Won’t My Students Use AI to Cheat?

As technology continues to revolutionize the world, it is also slowly but surely changing the way we teach and learn. The release of ChatGPT and other AI tools has accelerated this change. These tools, as with any new major technology, have brought a fresh set of challenges for educators and academic institutions to contend with. As a teacher or school leader, you may be wondering, ‘Won't my students use AI to cheat?’ In this blog post, we will discuss how AI could be used by students to cheat, and how teachers and school leaders can address these concerns.

Understanding the types of AI-powered tools used for cheating

Students can use AI to cheat by using text-generation tools such as ChatGPT or similar language models. These AI models can create essays, papers, or even entire reports that are almost entirely undetectable. Similarly new tools will most likely be designed to help get around existing plagiarism checkers.

Identifying the signs of AI cheating

To address AI-powered cheating, educators must be aware of markers that indicate AI-generated assignments. Educators should look for unlikely transitions in writing, artificial sounding sentences, as well as plagiarism that appears to have been created by cutting and pasting. Moreover, a sudden increase in the quality of work from a student who has been struggling could also indicate AI assistance.

Preventing AI-based cheating

One approach for prevention is to limit the AI-accessibility for students, so they cannot have access to the internet or their mobile phones during assessments. The use of plagiarism-detecting software that is updated frequently can also help identify any potential forms of cheating. Another approach is to modify the assessment questions or design the assignment in a way such that students can only answer with personal and real-life experiences. We will create a blog post covering some of these approaches soon.

Preparing students for an AI-controlled world

Educating students about the implications of AI technology and the problems that come with it is essential. It is important to teach them that cheating is not only an unethical choice, but that it also harms them in the future. Through this process, we can hold students accountable for their actions, and make them conscious about learning critical life skills.

Encouraging ethical and moral use of AI

Educators must emphasize the importance of using AI to enhance learning, and not engage in unethical or dishonest practices. We can promote the ethical use of AI in the classroom by helping students appreciate the benefits of AI principles and safeguarding the technology.

Artificial intelligence has potential benefits and ethical issues with respect to the educational sector. Students can, in fact, use AI to cheat on assessments. Making educators aware of the markers that indicate AI-generated assignments is essential to tackle AI-related academic cheating. Educators need to promote ethical use of AI in the classroom and be prepared to identify any potential AI-based cheating. By taking a proactive approach, educators can educate for an AI-controlled world while preventing cheating and maintaining academic integrity.