Resources
How we use AI
AI tools are a reality of contemporary life and future work. Our approach tries to be clear about what these tools can and cannot do for a learner of mathematics.
Our position
Mathematics is learned by doing — by thinking through problems, making mistakes, and correcting them. An AI tool that produces a worked solution removes the step that builds the understanding. A student who submits AI-generated work has bypassed exactly the process that was meant to develop their skills.
At the same time, AI tools are increasingly used by mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. Knowing how to use them effectively — and knowing their limitations — is itself a valuable skill. Our goal is not to ban these tools but to be explicit about where their use supports learning and where it subverts it.
What we encourage
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Using AI to check, not to generate. Working through a problem yourself, then using an AI to check whether your answer is correct or your method is sound. This reinforces the habit of attempting problems independently.
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Asking for explanations, not solutions. Using a chatbot to explain a concept or a technique you do not understand — then going back to the problem with that explanation in hand. This is similar to reading a textbook or asking a teacher.
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Using AI as a research tool for the IA exploration. Searching for context, background reading, datasets or historical information. This is no different from using a library or the internet — as long as the mathematical work remains your own.
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Using computational tools (Wolfram Alpha, GeoGebra, Python) appropriately. These are standard tools of applied mathematics, and using them for the computation/visualisation step — while supplying the mathematical framing yourself — is exactly how they are intended.
What is not acceptable
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Submitting AI-generated solutions as your own work. Copying or lightly paraphrasing output from any AI tool and presenting it as your own answer or exploration work constitutes academic dishonesty under IB regulations.
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Using AI during timed class assessments or examinations. Accessing any AI tool during a class test or IB examination is not permitted. This includes tools on your phone, a browser tab, or any other device.
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Using AI to write the prose or mathematical development in your IA exploration. The writing, mathematical development and conclusions must be your own. This is an IB requirement, not just a departmental one.
A frank note on AI and mathematics
Current large language models are unreliable at multi-step mathematical reasoning. They often produce wrong answers to straightforward calculations and present them confidently. Treating AI output as a trusted source for mathematics — without checking it — leads to errors.
The skill of checking whether a mathematical answer is plausible is one of the most useful things you can develop. It is also exactly what Criterion D in the MYP, and the applied problems in DP, are assessing.