With artificial intelligence tools becoming a growing part of the Internet landscape, it can be hard to avoid using AI in some form for almost any research-related purpose. Google search results will often be preceded by an AI summary of the search prompt generated by Google’s Gemini AI tool. Artificial intelligence is also used by individual websites to communicate with humans and answer many day-to-day questions, freeing customer support personnel to focus on more complicated issues.
Schools use a variety of tools to determine whether students have used AI in the work they submit. Problems can result from the use of these tools, however. They may not be accurate and may generate “false positive” results. When schools do not have clear guidelines about when and how students can use AI, schools may improperly and unfairly sanction students for violating standards the students didn’t know existed. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is committed to protecting the rights of students accused of academic misconduct by their schools for any reason, including for the improper use of artificial intelligence. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online contact form, and we will schedule a consultation to discuss your case and explain how the LLF National Law Firm can help.
Tools that Colleges Use to Detect AI
Many schools are using tools that have been designed and marketed as AI detectors. Because they are typically developed by private companies, they usually don’t explain how the detection tools work. In most cases, the tools will themselves use artificial intelligence to review and analyze a specific piece of content that someone inputs into the tool. It then indicates in some way whether the content was produced using AI.
For example, one tool called Turnitin will display a report after it reviews a piece of student work. That report will include a “similarity score” that indicates what part of the work’s text matches up with existing text – whether from research papers, the Internet, or other sources – that the Turnitin system has already reviewed. The more similarity between the student’s work and the existing material in the Turnitin system, the more likely it is that the student or an AI tool copied that work and included it in the student’s assignment.
Of course, in many cases, students properly quote from existing works and cite those works in the material they submit to the school. So, a high level of similarity in that kind of situation may not indicate that the student improperly used AI.
Turnitin can also generate an estimate of what percentage of the student’s work appears to have been generated by artificial intelligence. It can break this down into AI-generated text and AI-generated text that was then paraphrased using AI. The word that Turnitin uses is “likely” – what percentage was “likely AI-generated.”
There are a number of different tools available that claim to be able to detect AI-generated content in student work. Each one is a bit different, but none of them claim to provide 100% accurate results all of the time. That means that when schools rely on these results to accuse students of academic misconduct, they could be mistaken.
Clear Policies Can Make a Difference
Many schools do not have clear policies on the extent to which artificial intelligence can be used by students in connection with their schoolwork. This can create serious problems when students take advantage of what can be an effective research tool and are disciplined for doing so. In some ways, it is like arguing that students should not be able to use a search engine to do research, but should instead rely on the library, card catalogs, and paper books.
The goal instead should be for schools to have policies that promote original student work and provide students with a clear understanding of the role that AI can play in their research and writing. When policies aren’t clear, students can end up having their academic record tarnished unfairly.
Protect Yourself Against Unfair Accusations
Because AI tools are so pervasive, you may need to take active steps to protect yourself against unfair accusations of AI misuse. Using a service such as Google Docs that can keep a record of each edit you make to a document can help – that enables you to show that you did not paste in large amounts of material from another source, and your drafting and editing process.
If you do use information that is provided by an AI tool, double-check it. It is not unusual for AI research tools to make mistakes; to invent research papers that do not exist, to misstate the meaning of papers that do, or to invent historical events that did not happen. Checking to make sure the facts you receive are correct before using them in your work can help you avoid a situation where you are asked to explain why it includes false information – and your answer is “because it’s what I got from the AI tool.”
The LLF National Law Firm Can Defend You Against Misconduct Allegations
If you are accused of academic misconduct by your college or university – whether because you supposedly used AI improperly or not – you need a strong and effective defense. School officials are rarely 100 percent certain when it comes to allegations that students used AI in their work, and when school policies on AI use are unclear, the level of uncertainty increases. As a student, you have rights, and the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team knows how to protect those rights.
We regularly defend students all across the country who are accused of academic and other types of misconduct by their schools, and we are here to help you protect your academic record and your future. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation. Tell us about the allegations your school has made against you, and let us explain how the LLF National Law Firm can help.