The emergence of generative AI such as ChatGPT has brought unprecedented challenges to the education field. It is becoming increasingly common for students to use AI to complete assignments and exams. This not only reduces the value of diplomas, but may also lead to talents lacking practical abilities entering key occupational fields, endangering social security. This article will provide an in-depth analysis of the academic fraud problem caused by AI in education, and discuss its seriousness and shortcomings in response strategies.
Since the public release of ChatGPT, the impact on education has been profound and worrying. Increasingly, students are using generative AI to complete assignments and exams, and the submitted work is considered authentic academic work. This phenomenon not only devalues high school and college degrees, but may also lead to many students entering important career fields such as nurses, engineers, and firefighters without real learning, which will have serious consequences for society.
Picture source note: The picture is generated by AI, and the picture authorization service provider Midjourney
However, most schools and educational institutions do not pay enough attention to combating AI academic fraud. What is even more shocking is that some schools have even taken the initiative to relax restrictions on the use of AI, allowing students to use AI tools but prohibiting the use of technology that can detect AI homework. This wrong decision will greatly weaken the teacher's supervision ability.
Recent research from the University of Reading in the UK shows that teachers are almost unable to recognize AI-generated academic work. The research team submitted AI-generated assignments under false student identities and found that 94% of submitted work went undetected. If stricter detection standards were applied, 97% of AI submissions would still not be flagged as possible AI generation. This shows that even under ideal circumstances, teachers’ recognition rate of AI works is very low.
This is not the first time such a warning has appeared. Previous research from the University of South Florida showed that linguistic experts were unable to distinguish between AI-generated text and human-written text. Another study from Vietnam showed that the AI detection system was able to effectively identify AI text, while the recognition ability of human teachers was far behind.
Additionally, the latest research has found that AI-generated assignments tend to score higher than assignments from real students. Research shows that 83.4% of the time, assignments submitted by AI scored higher than randomly selected assignments from similar human students. This means that students who use basic AI tools are more likely to have their work score higher than those who complete their assignments carefully.
In real classrooms, although detection systems may flag AI assignments, professors are often wary of reporting academic integrity, and many schools lack adequate punitive measures for violators. To sum up, if schools do not use AI detection technology, students who use AI to cheat can almost easily get higher scores without worrying about being discovered.
The current online course environment compounds this problem, with teachers unable to truly know their students’ identities, increasing the likelihood of cheating. While schools can address this issue through test monitoring or the use of writing environments that track revisions, many schools are unwilling to expend the energy and money to implement these measures. Therefore, the phenomenon of academic fraud is becoming more and more serious, and effective responses to this problem are still insufficient.
Facing the academic integrity crisis brought by AI, schools and educational institutions need to actively take measures, such as strengthening the application of AI detection technology, improving teaching methods, cultivating students' critical thinking skills, and formulating stricter academic integrity norms and punitive measures. . Only in this way can challenges be effectively addressed and fairness and justice in education maintained.