AI usage in group work is a topic we rarely discuss, yet it undeniably plays a role. Whether it’s for writing texts, structuring code, or generating ideas, the tools are available, and they are being used. Still, the conversations about it are often absent.

Part of this discomfort, in my view, stems from the central policy of TU/e, which seems to be buried deep in an intranet page. Have you read it? No, neither have I. Instead, the policy largely depends on scattered comments from professors, which sometimes vary from one assignment to another. In one course, AI use is encouraged ("Feel free to use the available tools!"), while in another, it’s considered cheating. What remains is confusion, doubt, and above all, silence.

But even if we ignore the policy for a moment, the gray area remains vast. AI is now so deeply integrated into our daily tools that we don’t even notice when we’re using it. Overleaf automatically corrects your spelling and grammar. GitHub Copilot writes half of your Python functions for you. And Google Docs rewrites your sentences as you type. Are these tools, or is this use of AI? And if so, do we need to report it in our reports?

There’s also a social aspect to this story. Admitting that you’re using AI feels a bit like saying that you can’t do something yourself. Or worse: that you’re trying to bypass it. In group work, you especially don’t want to be the one who admits that AI has really helped you with that one chapter. So many students stay silent, hoping no one notices, while probably everyone thinks the same.

Still, I trust that almost everyone is using AI responsibly. Perhaps we should openly discuss how to handle it. Not to accuse each other of cheating immediately, but to get some clarity. And maybe, just maybe, it turns out that some don’t even need it. They just type faster than we click. In any case, we won’t have to pretend awkwardly AI is a big secret anymore.

Wob Knaap is a student Data Science at TU/e. The views expressed in this column are his own.