The following guidance was created by the AI Working Group and published August 13, 2026.

Introduction and Scope

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers broadly to computational systems designed to emulate domain-specific human cognitive functions, including perception, reasoning, language use, and adaptive problem-solving. Generative AI – including LLMs – is currently the most frequently encountered form of AI in higher education contexts and is capable of synthesizing novel outputs by learning and extrapolating from the data on which it is trained. Agentic AI is growing quickly and is programmed to respond to a given goal by planning, taking steps, using tools, and working toward completion with little human involvement required. 

In all of its current systems, AI can be both powerful and cause for serious concern. As individuals and as an institution, we are making choices about AI use within a rapidly changing technological and sociological landscape, which raises environmental and ethical concerns that we explore below.

Our choices around AI should be rooted in our mission and values and should be made within the college’s existing structures and governance frameworks. In that light, the scope of this guidance has three levels: 

• It is primarily to articulate a set of broad, high-level considerations about engaging with AI, primarily for current students and employees but also for visibility to outside audiences (e.g., prospective students, prospective employees, alumni). 
• Additionally, we offer firm guidelines on the relatively small set of questions that apply to any use by any member of the Bates community; these are mainly around data security and acceptable-use rules.
• At the most granular level, we encourage standing committees and offices to address the more narrowly focused AI issues relevant to their charge, e.g. the Writing Committee, Committee on Teaching and Learning, Library and Information Services Committee, Committee on Environmental Responsibility, Office of Community Standards, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. 

Our working group plans to revisit this document in the future given the evolving nature of AI.

Considerations

Relation to Bates Mission and Values

Guided by our commitment to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts, Bates College recognizes that navigating the landscape of artificial intelligence has become essential, both inside the classroom and in the college’s broader organization. Bates is a college for coming times; as such, we see emerging technologies as an opportunity to enhance innovation, collaboration, and intellectual insight, and to prepare our students for the world in which they will live and lead. The college recognizes that artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that — when guided by liberal arts skills and values cultivated at Bates — can extend our collective creativity, enable efficiencies that free up time and space for exploration and human interactions, and ultimately lead to new ways of working, thinking, and creating.

However, we also believe that engaging with AI comes with crucial challenges and responsibilities — both individual and collective. We value critical thinking, writing, and creativity, and we recognize that many uses of AI interfere with the process of learning and developing these skills. We must create and uphold original, creative scholarship of the highest standard. We must acknowledge and attempt to mitigate bias in our use of AI. And we must recognize and work to minimize the environmental impact of our digital footprint as we do for other electricity and water consumption, heating and cooling, and food waste. 

We understand and respect that there are varying opinions about the usage and implications of AI on the Bates campus and what AI use might look like in relation to our values. We encourage members of our community to engage respectfully with each other regarding their individual choices about engaging with AI. We recognize that the rise of AI technology is a vast and unplanned social experiment that will continue in ways beyond our current experience.

Transparency, Disclosure, and Bias  

Transparency about AI use allows others to consider the potential biases and reliability of AI output. AI becomes systemically biased when it ingests historical data riddled with human prejudice and treats those contents as objective truths; furthermore, the individuals who design and train these systems may inadvertently incorporate their own biases or remain blind to how their specific perspectives are being encoded into the platform. Because generative AI can hallucinate (i.e., provide plausible but inaccurate information), users must be responsible for critically evaluating AI content before acting on or sharing it. By properly evaluating and citing AI content, we maintain the trust and integrity foundational to our community.

Intellectual Property and Ownership 

Artificial Intelligence tools introduce evolving intellectual property challenges that require careful management and consideration. We share the widely held concern that many Large Language Models (LLMs) are trained without permission on materials that are subject to traditional copyrights and that LLM output does not fully credit these sources. The legal landscape around AI-generated content and copyright also remains unsettled. At a minimum, users should clearly distinguish their own intellectual contributions from those of other humans and from AI-generated materials.

Environmental Impacts

Training and running AI models, particularly generative AI, comes with significant environmental impacts that to date have been challenging to quantify, partly because of limited transparency by AI companies. Nonetheless, there is scope for both individual and institutional action, similar to how we address environmental impacts of heating, cooling, dining, and other activities. Such actions might include, for example, adhering to best environmental practices in whether and how to use Generative AI, estimating and offsetting the environmental impacts of use, and educating our community on environmental consequences.

Equitable Access  

As with other tools or opportunities in our society, individuals’ access to AI tools can be dependent on resources. As a college, we provide some AI tools to all members of the Bates community, but we should remain cognizant of the inequities created when better-resourced individuals acquire access to a wider suite of AI tools.

