Your course lecturer can tell you if you are able to use content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools in your assessment tasks, including AI-generated images. Please confirm with your course lecturer for a specific assessment task before using any AI tools.
If you are able to use AI tools in your assessment task, you need to appropriately acknowledge and reference all of the AI-generated content that you include. Failure to reference this AI-generated content can result in academic misconduct.
Please note that the information about using generative AI tools will continue to be updated - we recommend checking this guide regularly and confirming with your course lecturer if you are unsure.
Some generative AI tools have been trained on large numbers of existing images, and these tools can create new images based on prompts from users. The images created using these tools can be downloaded, but they are not published or reproducible in the AI platform. Images generated using AI tools such as Midjourney and DALL-E 2 are the topic of much debate.
Current copyright law only recognises humans as creators. One of the moral rights associated with copyright is the right to be acknowledged as the creator of a work. The current (February 2024) Arts Law Centre of Australia advice is adapted below:
As a general rule, a work can only be protected by copyright in Australia if there is a human author who contributed ‘independent intellectual effort’. Because of this, it is possible that works generated by AI which don’t have enough human input won’t be protected by copyright. The amount of human input needed for copyright protection is currently not known.
As AI tools do not currently have a legal status and cannot own copyright, it is the human contributor who would own copyright if a work was protected. This has informed our referencing guidelines below.
There are not yet clear guidelines for how to incorporate AI-generated images into existing referencing styles such as APA 7th, Chicago, etc. Our current recommendation for how to reference AI-generated images varies for each referencing style. Additionally, we recommend that you include the question or prompt that generated the image where possible, to provide context for your readers.
Please note that our recommendations for how to reference AI-generated content may change in the future as referencing style manuals are updated.
RMIT's APA 7th guide contains general information about using and referencing images.
How to reference images that you produce using an AI tool:
To include the image in your work provide a figure number and brief title above the image. Below the image, provide a caption that explains that the work was generated using an AI tool, and what prompt was used. No reference list entry is required for an image that you have produced using an AI tool.
Caption
Rule: Note. Description of figure.
Example:
Figure 1
An AI-generated image of an owl
Note. Image generated using Adobe Firefly from the prompt brown owl in a forest.
How to reference AI-generated images reproduced in a published source:
If using AI-generated images reproduced in a published source (e.g. a newspaper article), reference the published source in the caption below the figure following the instructions for generating APA 7th style captions in Easy Cite. Include a figure number and a brief title above the image, and information about the image, including the source, in the caption below the image. Also include the published source in your reference list using the standard APA guidelines for the relevant source (e.g. a newspaper article).
Caption
Rule: Note. Description of figure. From: "Title of article/book/webpage etc", by A.A. Author, year of publication, Journal/Newspaper title (if applicable), volume number in italics (if applicable), issue number (if applicable), page number/s (if applicable), DOI (if applicable), copyright year and owner.
Example: Note. An AI-generated image took first place in the digital category at the Colorado State Fair. From "An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy." by K. Roose, 2022, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html, Copyright 2023 The New York Times Company.
The RMIT Harvard style contains general information for using and referencing images, including that artworks and images that you use in your assessment tasks do not need the copyright permissions that are required for publishing or commercial use. However, it is essential that you give credit to the creator of the work and reference it in your work.
How to reference images that you produce using an AI tool:
Include the image in your work with a caption that explains that the work was generated using an AI tool, and what prompt was used. No reference list entry is required for an image that you have produced using an AI tool.
Caption:
Rule: Figure number: Description or explanation
Example:
Figure 1: Image generated using Adobe Firefly from the prompt interstellar purple and orange space squid.
How to reference AI-generated images reproduced in a published source:
If using reproduced images, reference the published source. In a caption below the image add a figure number and information about the image, including the published source. We currently recommend including the information that the artwork was generated using AI in the format field. Also include the published source in your reference list using the standard RMIT Harvard guidelines for the relevant source (e.g. a newspaper article).
Caption
Rule: Figure number: Creator's family name Initial [if artist/creator is known] OR leave blank if artist/creator unknown (year produced) Title or description of artwork or image [format], publishing details of where artwork or image was sourced
Example: Figure 1: Allen JM (2022) Théâtre D’opéra Spatial [artwork generated using Midjourney], Roose K (2 September 2022) 'An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.', The New York Times, accessed 3 March 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html
As stated in the RMIT Easy Cite Chicago guides, visual materials used in assessment tasks do not need the copyright permissions that are required for publishing or commercial use. However, it is essential that you give credit to the creator of the work and reference it in your work.
