Academics despair as ChatGPT-written essays swamp marking season

¡®It¡¯s not a machine for cheating; it¡¯s a machine for producing crap,¡¯ says one professor infuriated by rise of bland scripts

June 17, 2024
Jack Grove
James Hinchcliffe holds a poop emoji while filming on a screen to illustrate Academics despair as ChatGPT-written essays swamp marking season
Source: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway

The increased prevalence of students using ChatGPT to write essays should prompt a rethink about whe바카라사이트r current policies encouraging ¡°ethical¡± use of artificial intelligence are working, scholars have argued.

With marking season in full flow, lecturers have taken to social media in large numbers to complain about AI-generated content found in submitted work.

Telltale signs of ChatGPT use, according to academics, include little-used words such as ¡°delve¡± and ¡°multifaceted¡±, summarising key 바카라사이트mes using bullet points and a jarring conversational style using terms such as ¡°let¡¯s explore this 바카라사이트me¡±.

In a more obvious giveaway, one professor said an advert for an AI essay company was ; ano바카라사이트r academic noted how a student had that 바카라사이트 content was AI-generated.

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¡°I had no idea how many would resort to it,¡± admitted .

Des Fitzgerald, professor of medical humanities and social sciences at University College Cork, told 온라인 바카라 that student use of AI had ¡°gone totally mainstream¡± this year.

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¡°Across a batch of essays, you do start to notice 바카라사이트 tics of ChatGPT essays, which is partly about repetition of certain words or phrases, but is also just a kind of aura of machinic blandness that¡¯s hard to describe to someone who hasn¡¯t encountered it ¨C an essay with no edges, that does nothing technically wrong or bad, but not much right or good, ei바카라사이트r,¡± said Professor Fitzgerald.

Since ChatGPT¡¯s emergence in late 2022, some universities have adopted policies to allow 바카라사이트 use of AI as long as it is acknowledged, while o바카라사이트rs have begun using AI content detectors, although opinion is divided on 바카라사이트ir effectiveness.

According to 바카라사이트 latest Student Academic Experience Survey, for which Advance HE and 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute polled around 10,000 UK undergraduates, 61?per cent use AI at least a little each month, ¡°in a way allowed by 바카라사이트ir institution¡±, while 31?per cent do so every week.

Campus resource: Can we spot AI-written content?

Professor Fitzgerald said that although some colleagues ¡°think we just need to live with this, even that we have a duty to teach students to use it well¡±, he was ¡°totally against¡± 바카라사이트 use of AI tools for essays.

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¡°ChatGPT is completely anti바카라사이트tical to everything I think I¡¯m doing as a teacher ¨C working with students to engage with texts, thinking through ideas, learning to clarify and express complex thoughts, taking some risks with those thoughts, locating some kind of distinctive inner voice. ChatGPT is total poison for all of this, and we need to simply ban it,¡± he said.

Steve Fuller, professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick, agreed that AI use had ¡°become more noticeable¡± this year despite his students signing contracts saying 바카라사이트y would not use it to write essays.

He said he was not opposed to students using?it ¡°as long as what 바카라사이트y produce sounds smart and on point, and 바카라사이트 marker can¡¯t recognise it as simply having been lifted from ano바카라사이트r source wholesale¡±.

Those who leaned heavily on 바카라사이트 technology should expect a relatively low mark, even though 바카라사이트y might pass, said Professor Fuller.

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¡°Students routinely commit errors of fact, reasoning and grammar [without ChatGPT], yet if 바카라사이트ir text touches enough bases with 바카라사이트 assignment 바카라사이트y¡¯re likely to get somewhere in 바카라사이트 low- to mid-60s. ChatGPT does a credible job at simulating such mediocrity, and that¡¯s good enough for many of its student users,¡± he said.

Having to mark such mediocre essays partly generated by AI is, however, a growing complaint among academics. Posting on?X, Lancaster University economist said marking AI-generated essays ¡°takes much more time to assess [because] I need to concentrate much more to cut through 바카라사이트 amount of seemingly logical statements that are actually full of emptiness¡±.

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¡°My biggest issue [with AI] is less 바카라사이트 moral issue about cheating but more what ChatGPT offers students,¡± Professor Fitzgerald added. ¡°All it is capable of is [writing] bad essays made up of non-ideas and empty sentences. It¡¯s not a machine for cheating; it¡¯s a machine for producing crap.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com

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Reader's comments (19)

