Guidelines for CCNY Communicators on Generative AI Use in Content and Coding

Content Creation in the AI Age

CCNY employees (from all hiring sources) who use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in graphics, images, video, audio, written content, or code are advised to follow the best practices outlined here. Whether the intended audience for these materials is internal or external to the College, communicators are responsible for reviewing and checking their work for:

  • Quality
  • Accuracy
  • Protection of privacy and copyright
  • Appropriateness
  • Freedom from bias
  • Adherence to College branding standards

Remember:

  • AI is a tool to be managed, not a substitute for individual knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking.
  • Direct AI output is never a final product.
  • Review everything, and keep human judgment at the center of all work.
  • Communicators are accountable for the content they create, with or without AI.

As detailed in the guidelines below, AI-generated imagery, video, and audio may not be used to inaccurately depict City College's campus, facilities, architecture, community members, logos, seals, trademarks, academic spaces, or institutional identity. Any content representing the College must accurately reflect the real campus environment and official branding.

The College reserves the right to reject or request removal of any AI-generated image, video, or audio that misrepresents the institution, creates false or misleading depictions, or violates established brand standards. AI-generated variations or reinterpretations of official marks are considered trademark misuse and are not permitted.

Additionally, AI-generated images, video, and audio need to be identified as such on social media platforms.

For projects in any medium, consider whether using AI tools will help or hinder the goal of every communicator: connecting with their audience. Keep in mind that City College educates students and employs experts in several disciplines that face negative impacts from the rise of artificial intelligence and generative AI tools. Choosing to publish content that bears a clear AI imprint may result in a negative reaction from one's audience, and the content may fail to achieve its intended purpose.

Additionally, generative AI is an energy-intensive technology with environmental impacts. Use these tools responsibly, and consider their broader costs and benefits.

Note: The following guidelines apply to all materials—including posters, flyers, websites, blogs, articles, reports, video, audio, social media, merchandise, and apparel—intended for both internal and external communications and promotional purposes.

Guidelines

1. Represent CCNY Accurately

Do not falsify or fabricate campus imagery or video.

AI-generated images or video may not:

  • Alter or fabricate campus buildings, landmarks, or architectural features
  • Create fictional versions of the campus or people on campus
  • Misrepresent campus layouts, facilities, classrooms, laboratories, or public spaces
  • Depict buildings, signage, or environments that do not exist

This includes generated images and video of:

  • Campus buildings listed on the map on page 36 of the Style Guide
  • Campus entrances
  • Athletic facilities
  • Residence halls
  • Libraries
  • Any identifiable campus location

2. Maintain Official College Branding

Unauthorized use or adaptation is not permitted.

The College's official branding, including the following elements, may not be generated, modified, imitated, or recreated in any medium by AI tools:

  • Official College logos
  • Departmental logos
  • The College seal
  • Athletics marks
  • Wordmarks
  • Branded typography
  • Mascots or institutional icons (for example, the Beaver and the Tri-face seal)

3. Depict Campus Community Members Authentically

Do not generate likenesses that misrepresent people on campus.

AI tools may not be used to:

  • Create lifelike AI presenters or avatars representing CCNY students, faculty, staff, administration, or alumni
  • Create "stock" images or video of people populating campus

4. Use Audio Responsibly

Faking or manipulating audio is not permitted.

Users of AI tools for audio must not:

  • Clone or imitate the voices of CCNY students, faculty, staff, administration, or alumni
  • Use AI-generated music without verifying the licensing provisions and terms of use of the AI tool being used; not all AI-involved music is copyright-free. Be aware of all copyright status and ownership
  • Use AI-generated audio without disclosing it on the platform where it is published

5. Maintain Privacy and Confidentiality

Uploading proprietary or private materials into an AI tool is not permitted.

Users may not enter into AI tools:

  • Confidential, private, or personally identifiable information
  • Proprietary materials such as copyrighted work or trademarks, including the CCNY logos, seals, and icons listed above

6. Write Original Content

Relying solely on the use of AI in writing is strongly discouraged.

There are many reasons not to solely use AI in writing text, including:

  • The erosion of critical thinking, as writing forces deep analysis, organization of evidence, and rigorous logic. Outsourcing the text means bypassing the cognitive effort required to actually understand the subject matter.
  • The need to fact-check and to catch and correct hallucinations, as AI models frequently generate false information, fabricated data, or fake citations that look convincingly real. Verifying AI claims often takes more time than writing the article from scratch.
  • The loss of authentic voice and the risk of homogenization, since AI relies on pattern-matching across existing data. This process alters distinct human tones, personal stories, and unique insights into a uniform "AI writing style."
  • Plagiarism and copyright risks, since AI tools are primarily trained on massive bodies of copyrighted human work without consent or compensation.
  • The loss of skill development: Just as physical muscles weaken without exercise, regular writing skills atrophy when a writer lets technology do the writing.

AI can be used as a tool for ideation, style guidance, and grammar checks, but as noted, it should not be used to create the entire body of text for a social post, press release, blog post, article, newsletter, website, annual report, on-air promotion or written content, or other publication.

7. Code With Care

Learn the limitations of using AI for website coding.

The CCNY website content management system (CMS) provides its own tools for coding and cleaning up code. As a security measure, the CMS also limits the insertion of various types of code by most content editors. Additionally, though AI can be great at generating code, free AI platforms impose their own limitations on coding requests. As a result:

  • Using AI to generate code for websites may be unnecessary
  • For the CCNY website, using AI to generate code is impractical, due to CMS security limitations on inserting some HTML (the skeleton and content of a webpage), CSS (the "look and feel" of a webpage), and JavaScript (the way that websites become interactive)

As a reminder, all aforementioned guidelines regarding the generation of text, branding, images, video, and audio also apply when creating content for the web.

8. Follow Applicable CCNY and CUNY Policies

Key campus policies also apply to the AI environment.

Use of AI tools must conform with:

Because AI-generated content technologies evolve rapidly, these guidelines may be updated periodically to reflect emerging legal, ethical, and branding considerations.

Reference materials:

Questions regarding appropriate usage should be directed to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Communications & External Relations: communications@ccny.cuny.edu

Last Updated: 10/21/2026 16:01