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Where
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We Stand —
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Fall 2024
ITS and Online Learning Services are acutely aware that artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have been disruptive to the assessment methods used by many instructors. We have long been aware of the risk of ghostwriters and creative solutions for cheating on exams, but the ease with which these new AI tools can generate believable content has led to a sharp increase in questions about how to determine that the work submitted by students is original (Mills 2023). The detection of AI content is notoriously difficult (Edwards 2023; Heikkilä 2022).
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In the context of academic integrity, the risks of false positives are significant (Klee 2023; Fowler 2023). Unreliable AI detection not only fails to improve academic integrity but may deepen existing inequalities. Non-native English speakers are flagged by AI detection tools at a disproportionate rate (Myers 2023). Other tools like Grammarly with legitimate academic applications, particularly for writers with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, also increase the likelihood of being flagged by AI detectors (Shapiro 2018; Steere 2023).
What to
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Do?
All this leaves instructors in a challenging position where the best recommendations being put forward are to redesign their assessments. Redesigning assessments is difficult and time consuming, and the new assessment methods often require more time to grade. Just as AI tools are beginning to make the process of writing faster and easier for everybody, it feels unfair that teachers of writing are forced to spend more of their own precious time on addressing the downsides and potential misuse of these tools.
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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 (CTLE, n.d.).
AI
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Content Detection and Turnitin
In April 2023, Turnitin released an AI writing detector. This tool was enabled in the Syracuse University Turnitin system as a preview. During the preview there were no fees associated with the tool. Turnitin initially reported low rates of false positives, but those have since been called into question. (Chechitelli 2023; D’Agostino 2023). The detector’s false negative rate was close to 40-50% in tests where AI-generated text was reworded by a human or by a separate AI paraphrasing tool (Weber-Wulff et al. 2023).
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