As of February 2 2023, there is a ban on the use of ChatGPT and AI generated content on Ask Ubuntu.
This ban involves:
- Deletion of all ChatGPT or other AI content, whether acknowledged as such or not
- Moderator warning email for initial occurrence
- The usual escalation of penalties for further infractions
Grammar and Spell Checking Tools: Note that it is the moderator team's opinion that the use of Grammarly and spell checking tools to correct grammar errors and spelling errors is not AI-generated content. Using those tools to improve your own written posts' grammar or to correct spelling errors is not forbidden; however, we are specifically barring the use of ChatGPT and other AIs as the sole source of generating answer content.
Timeline:
- Community Consultation: On December 19th 2022, Community discussion commenced on AU Meta concerning our position on AI generated content. This discussion attracted considerable Community interest and involvement.
- Temporary Ban: On January 5th 2023, while Community discussion was taking place, there was a considerable upsurge in the number of of ChatGPT-generated answers and spam messages posted on Ask Ubuntu. To get control of this upsurge of incorrect, nonworking, and unvetted content in answers, a temporary ban on AI-generated answers was instituted. This ban continued until February 2, 2023, when a permanent ban was instituted.
- SE 'Enforcement Guidelines: On May 29 2023 SE issued a set of enforcement guidelines which prohibited most of the AU interventions related to AI generated content. This action, along with several other factors, lead to the general strike by Moderators and curators of SE.
- Strike Resolution and new Policy: On August 6th 2023, with the strike resolved, a new AI Policy was jointly created by SE staff and Moderators.