in the class to ensure that you know and understand it as well as help facilitate an overall dynamic and collaborative environment.  This approach mirrors what you will be expected to do in the working world once you graduate.

INFO 1701 Programming for Information Science, Yiran Duan

AI Use

Yes, you can totally use AI to generate code for this class. Please document how you use AI though. Documenting not only shows your academic integrity but also provides traceable data for reviewing how you and AI interact over time. AI may answer the same question differently each time you ask it, or give the same answer to different questions.

Also, writing is thinking (coding is a type of writing). This study shows that relying on AI to write for you leads to reduced cognitive engagement, which can have consequences.

AI makes mistakes. AI tools are also owned by companies that are profit-driven, so what you hope to find in AI may not align with what those companies prioritize or provide.

Be mindful of your own and others’ privacy when entering prompts into AI tools.

CU’s language on full gen AI use: “You may use gen AI tools in this course however you see fit. In fact, some assignments will require the use of such tools. However, keep in mind your own and others' privacy. implications and security risks when using gen AI tools. If you use gen AI tools on assignments in this class, document your usage with the Chicago Manual of Style or appropriate citation guidelines for this course”.

INFO 2131 AI Tool Policy (Fall 2025), Leysia Palen

I, like professors around the world, are adapting their pedagogy to adjust to the arrival of generative AI in the classroom.  The shift, as I am sure you know, is dramatic. This Fall 2025 semester, I have worked hard put into place strategic ways we can use AI to get further in the research you will be conducting in this course. I am creating specific places and ways we can do this, and how you may use it will be specified in assignments. I am working to be as creative as possible so that you have mastered the learning objectives for this course while also making AI a partner.  In short, my orientation I have to AI in this course is that AI will our declared exploration partner. It will not substitute for our individual and collective brains.

 
To that end, I ask that you keep your AI use to the instructions I have in the assignments. If you think there are other legitimate uses of AI that I am not considering, you may approach me with it for my consideration BEFOREHAND, and so that I can learn about it, guide you, and decide if course-level changes are in order.  Thank you!
 

INFO 4602 Information Visualization, Evan Peck

AI Policy

✅ You CAN use AI (Chat-GPT, Google Bard, etc.) to help you create or refine visualizations. Prompts like: Why isn’t this code showing the data? How do I increase the size of points in this plot? How do I extend the x-axis? What does this error mean? Show me an example of… 
Those are all okay! But if you choose to use AI, there are two things you must know:
 1. You must state that you used it in a comment in your code (I used ChatGPT to help with ….)

2. You are responsible for any mistakes that it makes. It will make mistakes or mislead you on occasion. You can’t blame the AI if you get something wrong. 

🛑 You canNOT use AI to help you make design decisions, make critiques, or generate writing about visualizations. Why? - There is a lot of visualization advice out there that is just flat out wrong. There is also a lot of advice that ignores the context of different communities who need to understand data (disability, access to technology, education, etc.). AI is going to amplify some of that bad advice, and we shouldn’t be complicit in it. We need to be careful and critical about our designs. So using ChatGPT (or similar programs) here is not permitted. 


✅ You can use AI to help you polish writing. Some AI tools can help students find grammatical or clarity errors in their writing. That is fine. The key difference is creation (🛑not okay) vs. refinement (✅ okay). Again, you are responsible for any mistakes that are possible when using AI. And just as important, I encourage you to protect your unique voice. Over-editing with AI can make your work sound generic or flat, just like an advertisement that feels forced or inauthentic.

INFO 4609, Jonathan Zong

AI Policy
Generative AI tools, such as LLMs and code agents, are quickly changing the practice of software design and engineering. These changes have implications for the way that we learn and practice user-centered design in ways that are relevant to this class. Here, I’d like to articulate some guiding values that we should follow in class:
  • Process-oriented, not outcome-oriented. The design process is something that we get better at with practice. In class, we are creating a space where we can practice following a design process without worrying about messing up or creating something perfect. The goal isn’t to make the best project at the end, but for you to have gotten the practice you need to apply those design principles in the future. Just like we wouldn’t use a forklift to lift weights in the gym, we won’t use AI to skip over the process straight to the outcome.
  • Community-minded and collaborative, not individualistic. Design is best when it’s a collaborative, creative process. We will rely on each other to bounce ideas and get feedback. If we’re only ever asking AI questions we could be asking each other, we lose opportunities to learn from each other.
  • Intentional and reflective, not unthinking. AI poses a lot of ethical challenges for society. One major example is itsenvironmental cost. Another is its unclear effect on human cognition, or on the trustworthiness of information online. We have to learn about and think intentionally about these issues, so that we can make responsible and informed decisions.
Here are specific examples of uses that are not allowed. These are meant to be illustrative, and not exhaustive.
  • Do not use LLMs to generate your reading responses from scratch. This doesn’t help you learn and is disrespectful of my time when I read your responses. I am interested in your genuine reflections, even if they are imperfect. AI is not a substitute for doing and thinking about the reading yourself.
  • Do not use image generators to create prototypes from scratch. Often, the process of sketching a low-fidelity prototype can be important for the creative process and noticing gaps in your thinking. Prototyping is a tool to facilitate our design exploration. AI sometimes goes straight to high-fidelity, which can deprive you of an opportunity to reflect on your design.
There are ways to use AI responsibly in this class. Please follow the values listed above. I will not actively police your AI use. However, you are accountable for everything you turn in — if AI generates low-quality work for you, you are responsible for the feedback and/or grade that you get for it.
 

 

We'd love to share your example AI syllabus statement! Email them to: stephen.silva@colorado.edu.