Students have always looked for shortcuts. Whether it was stealing tests, copying off classmates, buying essays online, or good, old-fashioned plagiarism, the fact that college students are interested in cheating is not noteworthy or new. However, the growth and popularity of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) platforms have created new ways for students to subvert academic policies and created novel problems for teachers and school administrators. If you have been accused of using A.I. to cheat, or if you would just like more information or advice, the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm is here to help. Contact the Lento Law Firm today by calling 888.535.3686.
How A.I. is Helping Students Cheat
The popularity of Artificial Intelligence platforms has changed the face of education. The platforms offer tremendous potential to help students conduct research quickly and efficiently, but they also present irresistible opportunities for students to cut corners. Schools have been forced to react, often badly, to A.I.-powered technologies as they work to maintain academic integrity.
Using Artificial Intelligence to Write Essays
One of the most straightforward ways students are using A.I. is for considerable help writing essays. Students can use A.I.-powered tools like ChatGPT, which uses natural language processing algorithms, to write essays. After the students inputs keywords or prompts, the A.I. responds with a complete, well-organized essay in mere seconds.
A.I.-Powered Plagiarism Tools
Ironically, one of the easiest, most straightforward ways students are exploiting A.I. for help with schoolwork is by using A.I. plagiarism detection tools to rewrite existing essays and other content. By running existing content through a tool that was designed to detect A.I. and asking the A.I. to paraphrase or rewrite the content, students are able to fool plagiarism detectors.
Multiple-Choice Answer Prediction
By training algorithms on past exam questions and answers, students can predict correct answers for future tests. The A.I.-powered systems analyze patterns and trends to anticipate which answers are most likely to be correct.
Spoofing Facial Recognition for Online Exam Proctoring
By using A.I. to create deepfake videos or images that look like themselves, students are able to fool online exam proctoring tools in order to have another person take an exam on their behalf.
Foreign Language Translation
Tools like Google Translate allow students taking foreign language classes to quickly and easily complete entire assignments.
Fake References and Citations
By manipulating A.I.-powered citation and reference generator tools, students can input vague or fictitious information to create the appearance of a well-researched paper without having to do the work.
How Colleges are Responding
Around the United States, educators and administrators are struggling to adapt to the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence tools. As academia continues to look for ways to counter the capabilities of A.I., educators are increasingly relying on other new tools that they hope will help them ferret out fraudulent work and discourage students from cheating. Here's what some schools are doing:
Stanford University
As a university that is known for technological innovation, Stanford has taken a proactive stance on preventing A.I.-powered cheating and hopes to preemptively discourage students from relying on A.I. tools. The University's Center for Teaching and Learning has worked with its computer science and ethics departments to offer workshops that educate both faculty and students about the ethical implications of A.I. Stanford also uses A.I. of its own to try and catch students. Advanced, A.I.-powered, plagiarism detection software helps instructors verify that work is student-generated.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT, which is also known for cutting-edge research and innovation, now offers an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to explore the ethics of A.I. through the lenses of computer science, philosophy, and social sciences. To stay ahead of the latest technologies, MIT has also established an A.I. Ethics Advisory Board, comprised of students, faculty, and industry experts, charged with reviewing emerging technologies.
University of California, Berkeley
UC Berkeley incorporates AI-based remote proctoring systems for online exams. These systems employ facial recognition and behavioral analysis to monitor students during exams, mitigating the risk of using AI-powered assistance. The university has also developed its own A.I.-driven plagiarism detection tool to identify A.I.-generated content.
Harvard University
To emphasize the importance of trust and integrity, Harvard relies heavily on its existing Honor Code but has updated the Honor Code to explicitly address the use of A.I. and other emerging technologies in assignments and exams. By setting clear expectations and promoting ethical behavior, Harvard aims to prevent students from resorting to AI-powered cheating tactics.
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon has opted to fight A.I. with A.I., using A.I. algorithms to judge student work. The algorithms are capable of mimicking the thought processes and reasoning abilities of human graders and assess written work not only for accuracy but also for the depth of understanding and critical thinking demonstrated. By using A.I. to evaluate assignments, Carnegie Mellon eliminates the advantage of AI-generated content.
When Students are Falsely Accused
But, for all the hand-wringing from professors and administrators about students using A.I. to cheat, a separate problem has also become widespread: students who haven't used A.I. are being falsely accused of cheating. As A.I. tools rapidly took over the world, tools to combat them were also quickly introduced, most before they had been adequately tried and tested.
Tools like TurnItIn's A.I. detection system, used to help educators catch students cheating, have resulted in numerous false accusations. False positives, when a student who has not used A.I. to write a paper is accused of having done some, can be – at best – time-consuming and distracting for students and – at worst – disastrous.
