AI Detection

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Where we stand

ITS and Online Learning Services are acutely aware that artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have been disruptive to the assessment methods used by many instructors. We have long been aware of the risk of ghostwriters and creative solutions for cheating on exams, but the ease with which these new AI tools can generate believable content has led to a sharp increase in questions about how to determine that the work submitted by students is original (Mills 2023). The detection of AI content is notoriously difficult(Edwards 2023; Heikkilä 2022).

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In the context of academic integrity, the risks of false positives are significant (Klee 2023; Fowler 2023). Unreliable AI detection not only fails to improve academic integrity but may deepen existing inequalities. Non-native English speakers are flagged by AI detection tools at a disproportionate rate(Myers 2023). Other tools like Grammarly with legitimate academic applications, particularly for writers with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, also increase the likelihood of being flagged by AI detectors (Shapiro 2018; Steere 2023).

What to do?

All this leaves instructors in a challenging position where the best recommendations being put forward are to redesign their assessments. Redesigning assessments is difficult and time consuming, and the new assessment methods often require more time to grade. Just as AI tools are beginning to make the process of writing faster and easier for everybody, it feels unfair that teachers of writing are forced to spend more of their own precious time on addressing the downsides and potential misuse of these tools.

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