What an AI Partner is
An AI Partner is a purpose-built chat surface for one specific job in this course. They're not general-purpose chatbots: each one has a defined role, a tuned prompt, and a clear scope. Some are domain coaches (Plate Tectonics Tutor); some are process partners (Source Evaluator, Defense Practice). All of them are sources, and OPVL applies.
The five starter partners are documented on the AI Partners page.
The three rules
- AI can help me think, but I do the thinking. If you couldn't defend an argument in conversation because the AI made it, that argument isn't yours.
- The work I submit is my words, my decisions, my voice. Partners can support drafting; the deliverable is yours.
- Every time I use AI, I document it. No exceptions. See the AI Documentation Protocol.
When to reach for a partner vs. a general AI
| Situation | Reach for… |
|---|---|
| Stuck on a Unit 3 concept (subduction, liquefaction, hazard signatures) | Plate Tectonics Tutor: domain-tuned, less likely to drift. |
| Need to OPVL a source you're not sure about | The Source Evaluator: walks you through OPVL on whatever you paste in. |
| Want to stress-test a claim or argument | The Skeptic: pushes back. Especially useful before a defense. |
| Framing an engineering problem or weighing trade-offs | Engineering Coach: for Unit 3 portfolio work and any sim decisions. |
| Rehearsing a defense or oral assessment | Defense Practice Partner: asks the questions your panel might ask. |
| Need a translation, a different explanation, or general feedback | A general AI (Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT). Same documentation rules apply. |
Documentation, every time
No exceptions
Whether you used a course partner for two minutes or general Gemini for two hours, you fill out the AI Documentation Template. Honest disclosure = no penalty. Hidden use = academic integrity violation.
What partners cannot do for you
- Decide what's true. Partners can explain mechanisms, surface options, give feedback. They cannot resolve a contested scientific question for you.
- Write your work. If 80% of a paragraph came from a partner, it's the partner's work.
- Replace evaluation. Every partner output is itself a source. OPVL applies. Watch especially for hallucinated citations, confident wrongness, and sycophancy, see the protocol for the failure modes to watch for.
If you're unsure
"Could I explain to my teacher exactly what I did, and would I be comfortable doing so?"
If yes, document it and submit. If no, stop and recalibrate before submitting.