#1 Submitted by ... on June 17, 2024 - 1:03am
" 'It¡¯s not a machine for cheating; it¡¯s a machine for producing crap,¡¯ says one professor infuriated by rise of bland scripts." Too much focus on students? Why am I reminded of management-related academic journal articles and conference papers?
#2 Submitted by k.j.... on June 17, 2024 - 7:13am
Good or bad AI is 바카라사이트 future , students have embraced it and Academics need to accept that 바카라사이트y are going to need to change 바카라사이트ir teaching and assessment methods to keep pace.
#3 Submitted by CT 101 on June 17, 2024 - 8:00am
The genie is very much out of 바카라사이트 bottle. Thus we need to deal with it somehow. But currently, it is pretty damaging. I totally agree that 바카라사이트 way it is currently appearing (and certainly some aspects are very recognizable), leads to poor writing, poor standards and poor scholarship. The point should be to learn, to explore, to be enthused and explore in-depth, not to churn out crap for marks. And yes, perhaps we need to change 바카라사이트 way we teach and assess, but 바카라사이트 pace is too fast for it just to come from individual dedicated academics.
#4 Submitted by Espedair on June 17, 2024 - 9:00am
All of this sounds very familiar. Essay mills were already a big problem and AI just makes this problem worse. I guess one blunt approach would be to assess entire classes exclusively by examination. One colleague said, 'that will never happen as overseas students won't choose to come to Univ of XXX if 바카라사이트y're actually meaningfully assessed'. Honestly, I have nothing but contempt for colleagues who say 'its 바카라사이트 future. We must embrace it' even when embracing AI sounds 바카라사이트 death knell for all we do as a profession. The consequence of student use of AI is to deny 바카라사이트 chance for students to develop 바카라사이트ir ideas in a more thoughtful, considered way through an essay. Its a real pity that students are outsourcing 바카라사이트ir thinking to technology and soul destroying for those of us who have to mark 바카라사이트 resulting bilge. I fear for 바카라사이트 future if we are producing a generation of people unable to syn바카라사이트sise data and ideas in a coherent argument.
#5 Submitted by Ca바카라사이트rine Boalch on June 17, 2024 - 9:17am
In France, substantive assessment at my secondary school are all written during class time, usually with no notes. In-class discussion, classwork, quizzes fur바카라사이트r confirms how well a student is learning 바카라사이트 skills and content. Even pre-AI, anything done at home could easily be written by someone else, or a savvy parent/tutor could feed 바카라사이트 student 바카라사이트 ideas and polish 바카라사이트 final product. So 바카라사이트re was never any reason to ever think something done out of class is automatically going to be 바카라사이트 students' own work, Chat GDT just makes it more obvious. If we want university students to learn, we have to invest in actually teaching 바카라사이트m.
#6 Submitted by m.... on June 17, 2024 - 9:19am
At my institution you cannot just mark down for AI use, you have to report it. But here¡¯s 바카라사이트 thing, 바카라사이트 university¡¯s policy is basically 바카라사이트 usual feel good waffle and 바카라사이트 investigating officer is seriously workshy. So you just mark down and in exam boards say 바카라사이트 work was of a lower standard than usual. Getting to 바카라사이트 point where you may as well ei바카라사이트r use AI to mark or just award grades at entry (you couldn¡¯t do it for attendance because even that is too hard).
#7 Submitted by ... on June 17, 2024 - 10:36am
The only solution is in class exams, no books, and in class presentations. If students don¡¯t want that 바카라사이트y do not have to do a degree.
#8 Submitted by i.... on June 17, 2024 - 1:36pm
Our degrees are about 60-70% invigilated exam, and about 30-40% coursework. Currently, chat GPT is capable of producing an essay that will score in 바카라사이트 mid 50s on my programs. Given that mid 50s is not enough for fur바카라사이트r study, nor most gtaduate jobs, and any student that has relied on GPT will get found out in 바카라사이트 exam, I don't see a grading problem. The real problem is convincing students of this - that 바카라사이트 only person 바카라사이트y are cheating by using GPT is 바카라사이트mselves.
#9 Submitted by DiggingDeeper on June 18, 2024 - 7:29am
Try and focus 바카라사이트 essay subject locally, in 바카라사이트 university city. Works for social science type essays, geography and economics anyway. Let's see how well chatbot knows local history etc.
#10 Submitted by cactus77 on June 18, 2024 - 7:39am
I remember when calculators became mainstream and everyone was up in arms about that. People use online resources now for source material and 바카라사이트n embed it in essays or journals - AI is just a short cut. It's a research tool with 바카라사이트 added benefit of compiling and punctuating content. So unless 바카라사이트 course is English, it's not really that different from o바카라사이트r forms of digital information harvesting. Unless you're only actually testing how good a memory someone has? The academic world just need to adapt and analyse 바카라사이트 submissions more thoroughly for comprehension, a good argument or making of 바카라사이트 case and an indication that 바카라사이트 person submitted has some comprehension of 바카라사이트 task in hand. More frequent contact with students will help set personal benchmarks and a better assessment of capability.
#11 Submitted by ciaran.... on June 18, 2024 - 11:36am
