Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy Student

Last Updated: July 2026

For the complete MSEF Artificial Intelligence Guidelines with rationales and examples, continue reading here.

Students are permitted to use artificial intelligence tools to assist in their research or as a standalone project topic, so long as they adhere to school or district policies. When used appropriately, AI tools can support student learning and increase access to STEM concepts. Inappropriate use of AI prevents the growth, critical thinking, and independence that Science Fair is meant to build. This policy defines what is and is not allowed. For full explanations, examples, and citation formats, see the 2026 MSEF Artificial Intelligence Guidelines.

1. Permitted Uses (Disclosure Required)

Students may use AI tools for the following, provided every use is disclosed and verified as described in Section 3:

  • Brainstorming and safety planning. Identifying real-world problems, assessing feasibility, or drafting safety checklists (e.g., asking an LLM what safety gear is needed), verified with a teacher or trusted source.
  • Asking AI to explain complex topics or academic publications at an appropriate reading level.
  • Programming assistance. Fixing or debugging code the student wrote (e.g., GitHub Copilot), provided the student tests and understands the fix themselves.
  • Generating alt-text, captions, or meeting notes; translating content into a student’s home language.
  • Language polishing. Correcting grammar, spelling, and syntax in the student’s own writing (e.g., Grammarly).
  • Visualizing the student’s own data. Dedicated tools such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets may be used to create charts or graphs from student-collected data. Tools not designed for this purpose may introduce hallucinations in their data sets.
  • Summarizing student-provided documents. Summarizing a paper the student uploads (e.g., NotebookLM with search off), always checked against the original source.

2. Prohibited Uses

The following uses are not allowed:

  • Question, hypothesis, or procedure generation. Using AI to produce the research question, hypothesis, or step-by-step procedure. These must be the student’s original work.
  • Using AI to write the methodology, data analysis, conclusions, abstract, report sections, or presentation content.
  • Generating research or data. Using AI to generate background research, sources, or data to support a hypothesis. AI citation tools are also known to hallucinate and falsify references. Students should not rely on AI summaries in search engines, but they may be used to find primary sources.
  • Unverified AI summaries as sources. Relying on search-engine AI summaries or LLM responses as research sources. These may be used only to locate primary sources, which must be read and cited directly.
  • Data privacy violations. Entering personal details (names, addresses), confidential mentor notes, or proprietary information into public AI platforms. Using ID numbers, not identifying information, would be appropriate for human subjects’ data.

Generating Images: Unless AI image generation is the project focus, the use of AI tools to generate images, art, or diagrams for their poster boards or reports is discouraged, as these are valuable skills for students to learn themselves.

3. Disclosure, Citation, and Verification

Every AI-generated output (text, code, or images) must be disclosed in the Project Notebook and final report. Each disclosure must include: (a) the tool and model used; (b) the date; (c) the task performed; (d) the exact text of the prompt; and (e) how the output was verified (e.g., cross-checked with a textbook, tested manually, confirmed with a teacher). Students must treat all AI output as potentially false and independently verify citations, statistics, and explanations against primary sources. Citation formats for AI-generated content are provided in the full Guidelines.

4. Data Integrity

All experimental results must come from the student’s own hands-on work or from credible, properly cited external datasets. Raw data (notes, spreadsheets, photos) must be saved and available for SRC reviewers and judges upon request. AI may assist in analyzing or visualizing this data but may never generate it.

5. AI as a Project Topic

Projects that create, train, test, or study AI models are permitted. This includes machine learning classifiers, neural networks, and agents. These projects must include a detailed Methodology section in Project Notebooks describing each model used and its training data, all prompts, an explanation of how project data was collected and checked, any known limitations, and any ethical concerns (e.g., privacy, data ownership). See the full Guidelines for details.

6. Transparency, Compliance, and Consequences

MSEF seeks to establish a culture of transparency around AI use where honest, open disclosure of AI use is expected and rewarded. Rather than existing to “trap” inappropriate use, this framework represents an opportunity for students to learn how to use this novel technology responsibly.

That said, work that does not adhere to this policy may be penalized for reduced scientific rigor or independent work. Work that intentionally subverts this policy may be disqualified on the grounds of plagiarism or ethical violations.

Students must also follow their school and district AI policies and work in collaboration with their teachers. This policy applies to all MSEF participants and affiliated Regional Fairs.

Questions? Contact SRC@scifair.com. For full rationale, worked examples by project stage (Plan / Explore / Explain), AI limitations (bias and hallucinations), environmental considerations, and citation formats, refer to the 2026 MSEF Artificial Intelligence Guidelines, along with official Massachusetts DESE and ISEF guidance.