25-05 / Is using AI cheating ?

This blog has been created using my own clear mind without the assistance of any AI tool 😊
Picture sourced from the internet

July 2025

Surely it hasn’t escaped your attention that AI is at the forefront of my mind lately. I seem to be so emerged in it, that it pops up every time I think about lighting. It follows closely on one of my previous blogs about transparency in lighting design. The question that popped up in my mind this time is whether the use of AI is considered cheating as there is this stigma and lingering thought by many that when you use AI you are cheating. I would like to address that in this blog.

The key to it all lies in designing, creating with and in integrity. If you pass on AI developed work as your own, without attributing it to the help of AI or referencing your source, then that is typically cheating. You did not create that work. You asked someone else (in this case the AI tool) to do that for you. Specifically, if you copy and paste the outcome verbatim.  

Yet many people seem to do that, without even checking the validity of the created AI work for correctness. Some even charge their regular fees for that work! The question then is whether they then also assume the responsibility of any mistakes or wrong advise if a client acts on that? You can’t really say, oh, it wasn’t me, it was the AI tool!

So, declaring that you have used AI tools in the process of your workflows seems to be the appropriate way to go. This creates transparency towards your client, certainly in today’s world where most people are very much aware of AI and what it can do. Properly declaring the use of AI in your work therefore will eliminate any mistrust and maintain the integrity of your standing with the client.

In fact, some companies now include AI clauses in their contract upfront. Where they might stipulate that AI is used in the process of ideation as a brainstorming tool or for research and information gathering. AI might also be used for refining and editing your work.

In short if you are using AI to replace your own work it’s cheating, if you use it as a tool to enhance and improve the outcomes of your work (and declaring it in the process) you are using AI as a proper tool to deliver better end results.