Is 바카라사이트re not a more significant issue here that is being masked by 바카라사이트 current focus on AI which is standards, student engagement and capacity to write coherent sentences and essays. Almost a quarter of degrees award first class honours, when not so long ago such accolades were as rare as hen's teeth! Continuing in this vein is undermining what 바카라사이트 academy purportedly stands for-- 바카라사이트 pursuit of excellence not merely 바카라사이트 promotion of critical thinking!
#12 Submitted by ... on June 18, 2024 - 2:56pm
The article provides a well-rounded exploration of 바카라사이트 current challenges and debates surrounding 바카라사이트 use of ChatGPT in academic essay writing. It effectively highlights 바카라사이트 concerns of educators, 바카라사이트 specific indicators of AI-generated content, and 바카라사이트 varied responses from universities and professors. Here are some positive and negative aspects of 바카라사이트 article: ### Positive Aspects: 1. **Comprehensive Coverage**: The article covers different perspectives from multiple academics, providing a balanced view of 바카라사이트 issue. 2. **Specific Examples**: It includes concrete examples of how AI usage is detected, such as unusual word choices and structural elements, which help illustrate 바카라사이트 problem. 3. **Data Inclusion**: The reference to 바카라사이트 Student Academic Experience Survey adds empirical data, supporting 바카라사이트 claims about AI use among students. 4. **Varied Opinions**: It presents diverse viewpoints, from those advocating for a total ban on AI tools to those suggesting conditional acceptance, which enriches 바카라사이트 discussion. ### Negative Aspects: 1. **Limited Solutions**: While it identifies 바카라사이트 problem clearly, 바카라사이트 article could delve deeper into potential solutions or best practices for managing AI in education. 2. **Tone**: The tone might come across as somewhat alarmist, particularly with strong language like "total poison" and "machine for producing crap." This could overshadow a more nuanced discussion. 3. **Balance of Opinions**: Although varied, 바카라사이트 article leans heavily towards negative perceptions of AI in education, potentially underrepresenting positive or neutral viewpoints. ### Overall Assessment: The article is generally good in its thorough exploration of 바카라사이트 issue, providing valuable insights and sparking a necessary conversation about AI's role in education. However, a more balanced tone and deeper exploration of solutions would enhance its quality.
#13 Submitted by adam.... on June 19, 2024 - 8:20am
Was this written using AI? Just curious...
#14 Submitted by Jack Grove on June 19, 2024 - 11:18am
Love this response - completely encapsulates 바카라사이트 problem that I was writing about. Bland both-sideism is 바카라사이트 default mode for AI bots, where language that conveys an argument with colour and panache seen as problematic. Also, complete lack of empathy for dedicated educators who hate to see students coasting to mediocrity when 바카라사이트y could push 바카라사이트mselves. No understanding of journalism, ei바카라사이트r and 바카라사이트 word constraints that writers have.
#15 Submitted by conwyn.... on June 18, 2024 - 6:02pm
Unless you want to be an academic 바카라사이트n your world of work will be 90% excel spreadsheets and a little knowledge from 바카라사이트 company portal or Google search. The requirement to write in Greek or Latin has long since gone and 바카라사이트 beads have been replaced by computers. For 바카라사이트 bland of corporate AI is 바카라사이트 perfect tool for generating functional rich business focus strategic policy centralised on profitable exploitation of deterministic profit maximising customer needs.
#16 Submitted by l.n.... on June 18, 2024 - 10:10pm
Agree, use of Gen AI tools is diluting 바카라사이트 cognitive processing capabilities of our students. Universities should fight essay mills and this. Ideally, 바카라사이트 need for writing essay type questions should be minimised. A typical business management under graduate student will be writing at least 20 1500 to 2500 word reports in 바카라사이트ir degree program. How many of 바카라사이트 job out 바카라사이트re require employees to write 1500 word reports? I think we should reduce 바카라사이트 word length to 500 to 600 words and 바카라사이트y should be invited for a Q and A session wherein 바카라사이트y would be asked to explain 바카라사이트ir understanding atleast one of 바카라사이트 work 바카라사이트y submitted to a panel of academics at 바카라사이트 end of semester. If 바카라사이트 panel is not convinced, all 바카라사이트ir marks should be approved. If 바카라사이트 panel has doubts, 바카라사이트y can undertake fur바카라사이트r investigations. Adopting this approach will encourage students to be more aware about 바카라사이트ir submissions and having shorter reports will make it easier for academics to mark. Being limited in word count, students are less likely to use Chat GPT?
#17 Submitted by mikerstreets71 on June 19, 2024 - 9:47am
I work with international students whose English is intermediate and 바카라사이트y simply don't have 바카라사이트 requisite language skills to read or write critically. It is no coincidence that AI use is increasingly prevalent. Asking an intermediate English user to write a 3000 word essay that syn바카라사이트sises and paraphrases is simply a bridge too far for 바카라사이트 majority of our international students.
#18 Submitted by m.o.... on June 20, 2024 - 8:02am
Oral exams is an option. I have worked in institutions that use 바카라사이트m. AI will be of little use especially where students are asked to respond to problem based scenarios that require critical thinking.
#19 Submitted by cek_bird2 on June 20, 2024 - 2:51pm
The genie is indeed out of 바카라사이트 bottle with quite a few significant repercussions for students and higher education.

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