In an age of abundant information and powerful tools, the idea of “original work” is increasingly complex.   I often find it difficult philosophically when exam boards state, in schools and colleges, that work should be the “students own”.   What does that actually mean in todays world?     If you write or create something based on a lesson, a book, or with the help of AI, is it still your own?   

Learning vs. Creating: Where Does Originality Begin?

Originality doesn’t mean creating something in a vacuum. In fact, most original work is built on what we’ve learned from others. If a teacher explains a concept and you write about it in your own words, that is your work. You’ve processed the information, interpreted it, and expressed it through your own understanding. The same applies when you read a book and then write about it.   You add your voice, your synthesis, and your framing make it original.  

The Role of AI and Other Tools

Using AI to help structure your thoughts, refine your language, or even co-write parts of your work doesn’t automatically make it unoriginal. Tools have always been part of the creative process and we don’t want to remove them.  Think of spellcheckers, grammar guides, or tools to make writing easier such as the word processor or PowerPoint for creating a slide deck, or even just brainstorming with a friend.  Even consider the humble pen and paper.   Without the tool the output would be different, so the tool shapes the output, but yet we still consider the output to be our own.   The key question is: Are you using the tool to express your own understanding, or are you outsourcing the thinking entirely? 

If AI helps you articulate or present what you’ve learned, it’s still your work. But if you rely on it to generate output which you haven’t engaged with or understood, then I think it is fair to say the final product isn’t your own.  So, engagement and intent are key here.   If AI tools are being used for the right reason, to learn, and you engage with the AI in the production, co-production if you will, then it’s your own work.

Originality Is About Ownership of Thought

At its core, originality is about intellectual ownership. It’s not just about where the information came from, but how you’ve made it your own. Did you wrestle with the ideas? Did you connect them to other things you know? Did you form a perspective? If the answer is yes, then your work is original even if it’s inspired by others or supported by tools.

The Product vs. the Process

One of the most important insights is that the final product doesn’t always show the depth of learning behind it. A polished essay might look effortless, but it could be the result of hours of reflection, revision, and growth. Equally it could have been easy for an individual.  Conversely, a well-written piece generated mostly by AI might lack the personal journey that makes learning meaningful.  That said it could also represent the output to hours of effort, iteration, exploration and revision with the support of AI tools.

In considering the classroom and art for example, who achieves more, the student with strong artistic skills who produces a good graphic with little effort or the student with poorer skills who also produces a good graphic, but with the support of AI where they engaged with the process, contributing their ideas and identity but relying on AI tools for the realisation of the work?   Is it the product we value, in which case does it matter?   Or is it the process in which case one of the students clearly was more engaged in effortful learning.   I suppose it depends on what you are actually assessing.   And maybe that’s part of the issue.   Have we become to focussed on the product, the good graphic, rather than looking at the process, or more importantly effortful learning.

So perhaps in looking at if work is the students own, a better question is: Does this work reflect what they’ve learned? If it does, then it’s a valuable and original contribution.

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Note: this piece was written with the help of AI.  It comes from my ideas and initial prompting, was refined through further prompting with final edits of the text.   In posting it I do so as it reflects my views on originality however benefits from AI’s broader vocabulary and structure.    Is it still my work?   I think it is.