Dr. Katelyn Hancock, an assistant professor of criminal justice, is incorporating the use of artificial intelligence in a student assignment for her spring 2024 Criminology 2100 course, which covers basic concepts and theories in the study of criminal behavior.
The course gives an overview of the nature and extent of crime and theoretical approaches to the causes and prevention of crime and delinquency. The course also reviews how criminal justice policy is affected by various theoretical perspectives and the public view of crime.
The assignment asks students to define, describe and discuss criminological theories. It also allows them to compare and contrast theories in choosing a theory on which to base their work for the assignment. Students are allowed to use a relevant medium such as artificial intelligence to evaluate criminological theories and their relevance.
The assignment encourages students to explore theory through a different lens while also showing that, despite the possible appeal of using AI, it may not be as accurate a source of information as expected. Hancock said she hopes the experience incentivizes students to complete other assessments using their own knowledge and skills.
AI-involved assignment
Part I: Students identify a criminological theory (first four points) they think best explains why crime or delinquency may occur. Upon choosing a theory to write about, they will ask the University’s AI Generator (https://utverse.tennessee.edu/) to produce a summary of the following:
- What is the main objective(s) of this theory?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of this theory?
- What are the policy implications of this theory?
- Provide an example of x (theory you chose) at work (e.g., apply it) in a crime show, movie, or real-life example.
- Create your own theory of why crime occurs. How you word this in the generator may vary. You could ask it to develop a theory of why crime occurs, ask it why crime occurs, or something else.
Students will submit all responses from the AI generator to the above questions.
Part II: Students answer the above five questions about their chosen theory in their own words, using course material, with in-text citations and including a reference list. Students are to have at least one source (such as a scholarly article, PowerPoint from course, eBook).
Part III: Students write a short paragraph reflection on the response they feel best answered the questions, noting any issues or errors with what the generator produced and the method they believed they learned from most.
College of Arts and Sciences Dean Pam Riggs-Gelasco awarded a $250 stipend to Hancock for her proposal to incorporate AI into an assignment.