AI Tool: how to use it effectively in studies and intellectual work

You hear about AI tools everywhere, but you mainly want to know what they are really for and how to use them without cheating or losing intellectual rigor.
Whether you are a student, teacher, or knowledge professional, the goal is the same: save time, clarify your thinking, and improve your outputs without delegating your reasoning to a machine.
This article shows how to use an AI tool effectively, responsibly, and efficiently, with concrete use cases of generative AI, especially in higher education and demanding disciplines like Sciences Po.

The real problem: confusion between assistance and substitution

Many readers hesitate to use an AI tool for a simple reason:
they confuse intellectual assistance with replacing human work.

However, a well-used AI tool does not write for you. It helps you to:

• structure your thinking,
• explore a topic faster,
• reformulate more clearly,
• identify blind spots.

The problem is therefore not the tool, but how you use it.

This article provides the solution. By reading it, you will understand what an AI tool really is (without jargon) and identify relevant generative AI use cases, knowing how to use it in a demanding academic context while avoiding errors that undermine your work.

The goal is to allow you to act now, with method and discernment.

AI Tool: simple and useful definition

Before understanding how it works, it is important to know what an AI tool is.

An AI tool like Bluescribe is software capable of analyzing large amounts of data to propose answers, summaries, or reformulations based on your instructions.

What it does well:

• analyze quickly,
• reformulate,
• structure,
• suggest avenues.

What it does not do for you:

• think,
• argue convincingly,
• verify facts,
• take an intellectual stance.

Thus, considering it as a work assistant rather than an author is your best choice.

If you want to understand how to write your text with AI assistance, see the article below:

AI for Students: Guide to Writing with Artificial Intelligence

Learn to write, research, and edit your text with AI. Bluescribe offers a simple method, limits, and practical advice for students.

Published on 28/11/2025 | Reading time: 5 minutes 30s

Meaningful generative AI use cases

Clarify a complex topic

When starting a project on a dense topic (geopolitics, economics, public policy), use an AI tool to:

• reformulate the problem in simple terms,
• identify key concepts,
• distinguish facts, debates, and controversies.

You save time without sacrificing understanding.

Structure reasoning

Before writing, ask the tool for a logical plan, possible argumentation axes, and frequent objections.
Then take control. Adjust, delete, nuance.
The final reasoning must remain yours.

Improve existing text

An AI tool is particularly effective for shortening long sentences, clarifying vague ideas, and improving paragraph flow. Use it as an editor, not a raw content producer.

AI Tool and Sciences Po: acceptable and realistic uses

In demanding programs like Sciences Po, AI use is increasingly tolerated or even integrated, provided certain implicit rules are respected.

Generally, these four points are accepted:

1. Assistance in understanding a topic
2. Reformulation of already developed ideas
3. Structuring a plan
4. Stylistic correction

However, the following points pose problems:

1. Complete writing of an assignment
2. Producing arguments without personal thought
3. Complete absence of verified sources

The central criterion remains: your work must reflect your reasoning.

More and more teachers recognize that AI can be an educational tool, provided it is used transparently and critically.

To learn more about AI and national education, read our article below:

AI in National Education: How AI Will Transform Teaching in France

Discover how AI in national education impacts teaching, French schools, and AI teacher training, between opportunities and risks.

Published on 08/01/2026 | Reading time: 4 minutes

How to use an AI tool without losing credibility

Follow these three steps to use your AI tool like Bluescribe without harming your studies:

1. Give precise instructions with a clear goal, explicit framework, and intellectual constraint. Example: "Reformulate this argument while keeping nuance and academic tone, without simplifying reasoning."
2. Systematically verify information as AI tools can produce approximations, nonexistent references, and misleading shortcuts. Essential in academic or professional contexts.
3. Assume your author role and always proofread by asking: "Could I defend this text orally?" or "Is this idea really mine?" If no, revise.

Conclusion: use AI as a lever, not a shortcut

An AI tool can transform your work if you remain in control. Whether a Sciences Po student using AI to improve your work or a professional, stay in charge by using it to understand faster, write more clearly, and think further.
Avoid using it to mask lack of work, produce without understanding, or bypass intellectual rigor.
Next step: on a real task, test a precise generative AI use case with Bluescribe and evaluate what the tool actually contributed.