...
At the end of the free preview on December 31, 2023, Turnitin announced that it would begin charging an additional license fee for the use of the AI Detection tool. Given the concerns about its effectiveness, ITS elected to not license the AI content detection tool. We are not alone in this choice as multiple R1 universities have made a similar decision (Brown 2023; Coley 2023; “Known Issue – Turnitin AI Writing Detection Unavailable – Center for Instructional Technology | The University of Alabama” 2023). As UC Berkeley's Center for Teaching and Learning explained to the Times, "overreliance on technology can damage a student-and-instructor relationship more than it can help it." Even institutions that continue using these tools acknowledge their limitations—the Times noted that the University of Houston-Downtown warns faculty that plagiarism detectors "are inconsistent and can easily be misused" (Holtermann, 2025).
We are also unable to recommend any alternative technological solution. None of the AI detection tools currently available online are accurate enough to provide credible evidence in academic integrity investigations. The risk of misleading results harming students who are acting in good faith is too great. ITS is committed to thorough and transparent vetting of any new tools that emerge in the future. If a reliable tool for AI detection becomes available, ITS will evaluate the tool and consider recommending it to the Syracuse University academic community.
...