Chicago A (footnotes) and Chicago B (author-date)
How to reference an image that you produce using an AI tool:
Follow the caption rules for your own work. Include the AI tool that was used as well as the prompt.
Caption:
Rule: Figure number. Description or explanation.
Example:
Figure 1. Artwork created using Adobe Firefly in response to the prompt two students studying in a park in the sunshine.
How to reference an AI-generated image reproduced from a published source:
Follow the general guidelines for Art and creative works (Chicago A) or Artwork (Chicago B), noting that the Chicago Manual of Style states that information about images and works of art can usually be presented in the text, rather than a note or bibliography. A caption below the image can be used to include the necessary information. Use the name of the human as the creator (if known) and include information that the work was generated using AI - we recommend adding this information in the medium field. If the human creator of the image is unknown, use text such as Artwork created using (the AI tool) in place of the creator's name.
Caption:
Rule: Figure number. Artist’s Given Name Artist’s Family Name, Title of work (if known), Year of production (if known). Medium, in Author's Given Name and Family Names, source details (e.g. website, book, etc).
Examples:
Figure 1: Jason Allen, Théâtre D’opéra Spatial, 2022. Artwork created using Midjourney, in Kevin Roose, "An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy." The New York Times, September 2, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html
Figure 1: Artwork created using OpenAI's DALLE-2, in Adam Gopnick, "What Can A.I. Art Teach Us About the Real Thing?" The New Yorker, March 1, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-can-ai-art-teach-us-about-the-real-thing
The RMIT Vancouver guide contains general information on using and referencing images.
How to reference images that you produce using an AI tool:
Include the image in your work with a caption that explains that the work was generated using an AI tool, and what prompt was used.
Example:
Figure 1. Image generated using Adobe Firefly from the prompt sunset over the ocean on a stormy day.
How to reference AI-generated images reproduced in a published source:
If using reproduced images, reference the published source, using a numbered in-text citation that matches the corresponding reference list entry. In a caption below the image include the same description as in the published source, as well as a reference number.
Caption
Rule: Figure number. The description of figure from the published source (reference number)
Example: Figure 1. Jason Allen’s A.I.-generated work, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” took first place in the digital category at the Colorado State Fair (1)
Reference list entry:
Reference the published source according to the relevant source guidelines, and then add the figure number used in the published source (or a number according to its placement on the page in square brackets if not numbered), the title of the figure in the published source, and the page number or location where the figure is located in the published source (if applicable).
Example: 1. Roose K. An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy. The New York Times [Internet]. 2022 Sep 2. [cited 2023 Mar 3]; [about 9 screens]. Available from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html. [Figure 1], Jason Allen’s A.I.-generated work, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” took first place in the digital category at the Colorado State Fair.
How to reference images that you produce using an AI tool:
Include the image in your work with a caption that explains that the work was generated using an AI tool, and what prompt was used.
Example:
Fig 1. Image generated using Adobe Firefly from the prompt a typical engineer.
How to reference AI-generated images reproduced in a published source:
If using reproduced images, the IEEE style advice is to reference the published source, using a numbered in-text citation that matches the corresponding reference list entry. If including the AI-generated image in your work, include information and a numbered citation in the figure caption below the image.
Caption
Rule: Fig. number. Description of figure [reference number]
Example: Fig 1. A typical engineer as created by Stylianos Moschoglou using an AI machine learning model [1]
Reference list entry:
Reference the published source according to the relevant source guidelines. The example below is a webpage.
Example: 1. C. Barkla. "AI created an image of the ‘average’ engineer – but it’s not the whole picture." Create Digital. Available: https://createdigital.org.au/what-average-engineer-looks-like-ai/ (accessed Mar. 1, 2023).
The Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition does not specifically contain information about citing and referencing images. The information below is a suggested caption format if including an image that you have produced using an AI tool, as well as guidelines for referencing AI-generated images reproduced from published sources.
How to reference images that you produce using an AI tool:
Include the image in your work with a caption that explains that the work was generated using an AI tool, and what prompt was used.
Example:
Figure 1. Image generated using Adobe Firefly from the prompt a law student at university.
How to reference AI-generated images reproduced in a published source:
If using reproduced images, reference the published source, using a numbered in-text citation that matches the corresponding note entry. If including the AI-generated image in your work, include information and a numbered citation in the figure caption below the image.
Caption
Rule: Figure number. Description of figure [note number]
Example: Figure 1. An AI-generated image took first place in the digital category at the Colorado State Fair [1]
Footnote entry:
Reference the published source according to the relevant source guidelines. The example below is an electronic newspaper article.
Example: 1. Kevin Roose, 'An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.' The New York Times (online, 2 September 2022) <https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html>.