How To Use AI For The IB: The Lanterna Guide

Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room: Artificial Intelligence. Tools like ChatGPT are everywhere, and they're incredibly powerful. Think of them as a super-advanced calculator, but for words and ideas. The IB knows this, and they haven't banned AI. In fact, they've set out clear rules for how you can use it. But here’s the catch: use it wrong, and you risk academic misconduct. Use it right, and it can be a game-changer for your IAs, EE, and exam revision.

This guide is your rulebook. We'll break down exactly what you can and can't do, how to use AI to your advantage without crossing any lines, and how to cite it properly so your work is 100% legitimate.

Here’s what we'll cover:

• The Green Light List: Smart, ethical ways to use AI for your IB coursework.
• The Red Flag List: The absolute "don'ts" that could land you in serious trouble.
• The Golden Rule: A step-by-step guide on how to cite AI perfectly.
• The Hidden Dangers: Why relying too much on AI can actually hurt your grade.

Part 1: The IB's Official Rules - The Non-Negotiables

Before we get into the fun stuff, let's get the core principles straight. The IB's policy on AI boils down to three key ideas: Authenticity, Transparency, and Integrity.

1. Authenticity: The work you submit must be yours. Your ideas, your analysis, your voice. AI can be a research assistant or a sparring partner, but it cannot be the author.
2. Transparency: You must always be honest about how you've used AI. Hiding its use is considered academic misconduct. This means citing it properly, just like you would a book or a website.
3. Integrity: Using AI to cheat, plagiarise, or fake understanding goes against everything the IB stands for. The goal is to develop your mind, not to find clever shortcuts to avoid thinking.

Part 2: The Green Light List - Smart Ways to Use AI

Here are some IB-approved ways you can use AI to support your learning and make your life easier. This is all about working smarter, not harder.

Part 3: The Red Flag List - What NOT To Do

This part is critical. Breaking these rules is considered serious academic misconduct by the IB. Don't even think about it.

• Submitting AI-Written Essays: This is plagiarism, full stop. Copying and pasting an AI-generated essay, or even a few paragraphs, and passing it off as your own is the fastest way to fail your diploma.
• Generating Entire Sections: Don't ask AI to write your IA introduction, your EE conclusion, or your TOK reflection. These core components must reflect your own thinking and learning journey.
• Faking Analysis or Engagement: The IB wants to see your critical thinking. Using AI to generate analysis of a novel, a scientific experiment, or a historical source is faking the most important part of the assessment.
• Fabricating Data or References: Never use AI to create data for a science IA or to list sources you haven't actually read. AI is known to "hallucinate" and invent fake references.

Part 4: The Golden Rule - How to Cite AI Correctly

If you use AI in your work, you have to cite it. It’s non-negotiable. Luckily, it's quite simple. There are two main scenarios:

1. When Quoting or Paraphrasing AI Directly

If you take a specific sentence, idea, or piece of data from an AI tool, you must include an in-text citation and a full reference in your bibliography.

In-Text Citation Example:
When prompted to explain the concept of cognitive dissonance, OpenAI's chatbot suggested that it is the "mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs" (OpenAI, 2026).

Bibliography Entry Example:
OpenAI. (2026, January 29). ChatGPT [Large language model]. Response to prompt "Explain cognitive dissonance." https://chat.openai.com

2. When Using AI for General Support

If you used AI for brainstorming, outlining, or grammar checks, but didn't directly quote it, a specific citation isn't needed. Instead, you should add a short statement at the end of your work acknowledging its role.

Statement of Use Example:
"I used ChatGPT on January 29, 2026, to brainstorm initial ideas for my research question and to help structure the outline of this essay."

Part 5: The Hidden Dangers - Why You Still Need Your Brain

Beyond the risk of academic misconduct, over-relying on AI can actively harm your learning and your final grades. Keep these pitfalls in mind:

• It Can Be Wrong: AI models can present false information with complete confidence. They get facts wrong, misunderstand nuances, and perpetuate biases from their training data. You are responsible for fact-checking everything.
• It Kills Your Unique Voice: AI-generated text is often generic and soulless. Examiners can spot it a mile away. The best essays have a clear, authentic voice and original insight—something AI can't replicate.
• You Skip the "Brain Workout": The struggle of drafting, researching, and editing is what builds the critical thinking skills the IB is designed to develop. Letting AI do the heavy lifting is like going to the gym and letting someone else lift the weights for you. You won't get any stronger.

Ultimately, AI is a tool. A hammer is great for building a house, but it can't design the architecture. Use AI to handle the small stuff—to organize, to check, to spark ideas—but always make sure you are the architect of your own work.