Ben Moore/BBC“I had two deadlines coming up, so I was exhausted,” says Hannah, a college student.
“I was under incredible stress and under a lot of pressure to do well. I was really struggling and my brain had completely given up.”
Desperate and struggling with the coronavirus while facing a deadline, she said she turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to write one of her essays.
Hannah (not her real name) is now warning others about the potential consequences of using generative AI to cheat in universities.
She confronted the Academic Misconduct Committee, which has the power to expel students found to have cheated.
Her case highlights the challenges universities face in encouraging students to become AI literate while discouraging cheating.
Hannah’s AI abuse was discovered when her instructor regularly scanned her essays using detection software.
She said: “I was sitting outside my office with a stomach ache. I thought, ‘This is really stupid.’
“When the flag was raised, my tutor and I sat watching it and he said, ‘You’ve been doing really well up until this point and it’s all downhill from there. Said.
“I was given a zero, but I received an email from my tutor stating that I believe there was some kind of academic misconduct.”
“I was kicked out”
Hannah added: “I think at first I was thinking in my head, ‘I’m just going to deny it, I’m not going to say anything,’ but then I saw the AI percentage on the screen and realized it was pretty high, and it only took three minutes. I collapsed without it and said I used AI to complete my essay.”
Even though she admitted to using AI, she was acquitted because the panel ruled there was not enough evidence against her.
Hanna said she believes the slap on the wrist was used as a warning to other students.
“I could have been kicked out,” she said.
“I really regret my choices. I was doing really well and winning a lot of firsts, and I think that actually might have been a problem as well. I had to maintain a level of performance, and that really pushed me to a place where I could leverage artificial intelligence.
“The fact that it was my first year was probably part of the reason why they decided I couldn’t go any further.
“I felt really bad when it was over. That year was really dirty for me.”
What is AI?
Generative AI is technology that allows computers to think and act in more human-like ways.
It does this by taking in information from its surroundings and determining the best response based on what it learns.
Universities are trying to understand what AI applications can do and implement guidance on how to use them.
“Please accept.”
Some universities prohibit the use of AI without specific permission, while others allow it to be used to identify grammar and vocabulary errors, and others allow full citations and references. Some universities allow AI-generated content within their assessments as long as it is.
In a bar outside Canterbury, students here say they know its limits and only use AI as an aid, much like a search engine.
A student named Taylor told us: “You have to accept that. You can ask questions and that will help you.”
“You can use it to create a guide for structuring your work. It can also help you prepare for exams.”
Also, classmate Zailen said he had a falling out with a friend who used it frequently.
“They openly admitted to me that they were using AI and copied and pasted the essays they had taken from Chat GPT, thinking they might score higher than me. Part of me was annoyed.”
“Potential risk”
Universities UK, a group of university vice-chancellors and principals, said: “Universities are aware of the potential risks posed by AI tools in exams and assessments.”
“[They]all have a code of conduct that includes strong penalties for students who submit work that is not their own, and engage with students from day one about the consequences of cheating and how to avoid it.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Generative AI has huge potential to transform the higher education sector and offers exciting growth opportunities. However, we must be cautious about incorporating it into teaching, learning and assessment. Further consideration is required.”
“Universities need to decide how to leverage benefits and reduce risks to prepare students for the jobs of the future.”
