With the rise in popularity of AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT, millions of students are using generative AI to write their papers.
AND report this week from Turnitin, an online plagiarism detection service for teachers that recently launched an AI detection tool, found that since then, more than 22 million student papers (11% of the sample reviewed by the company) used AI to generate at least 20 % of texts April 2023. Turnitin has reviewed over 200 million articles worldwide, mostly from higher education institutions.
“We are at an critical moment in education, where technology is transforming learning and the need for academic integrity is more critical than ever. Everyone in education is looking for resources that lend a hand them perform at their best, and technologies, including our AI handwriting detection feature, lend a hand advance learning without sacrificing academic integrity.” — Annie Chechitelli, Chief Product Officer at Turnitin
Both educators and lawmakers are trying to address the apply of artificial intelligence in education concerns about fraud and plagiarism. Yet, five US states —West Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina, California and Washington have introduced policies regulating the apply of artificial intelligence in schools. Individual colleges and universities develop their own policies. However, the situation is still largely unclear, and even state guidelines indicate a lack of clarity.
“…perhaps it is short-sighted to automatically label every application of AI as “fraud.” “Teachers will need to rethink their views on what constitutes plagiarism and cheating in today’s world and adapt their teaching, assignments and expectations to the recent reality.” — North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
However, according to a recent study, fears that artificial intelligence will lend a hand students cheat are overblown research from Stanford. Researchers found that the percentage of high school students who cheated on assignments actually dropped in 2023 as ChatGPT began to gain popularity.
“There are many reasons why students cheat. They may have trouble with the material and not be able to get the lend a hand they need… We need to lend a hand students and teachers find ways to discuss the ethics of using this technology and when it is and is not useful for student learning.” —Denise Pope, senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education
By the numbers
60-70%: The percentage of U.S. students who engaged in at least one “cheating” in a month, and that number was high “long before ChatGPT came along,” Pope said.
220 million: Number of articles reviewed by Turnitin.
11%: The percentage of student papers where at least 20% of the papers were created by AI, or approximately 22 million.
3%: The percentage of student papers where at least 80% of the papers were created by AI, or approximately 6 million.
5: Number of states with AI guidelines for public schools.
75%: Percentage of respondents in A A recent study conducted by investment bank Tyton Partners, which stated that they will continue to apply artificial intelligence to complete tasks even if their institutions or teachers prohibit it.
