AI Tools and How Students Use Them for Academic Dishonesty
AI Tools and How Students Use Them for Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty occurs when students attempt to use work derived from others as well as generated from an outside source, with deliberate intent to present as his or her original work, during and for an academic exercise.
Academic dishonesty or misconduct can occur at any level of higher education and happens within all fields of discipline. There are several forms of academic dishonesty (Riad, 2023):
FORMS OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY | |||
Copying | Unauthorized Group Work | Presenting/Submission | Plagiarism |
Copying work and/or searching for answers during an online or in-class exam. | Working in groups when instructed to do and submit individual work. | Presenting or submitting work completed by another individual. | Intentionally or unintentionally present secondary data as one own without in-text citing and /or referencing. |
Some of these existing forms of cheating are becoming more prevalent in the age of artificial intelligence tools. Instructors need to become wary of how these tools can be used productively as well as how they can be exploited by learners. The following provide instructors informed knowledge on the various AI tools and how students can use them for cheating.
Chatbots – ChatGPT: the Good, the Bad, and the Useful
OpenAI chatbot, ChatGPT, is quite popular for its generative information function. ChatGPT relies on the prompts of the users and then would dispense and display information according to prompts provided. Please note that students may use this AI tool for learning support in the form of:
Scaffolding purposes
Validation of knowledge
Alternative explanation and examples
Mastery
Quick glance/view of content
However, academic dishonesty occurs when students break agreement expressed by their instructors. See the following example.
SCENARIO: Tina has a take home exam. Her instructor clearly advised all students to use the files he has uploaded onto Ultra for completing the accounting take home exam. He also reminded students to refrain from using AI tools to support their learning since the files are sufficient enough. Tina has procrastinated and now has limited time to complete her work. She quickly enters the problem questions in ChatGPT and ChatGPT provides her with several answers which she copies and submits.
Tina's input into ChatGPT: Sue took out a$1800 loan at a rate of 3% simple interest per annum. What is the amount of interest accrued for one month?
ChatGPT response: Now, plug these values into the formula: Simple Interest = $1,800 x 003 x (1/12), Simple Interest = $54 x 1/12, Simple Interest = $4.50. So the amount of interest accrued for one month on a $1,800 loan at a 3% simple interest rate per annum is $4.50.
From the above scenario, the student has clearly violated the instructions outlined by her instructor. If she decides to copy the information provided by ChatGPT into her final assignment submission, then she has practiced academic dishonesty.
Other Forms of Cheating with ChatGPT:
Using ChatGPT during an online exam,
Copying and using generated essays from ChatGPT,
Using programming codes (HTML, Python, R, etc.) generated by ChatGPT without instructors' permission.
Chatbot
Courses that rely on learners' ability to read, analyze, and summarize articles are not wholly free from academic dishonesty. While professionals are appreciative of Humata.ai for its ability to categorize, catalog, summarize, analyze and highlight key information in a PDF document, its functions allow for students to acquire quick summaries and analysis. Humata.ai works by uploading PDF files onto the platform. The AI tool can read files and then, based on prompts entered by the user, generates summaries and analysis. We can see how this could become problematic for courses that rely on students to do independent critical thinking, summaries, and analysis of readings. See scenario for an example.
SCENARIO: Tim has a reading recital that is due in a few days. He is yet to select an article to critique to prepare for his recital. He quickly scans for an article online and uploads it into Humata.ai for support. Humata.ai is able to summarize the article and gives him 3 questions he needs for the reading recital. He copies and prints the chatbot's responses and saves the hardcopy for his upcoming class.
From this example Tim did not read, analyze nor practice judgement to come up with 3 questions. Total reliance on AI tools can lead to gaps in comprehension of course content.
What Are Syracuse Policies on Artificial Intelligence?
Syracuse University Office of Academic Affairs has guided instructors to make a clear note within their syllabus on their expectations of AI usage within courses (read more here). The Office of Academic Affairs recognizes that the use of AI may be useful for achieving some learning goals and inappropriate for other learning goals. Ultimately, instructors must determine whether the use of AI will be effective for their students or not.
Best Practices with AI Tools
Guidance and clear communication
Guiding students to use AI tools to support their learning is much fruitful for both instructors and students, rather than instructing them not to use the tools. According to Perkins (2023) guiding students on AI usage can provide insights on the boundaries of academic misconduct and academic integrity. When instructors allow students to use AI tools to support learning, they can become more informed on how best to avoid pitfalls and also improve communications with students on their expectations.
Be Open-minded and Thoughtful
Perkins (2023) also advises that some considerations must be put into practiced when making decisions on AI usage:
AI tools are widely accessible to students in everyday learning tools such as Microsoft Word.
Students whose native language is not English, rely on some form of AI to support live translation within and outside the classroom.
AI tools can provide feedback to students outside of the classroom settings or when the instructor is not available.
Use AI Tools to Identify Academic Dishonesty
There are several tools that you can explore to determine if students have copied or completed works wholly from an AI tool. However, it is important to note that there are no studies that have confirmed that the following tools are completely foolproof. AI tools are evolving swiftly and are becoming readily accessible. Therefore, it is important to keep up with supporting tools that may help instructors as well as students.
It is important to note that while these tools and others are worth exploring, there are some tendencies to be biased towards students who are not native English speakers (Morsch et al., 2023).
Integrate AI Tools with Coursework
Use more elaborate prompts/instructions that require critical thinking and input of personal experiences/thoughts/ideas etc. AI tools are less likely to generate in-depth information where contrast, comparison, etc. are required.
Create work where students can have dialogue with a chatbot and then have then assess strengths and weaknesses of the generative responses.
Enter your draft prompts/instructions into a chatbot and explore responses to better improve your instructions to students.
Promote citation usage and library sources.
Model integrity and ethical usage of AI tools to your students.
(Keith, 2023)
Research and Seek Support
Becoming informed can be achieved by asking your information technology and/or online learning support team for guidance with AI tools. There are also higher ed forums and conferences that can also provide valuable insights and guidance. When you are better informed you are in an efficient position to make informed decisions.
Here are some examples to jumpstart your exploration:
Chronicles for Higher Education Why You Should Rethink Your Resistance to ChatGPT
Inside Higher Ed Students Outrunning Faculty in AI Use
Keith, T. (2023). Combating Academic Dishonest, Part 6: ChatGPT, AI, and Academic Integrity.
The University of Chicago Academic Tech. Solutions. Retrieved from: https://academictech.uchicago.edu/2023/01/23/combating-academic-dishonesty-part-6-chatgpt-ai-and-academic-integrity/
Morsch, L., Gribbings, M., & Boles, E. (2023). Harnessing AI Tools to Improve Academic
Integrity. Retrieved from: https://evolllution.com/harnessing-ai-tools-to-improve-academic-integrity#:~:text=AI%20detection%20tools%20like%20Copyleaks,plagiarism%20or%20GAI%2Dgenerated%20content.
Perkins, M. (2023). Academic integrity considerations of AI large language models in post-
pandemic era: ChatGPT and beyond. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practices, 20(2). Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.02.07
Riad, J. (2023). Academic dishonesty in higher education: what we know and what we can do. Journal of Research Initiatives, 2(11). Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/jri/vol7/iss2/11
Syracuse University. (2023). Important Syllabus Reminders. Office of Academic Affairs.
Retrieved from: https://academicaffairs.syracuse.edu/important-syllabus-reminders/