The last decade has seen an explosion in technology, particularly of the artificial intelligence variety. You know what's out there—Perplexity, Grammarly, QuillBot, GitHub Copilot. You probably know more than a few tricks for using these programs to cut corners with your coursework, though, of course, you'd never cut corners yourself.
Just in case you were thinking about it, though, you need to know that your college or university isn't fighting the battle against AI-based cheating unarmed anymore. At the same time, software engineers have been hard at work making research and writing easier and more convenient; other software engineers have been hard at work creating programs to catch AI cheating. GPTZero is one of the most popular.
That's all well and good. We're not advocating using AI to do your homework. What happens, though, when you make a mistake? It's not always easy to know where the line is between appropriate and inappropriate use of technology. For that matter, what happens when GPTZero gets it wrong—it does sometimes.
If GPTZero has accused you of cheating or plagiarism, contact the Lento Law Firm immediately. Our Student Defense Team is familiar with your school's judicial procedures, and we know how to use them to your advantage. We're also up-to-date on all the technology issues happening at colleges and universities right now. Most importantly, we're on your side no matter what and ready to do anything we must to protect your rights.
What can we do for you? Find out by calling 888-535-3686, or take time right now to tell us about your case.
GPTZero
These days, AI can do everything from calculate your taxes to write Hollywood screenplays. However, there has been a good bit of pushback against this technology in recent years, especially in academia. Faculty and administrators are always on their guard when it comes to cheating and plagiarism. After all, if you're using Perplexity to write your freshman comp papers, what's the point of enrolling in college at all?
Enter GPTZero, an AI designed to catch the use of AI. Leaving aside the issue of where all this "making technology" and "making technology to monitor technology" is going, the advent of GPTZero significantly raises the risk that if you engage in AI cheating, you're going to get caught. The program is capable of analyzing text and deciding whether or not it was written by a human, and colleges and universities have all begun to sign up for subscriptions.
An Imperfect Record of Detection
The problem with GPTZero and similar programs is that they aren't foolproof detection methods. There's no doubt that AI has come a long way in recent years, but if you've played with the technology at all, you've almost certainly had experience with incorrect responses or even outright hallucinations.
AI can be particularly susceptible when it comes to making fine judgments about human work. It's not especially strong at deciding whether Da Vinci is better or worse than Picasso, or whether Beethoven writes better music than Chappell Roan. So, when it comes to whether or not you wrote your sociology paper yourself, can we really trust it to get things right one hundred percent of the time? Can it account for your improvement over the course of a semester? Can it account for the fact that you'd been up for 72 hours straight when you wrote an earlier paper, and you were fresh as a daisy when you wrote your most recent essay? Even faculty can't always make such judgments accurately. When AI is involved, there is always potential for error.
What Do You Do If You're Accused?
So the big question is, what do you do if GPTZero gets it wrong in your case? What do you do if you should wind up accused of academic misconduct?
After all, a single allegation can devastate your academic career and have a profound effect on your future professional career as well. Sanctions can include anything from a lower grade in a course to suspension and even outright dismissal. Even if you're only given a warning, a black mark like that on your record can interfere with scholarships, graduate school applications, and job interviews.
The good news is that you always have the right to due process. Your school can't simply accuse you of misconduct and impose a penalty. It must afford you the presumption of innocence. It cannot proceed unless it can gather clear evidence, and it must give you the opportunity to refute that evidence at a full hearing.
The bad news is that it can be difficult to navigate a university's judicial system. Process and procedures can be complex, and investigations and hearings don't always work the way you see on TV. For instance, the standard of responsibility (guilt) on campus isn't “beyond a reasonable doubt.” It's something called “preponderance of the evidence.”
So, Now What?
The simplest way to avoid an AI plagiarism charge is to avoid using AI inappropriately. Ultimately, we'd encourage you to use technology only in the way it was intended. That won't always prevent a charge, though. So, what do you do if, despite your best efforts, trouble comes looking for you?
- Start by remaining calm. If you overreact, there's a good chance you may say or do something to make the situation worse. Take all allegations seriously, but trust in the process to clear you of charges.
- Save everything associated with the case, including all of your work. In fact, it's a good idea these days to hold on to all of your coursework. You can never tell when an essay you wrote may be exactly what you need to prove you're a better writer than GPTZero thinks you are.
- Most importantly, contact the Lento Law Firm as soon as possible. The issues related to AI cheating and plagiarism can be difficult to unravel, and you're going to need all the help you can get to work your way through your school's judicial processes.
The Lento Law Firm has helped hundreds of students defend themselves from college and university charges. We can help you to do the same. Call 888-535-3686 today, or take time right now to fill out our online form.
