Turnitin has become one of the leading providers of AI checking tools used by colleges and universities across the country. Schools contract with Turnitin for access to the company’s AI detection tools, which are promoted as being able to detect AI-generated content as well as instances of plagiarism in student work. Over time, however, questions have arisen as to how accurate Turnitin’s results are. Does Turnitin ever incorrectly label student work as being generated by artificial intelligence, and if so, how does a student defend against Turnitin’s accusation?
It can be difficult to argue with a faceless app that is wrongfully accusing you of using AI-generated content when, in fact, you have not. If you have been accused of academic misconduct because Turnitin labeled your work as AI-generated, contact the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team for help. Our attorneys know how to protect your rights and defend you against your school’s misconduct allegations. Call us today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our online contact form and we will schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your case.
Turnitin’s Accuracy Claims
Turnitin claims that its AI detection tool has a “1% false positive rate for a document with over 20% likely AI-generated content.” This figure has been disputed, but as one commentator points out, even a 1% false positive rate means that hundreds of thousands of student essays across the country could be erroneously flagged each year as including 20% or more AI-generated content.
That said, independent tests of Turnitin’s AI detector suggest that its false positive rate could be higher than 1%. It is important to understand, however, that as artificial intelligence technology advances, and as Turnitin revises its detection tools accordingly, determining exactly what its false positive rate may be at any given point in time is a bit like trying to hit a moving target.
Turnitin also notes that it uses a 20% threshold when it comes to flagging student content as having been AI-generated. In other words, if the tool detects 19% likely AI content, it will not flag the work as containing AI, though it will indicate that the work does contain some AI (by using an asterisk with a percentage symbol — *%). In other words, even when it detects less than 20% AI-generated content, it still labels that content, and professors and school administrators can review and act on it.
The company regularly acknowledges that false positives can be a problem, and offers “strategies educators can consider to help when confronted with a false positive.” Interestingly, the Turnitin strategy paper does not explain how educators or school administrators are supposed to be able to confirm that a false positive generated by Turnitin is indeed a false positive.
What You Can Do to Combat False Positives
It can be enormously frustrating to have your professor or a school administrator contact you and accuse you of improperly using AI-generated content in your work, especially when you know that you, and not ChatGPT or Gemini or some other AI tool, were wholly responsible for what you wrote and submitted.
To be clear, professors should not be relying entirely on an AI score from Turnitin or any other AI detection tool to come to a conclusion about whether a student improperly used AI-generated content in their work. That said, not every professor or administrator will follow that guideline, and you may find yourself facing an accusation based solely on an AI score.
So what steps can you take to protect yourself? Here are a few strategies you can use that can help you defend yourself if you’ve been wrongfully flagged by Turnitin.
- Be able to show your edits. If you are creating written content such as an essay, consider using Google Docs or a similar word processing tool that will record your drafts as you go along. These allow you to show the natural progression of your work as you draft and revise, versus what frequently happens when AI content is used – the student simply pastes a bunch of content all at once. (Note that some schools or instructors may require students to compose their work using a certain system that tracks edits for this reason.)
- Keep track of your research. Be able to show how you conducted your research, in particular, the sources you used to gather any facts you rely on in your work.
- Know your school’s AI policies. Most schools will not prohibit you from using AI as a research tool; they are more concerned with making sure you apply your own intelligence to creating your own content based on the research you conduct.
- Check your facts. Whether you gather information using an AI search engine, a traditional non-AI search engine, or a book in your school’s library, make sure the information you are relying on is correct. Just because it’s written down, or on the internet, or delivered to you by ChatGPT does not mean it is true. Including false information in your work makes your work harder to defend.
- Be able to discuss what you have submitted. Your professor may want to test your knowledge of what you turned in by having a discussion with you about it. If you are not able to talk about your work intelligently, that can be used as an argument that you did not create what you submitted.
The LLF National Law Firm Can Defend You Against Academic Misconduct Allegations
If you have been accused of academic misconduct because Turnitin or another AI detection tool has flagged your work as containing AI-generated content, the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is ready to help. Our attorneys regularly defend students in colleges and universities across the country who have been accused of all types of academic misconduct, and we know how to fight for our student clients’ rights.
We know the laws, regulations, school policies, and procedures that apply in academic misconduct cases. We can review your case with you, work with you to prepare a strong defense, and meet with your professor or school administrator to review the allegations against you. When you work with one of the LLF National Law Firm’s experienced student defense attorneys, you won’t have to fight your battle alone.
Call us today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our online contact form and we will schedule a confidential consultation to review your case. We know how important your academic career is to you and your future; let the LLF National Law Firm help you protect it!