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Units across campus will continue to provide forums for faculty to discuss the implications of AI and approaches to take in response. With no reliable detection tools on the horizon, these conversations, both on campus and off, represent our best avenue to authentic assessment of our students and their work (McMurtrie 2023; “Authentic Assessment,” n.d.). Faculty should refer to the resources provided by the Center for Learning and Student Success for more information about the role of AI detection tools in submitting academic integrity cases.
Online Learning Services will continue to evaluate new teaching and learning technologies and remains available to consult with faculty on teaching and technology. ITS will continue to provide access to effective tools where they are available. In addition to technological considerations, the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence has pedagogical and policy resources for instructors on strategies they might take to improve their assessments, and resources for (CTLE, n.d.).
AI Content Detection and Turnitin
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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). We are also unable to recommend any alternative 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.
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Fowler, Geoffrey A. 2023. “Analysis | We Tested a New ChatGPT-Detector for Teachers. It Flagged an Innocent Student.” Washington Post, April 14, 202314, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/01/chatgpt-cheating-detection-turnitin/.
Heikkilä, Melissa. 2022. “How to Spot AI-Generated Text.” MIT Technology Review. December 19, 2022. https://www.washingtonposttechnologyreview.com/technology2022/202312/0419/01/chatgpt-cheating-detection-turnitin/.Heikkilä, Melissa. 2022. “How to Spot AI-Generated Text.” MIT Technology Review. December 19, 20221065596/how-to-spot-ai-generated-text/.
Hendrik Kirchner, Jan, Lama Ahmad, Scott Aaronson, and Jan Leike. 2023. “New AI Classifier for Indicating AI-Written Text.” January 31, 2023. https://wwwopenai.technologyreview.com/2022/12/19/1065596/how-to-spotblog/new-ai-classifier-for-indicating-ai-generatedwritten-text/.Hendrik Kirchner, Jan, Lama Ahmad, Scott Aaronson, and Jan Leike. 2023. “New AI Classifier for Indicating AI-Written Text.” January 31, 2023
Holtermann, Callie. 2025. "How Students Are Fending Off Accusations That They Used A.I. to Cheat." The New York Times, May 17, 2025. https://openaiwww.nytimes.com/blog/new-/2025/05/17/style/ai-classifierchatgpt-forturnitin-indicating-ai-written-textstudents-cheating.html.
Klee, Miles. 2023. “She Was Falsely Accused of Cheating With AI -- And She Won’t Be the Last.” Rolling Stone (blog). June 6, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/student-accused-ai-cheating-turnitin-1234747351/.
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