Research conducted by University of Maryland PhD students concluded that, while Large Language Models (L.L.M) excel at tasks like answering questions and completing documents, they can also be used for generating huge amounts of erroneous content. Content creators can also add fake watermarks to their text to make it look like it was made by an L.L.M. A.I. detectors, according to the research, are not reliable and can be easily tricked. In fact, the research concludes A.I. detectors are only slightly more reliable than guessing.
Indeed, when professors run student papers through A.I. detectors, they're likely to get a result that says a paper is “92% A.I.-generated” or even “100%.” But what does that mean? It's actually quite difficult to define.
If a student uses another tool, such as a program designed to improve writing or grammar, the A.I. detector is likely to return a false positive. Likewise, often genuine, student-generated writing can be flagged by A.I. detectors.
Academic Integrity Issues
In early 2023, a University of California Davis student received an email from her professor saying that TurnItIn had flagged a portion of a paper she wrote as being A.I.-written. The professor had already turned her in to the University's Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs. Though she had not used A.I. to write the paper – and was later able to prove so – the episode became a bureaucratic nightmare. The student was expected to read and understand the school's cheating policies and mount a formal defense of her work on her own while also trying to finish all the work in her other classes in the last weeks of her senior year.
And she wasn't even the only UC Davis student in that predicament the same year. Another senior had also been accused by a professor after an A.I. detection tool called GPTZero flagged his exam answers.
Both students were given an opportunity to meet with an administrator to plead their cases but were given few details about how to prepare for that meeting. They were each able, eventually, to prove that they had not violated the university's rules, but doing so required submitting detailed notes with timestamps showing the various versions of their work.
Likewise, a professor in Texas accused his entire class of cheating after ChatGPT flagged every student's essay as being A.I.-generated. The professor temporarily withheld every student's grades until he was able to determine that the fault was with the detection tool.
What to Do if You Have Been Accused of Using A.I. to Cheat
If, like the students mentioned above, you have been accused of violating your school's policies and using Artificial Intelligence tools to cheat, first know that it's perfectly normal for you to feel a range of emotions. You are likely experiencing anger, frustration, and fear. You may feel like your reputation has been impugned, and you may be worried about what this will mean for your academic and professional future.
Rest assured—the world knows that detection tools are not perfect, and you should take some solace in knowing that it is possible to successfully defend yourself against these accusations and regain your reputation and your teacher's trust and that other students have already done so.
It is not possible for educators to know for certain that a student used A.I., and university officials know this. Every A.I. detection tool is simply using technology to guess the veracity of your work. Furthermore, most schools do not forbid students from using A.I. In most cases, you are allowed to use A.I. for research and for other pre-writing tasks. However, when you do, A.I. detection tools can falsely accuse you of using A.I. to generate your work. A legitimate use of A.I. can sometimes be flagged as an unethical use.
Gather Evidence
- Once you have been accused of using A.I., immediately work to save any notes, drafts, and outlines that can be used to help prove your case. These will help show the evolution of your ideas. They do not need to be “pretty” – handwritten notes are all acceptable and should be saved.
- Collect any resources and materials you used for the assignment, including articles, lecture notes, textbooks, and any other sources.
- Compile a record of conversations you had with classmates, teachers, and subject matter experts while working on your assignment.
- Create a timeline showing when you started working on the assignment. Note significant dates and milestones during your research and work.
The more evidence you have, the more likely you are to convince your teacher and administrators that you really did the work.
Know Your Rights
Though this process can be very intimidating and scary, you do have rights. It's important for you to read and understand your school's policies regarding academic integrity. Your school will also have specific judicial and appeals processes. Take some time to:
- Read the Relevant Documents. Find and read student handbooks, course syllabi, and online resources that pertain to academic integrity policies and procedures.
- Learn your university's judicial and appeals processes: Familiarize yourself with the potential consequences of violating academic integrity policies as well as options for appealing decisions related to these violations.
- Pay attention to deadlines and requirements: Make sure you know when you must submit information so that you don't meet any deadlines or requirements.
- Get help from experienced legal professionals.
The experienced legal professionals at the Lento Education Law Team know the ins and outs of issues like these and have successfully represented students like you all over the country on academic integrity issues. We can guide you through this process, help you understand what to do and what to expect, make sure you don't miss any deadlines, and advise you on how to best defend yourself and put these ugly allegations behind you.
Being accused of using ChatGPT and other A.I. tools in your academic work can be a frustrating, frightening experience. You are undoubtedly worried about the impact this accusation will have on your reputation, your academic career, and even your future livelihood.
However, by gathering evidence, knowing your rights, and seeking support from legal professionals who know how to help you defend yourself, you can successfully reclaim your academic standing and your integrity.
You don't have to do this alone. The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you find and assemble the evidence you need, find the witnesses who can help you, and craft a defense that will help you obtain your best possible outcomes. Contact the Lento Education Law Team today by calling 888.535.3686.
