OpenAI revealed there is no reliable way for teachers to find out if their students are cheating with ChatGPT. This announcement was made as students return to school next week.
More than one in four teachers said they had caught students cheating by using ChatGPT in a Study.com survey from February 2023, months after teachers raised concerns about students using AI for cheating.
To prepare educators for the new school year, the company published a guide on how to use ChatGPT in the classroom. However, it was unfortunate that the solutions offered by OpenAI to mitigate educators’ fears were dreaded by many.
It was discovered that ChatGPT can generate texts that are coherent, fluent, and sometimes indistinguishable from human-written texts.
According to OpenAI, websites and applications that assert to be able to identify AI-generated copy in students’ work are inaccurate.
Limitations of AI tools to detect AI-generated content
- Companies like OpenAI have launched tools that claim to be able to identify information produced by artificial intelligence, but none of them have been able to consistently tell artificial intelligence from human-generated content.
- ChatGPT has no knowledge of the types of content that might be produced by AI. Sometimes it will invent answers to inquiries like, “Did you compose this [essay]?” or “Could an AI have authored this?
- There are instances that these tools imply that information created by humans was produced by AI.
- There were hints that it might have an especially negative effect on students learning English as a second language and those whose writing was very formulaic or concise.
- Students can make minor adjustments to avoid detection even if these technologies could reliably identify AI-generated content.
What can teachers do when students present AI-generated content as their own?
Some teachers ask their students to share the links to their ChatGPT chats with them. This has led to various benefits such as:
Formative assessment and showcasing their work
- Teachers can look at how students talk to ChatGPT and see how they think critically and solve problems.
- Students can also see each other’s chats and learn from them, creating a cooperative atmosphere.
- By saving their chats with AI, students can also track their own learning over time. They can notice how they improved their skills in questioning, evaluating, and synthesizing information. Teachers can also use these chats to give individualized feedback and help students grow.
AI and information literacy
- Students can show how they can use AI and how they can recognize the limitations of AI systems. Teachers can check the quality of the questions asked, the usefulness of the information received, and how well the student knew how to question, verify, and be aware of potential biases in that information.
- Expect a future where AI tools like ChatGPT are common. Teaching students how to use them wisely helps them get ready for a future where they may need to use AI in different situations.
Accountability
By sharing their chats with ChatGPT, students make sure that they use AI in a proper and meaningful way for their work. Teachers can confirm that students are not just copying answers from the tool, but using it as a learning resource.
Bottom Line
The use of AI in education is a complex issue with no easy answers. However, it is important to be aware of the potential risks of using AI tools like ChatGPT to cheat. By taking steps to mitigate these risks, educators can help to ensure that students are held accountable for their own work.
