Information Technology Services: Associate Vice President of Technology
Last Revised: 08/05/25
Title: AI Use Policy
Applicable: Furman University (Students, Faculty, Staff, Affiliates, Service Providers, and Products)
Contacts: IT Service Center ext. 3277
Background
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are rapidly advancing in ways that offer both unprecedented opportunities and unique challenges for Higher Education. AI has the potential to enhance efficiency, accelerate research, and improve analysis and outcomes. It can catalyze innovation and creativity across disciplines or drive strategic interests and operations significantly beyond traditional boundaries. To this end, the University aspires to optimize its use of AI technology to responsibly harness its benefits while minimizing its risks.
Use of AI technology poses important questions and concerns in addition to significant challenges and risks in various areas including ethics and morality, attribution, professional and academic integrity, privacy, bias, input data sanitization, workforce displacement, sustainability, and more.
While we recognize the foregoing, this policy outlines guidelines for fostering responsible and ethical use of AI technologies including the principles of safety, security, accountability, integrity, fairness, and social responsibility with deference and fidelity to Furman University’s institutional values and positive societal stewardship.
Definition
In this policy, Artificial Intelligence is broadly defined as any human-made or synthetic system, interface, or technology that can perform or sufficiently emulate tasks that historically require human intelligence or intervention such as reasoning, learning, higher-order decision-making, inference, perception, advanced communication, and intelligent manipulation or sophisticated interaction with humans or the physical world. AI technologies and interfaces may be hardware-based, software-based, organic, or a combination thereof.
Policy
Training and Appropriate use:
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- Users are encouraged to seek or acquire training and information on the responsible use of AI platforms and tools from ITS or other reputable sources. Users should always verify results and accuracy of AI-based conclusions and reports.
- The use of AI for academic purposes is governed by all relevant Furman policies including Technology, Academic, Faculty, or Student policies. The statements herein are in deference to these policies and are intended to complement rather than conflict with other policies.
- Employee use of AI shall be governed by and in accordance with relevant Furman employee policies including but not limited to relevant Faculty and Staff policies, Technology policies, Information Security Policies, Purchasing guidelines, and any approved AI policies.
- Student use of AI shall be governed by and in accordance with relevant Furman Student policies and all other applicable University policies and guidelines.
- AI at Furman may be used to support and strengthen the University’s Missions and values. Artificial Intelligence shall not be intentionally used in conflict with the University’s missions, policies, and values.
- The use of AI and other technologies shall conform to all relevant statutory, regulatory compliance, and University Legal requirements.
Integrity and Ethics:
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- The University requires all constituents to uphold the highest standards of integrity and ethics. These values extend to the use of AI. Users should comply with all University policies, codes of conduct and guidelines.
- The use of AI for research, analysis, content production, and other purposes shall adhere to common established practices for data safety, data quality, communication, and rigor to ensure that both inputs and outcomes are as accurate as possible.
- The University encourages the use of AI to enhance creativity, innovation, equity and fairness, constructive exchange of ideas, and efficiency of its constituents in producing work.
- The use of AI at Furman shall be in alignment with the University’s expectations for Academic integrity.
- Users involved in direct research or development of AI technologies at Furman shall conform to the highest ethical standards and may be subject to additional review or oversight.
Governance:
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- AI technologies are rapidly growing in scope and pace of innovation, significantly accelerating technological achievements. As such, a qualified representative group of individuals responsible for evaluating AI (AI Strategic Task Force) shall review, recommend, and oversee alignment of AI initiatives with the University’s interests over time.
- Acquisition or purchase of new AI technologies shall be done in accordance with policy 077.3 Acquisition of Information Technology Equipment and Services.
- AI-assisted content produced for formal representation, submission, publication, distribution, and/or transmission of University works shall at minimum and prior to completion, be governed, supervised and reviewed by qualified humans (Ex, the author) for accuracy, safety, bias, regulatory compliance and consistency with all policies, values, standards and rigor required for content production or publication at Furman University.
- Efforts for qualified human supervision shall be increased appropriately to account for cases where the potential, scope and scale of impact of the use of an AI technology likely exceeds what existing standards and policies may account for. The responsibility for evaluation and use of AI use shall be managed proportionally to the risk, power, or impact of the potential technology in use.
- Any AI technology that advances beyond its ability to be feasibly managed by humans to behave according to the standards and expectations of Furman University and the protections of this policy or other relevant University policies, shall be submitted for review and approval by to the University’s AI Strategic Task Force prior to its initial release, use or continued use as may be the case.
- Furman University reserves the right to monitor and review AI technologies or products in use or development at Furman to monitor the state of technology, usage and products to support responsible use of AI.
Data Security and Storage:
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- Furman protects the privacy and security of its constituents and other stakeholders. The use of AI technologies shall protect or preserve the privacy and security, data classification and governance of all data that are collected, processed, stored, or shared by or with AI systems.
- University data stored or shared with AI systems shall follow Furman’s Organizational Security and Data Classification policy and Data Storage Guidelines and shall be stored on approved data storage locations appropriate to its data class. Exceptions may be considered with proper consultation with Information Technology Services.
- Technical design and system configurations shall be implemented and maintained according to current best practices for handling, management, security, and exchange of information to prevent unauthorized access, misuse, compromise or data loss.
- Third party service providers of AI services and products shall be required to employ adequate terms, policies, and practices to meet Furman University’s guidelines for information security and trust, including regulatory compliance, insurance, confidentiality, availability, privacy, integrity, and ethical use.
- Furman University reserves the right to audit third party providers and/or require periodic demonstrations of reputable industry accepted third-party compliance with policies and standards in use at Furman or required by statute, policy, or formal agreement.
- No AI technology shall be approved for implementation that significantly diminishes or fails to ensure the integrity, continuity, safety or security of Furman University’s systems, data, personnel, or other constituencies.
Minimum Recommended Review and Revision Period:
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- This policy may be updated at any time. It shall have a minimum recommended review period of 1 year.