As technology continues to advance rapidly, it’s no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) is making its way into the education system. The recently released ChatGPT, an AI bot that can quickly provide relevant answers to questions, has caused concern among teachers and professors. ChatGPT’s answers may not be perfect, but they are often close enough to what teachers expect from their students. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before using AI to write essays and papers became a common sight.
In a recent incident in South Carolina, students using ChatGPT, a new artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, wrote a 500-word essay on 18th-century philosopher David Hume and the paradox of fear. The student was arrested by a university professor. This development has caused many educators to almost panic as they struggle to combat this potential new form of cheating.
“It’s a clean style, but you can tell right away. I think you write like a very smart 12th grader. It’s not wrong, it’s just a peculiar, certain weird wording used… If you’re teaching someone how to write an essay, this is how you tell them to write it before they figure out their style.
Detecting and preventing the use of ChatGPT in fraudulent activity
To detect cheating, Professor Hick used software written by the creators of ChatGPT to determine whether an AI produced written responses. The software returned him a match 99.9% of the time, but unlike standard plagiarism detection software, there were no citations, making it nearly impossible to prove that ChatGPT had fabricated the paper.
The incident raises concerns that AI chatbots like ChatGPT could be widely used for fraudulent activity, and that they create unique content, making it difficult to detect and prevent. Therefore, professors must be alert and aware of the functions of these tools in order to maintain the integrity of higher education.