Guidance on Usage

The use of AI tools is usually an individual decision for all members of the Bates community. As the college’s thinking about AI continues to develop, we encourage people to talk openly about the factors that shape their decision on when to use AI and when not to use AI. Note, too, that there are times when specific guidance will be provided by someone in a supervisory capacity, whether that be in a classroom, in a department, or for the college as a whole. 

Students

Artificial intelligence is now part of the intellectual landscape in which students learn and create, perhaps even before they arrive at Bates. Critical thinking remains a core principle in teaching and learning at Bates and, as such, students should thoughtfully consider how they use AI in their academic work and the ways in which AI use supports versus undermines their personal learning goals and the learning goals of a course or assignment. Thoughtful interaction with AI can provide opportunities to engage analytical reasoning, reflective judgment, problem solving, and assessment in new ways, but is not a substitute for original thought, writing, and argument. Students should consult course syllabi and assignment instructions before using AI in academic work. When the use of AI is an allowable part of an assignment or other academic work, follow the library’s guidelines for how to cite the contributions of AI. Students also must follow the guidelines below on Data Security and Acceptable Use.

Lead Instructors

While the degree of AI integration in courses is at the sole discretion of the instructor as part of the parameters that academic freedom defines around pedagogy, syllabus-level transparency is essential. Faculty are expected to clearly outline their AI policies in writing at the start of the term and are encouraged to specify allowable use on an assignment-by-assignment basis to provide students with consistent and actionable guidance. This consistent guidance is important to ensure students understand expectations around AI use in relation to the Academic Integrity Policy. The Office of Community Standards will rely upon written course policies in evaluating reports of academic misconduct regarding inappropriate use of AI on assignments and assessments. Separate from this topic of faculty expectations about student use of AI, faculty should practice transparency about their own AI use in ways that are context-appropriate, with human oversight remaining the final arbiter of accuracy and responsibility. Faculty also must follow the guidelines in the two sections below (All College Employees, and Data Security, Acceptable Use, and Specific AI Tools).

All College Employees

AI may offer innovative ways to perform work, including efficiencies that could allow more time for the creative or relational endeavors that we all value. Leaders and supervisors should explore available AI tools and support the training of current and new colleagues as appropriate. Supervisors are also encouraged to specify appropriate uses of AI tools for specific work within their department, though employees should assume that the use of approved AI tools is permitted unless told otherwise. All employees should practice transparency about their own AI use in ways that are context-appropriate, with human oversight remaining the final arbiter of accuracy and responsibility. Employees also must follow the guidelines in this document on Intellectual Property and Ownership, Data Security, and Acceptable Use.

Everyone: Data Security, Acceptable Use, and Specific AI Tools

The only AI tools currently approved to be used for Bates College data that are not Public Data (see definition here) are those offered through Google and found in our Google Workspace (i.e., Gemini and NotebookLM). As Google releases new tools covered by our contract, Bates ILS will perform a review and enable them, as appropriate. The reason for limiting ourselves to Google is that our contract with Google provides appropriate data privacy and security guarantees (e.g., prohibits use of Bates data to train models; FERPA compliance).  

Guidance on unacceptable uses of artificial intelligence tools is available within the ILS policy on the acceptable use of our information technology resources. Unacceptable uses include, but are not limited to, entering, uploading, transmitting, or processing restricted data using AI tools, large language models, or other automated data analysis systems that are not explicitly approved by the college for such use, including third-party or publicly available AI services. For a better understanding of what constitutes restricted data, please be familiar with the college’s Data Management Guidelines and the manner in which college data is classified. 

There are many artificial intelligence tools being created by countless organizations outside of Google (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude). At various times in their development, individual tools may be superior for a specific application. The Bates community is welcome to use these tools, just not with Bates College data. In most cases, these companies will harvest the information put into their tools for use by the company and users should have no expectation of privacy when using these tools. 

Additionally, many of our current software applications are adding AI capabilities into their software. Prior to purchasing or renewing any software application, the contract must be reviewed by ILS to ensure the appropriate data protections are being followed by that vendor. Please ensure that all applicable contracts have undergone such a review by contacting Information Security.

Departments are responsible for funding the purchase of any AI tool outside of those brands or versions provided by ILS. Departments must consult ILS before purchasing said tools so that the college can determine if this tool is approved for the intended use and for assistance in determining the appropriate license. 

Looking Ahead

Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts, and that dedication informs our philosophy and adoption of AI tools. In the age of AI, this commitment to critical thinking, community, and a focus on equity and responsible stewardship is particularly relevant. We understand that the AI landscape is ever evolving and commit to reviewing, revisiting, and revising this document as necessary. Working together, we will continue to educate our students for their life after Bates with purpose and creativity.