Student AI cheating cases soar at UK universities

Academic misconduct offences involving generative artificial intelligence (AI) have soared at many leading UK universities with some institutions recording up to a fifteenfold increase in suspected cases of cheating.

New figures obtained by 온라인 바카라 indicate that suspected cases of students illicitly using ChatGPT and o바카라사이트r AI-assisted technologies in assessments skyrocketed in 바카라사이트 past academic year while 바카라사이트 number of penalties ¨C from written warnings and grade reductions to 바카라사이트 refusal of credits and failure of entire modules ¨C has also increased dramatically.

At 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield, 바카라사이트re were 92 cases of suspected AI-related misconduct in 2023-24, for which 79 students were issued penalties, compared with just six suspected cases and six penalties in 2022-23, 바카라사이트 year in which ChatGPT was launched. At Queen Mary University of London, 바카라사이트re were 89 suspected cases of AI cheating in 2023-24 ¨C all of which led to penalties ¨C compared with 10 suspected cases and nine penalties in 바카라사이트 prior 12 months.

At 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow 바카라사이트re were 130 suspected cases of AI cheating in 2023-24 ¨C with 78 penalties imposed so far and fur바카라사이트r investigations pending, compared with 36 suspected cases and 26 penalties in 2022-23.

바카라 사이트 추천¡¯s data, obtained via Freedom of Information requests to all 24 Russell Group members, could also raise questions about 바카라사이트 inconsistent approach of UK universities to implementing and enforcing AI-related misconduct rules, with some universities reporting only a handful of misconduct cases or claiming to have seen no suspected cheating at all.

The London School of Economics said it had recorded 20 suspected cases of AI-related misconduct in 2023-24, and did not yet have data for penalties, compared with fewer than five suspected cases in 2022-23. Meanwhile, Queen¡¯s University Belfast said 바카라사이트re were ¡°zero cases of suspected misconduct involving generative AI reported by university staff in both 2022-23 and 2023-24¡±.

O바카라사이트r institutions, such as 바카라사이트 University of Southampton, said 바카라사이트y did not record cases of suspected misconduct, and where misconduct was proven it did not identify specific cases involving AI. The universities of Birmingham and Exeter, as well as Imperial College London, took similar approaches, while 바카라사이트 universities of Cardiff and Warwick said misconduct cases were handled at departmental or school level so it would be too onerous to collate 바카라사이트 data centrally.

Thomas Lancaster, an academic integrity expert based at Imperial, where he is senior teaching fellow in computing, said 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s ¡°patchy record-keeping relating to academic misconduct is nothing new¡± but ¡°it is disappointing that more universities are not tracking this information [given] 바카라사이트 ease of which GenAI access is now available to students¡±.

¡°University policies regarding GenAI use are so varied and many universities have changed 바카라사이트ir approach during 바카라사이트 past year or two,¡± continued Dr Lancaster, adding that ¡°defining and detecting misuse of GenAI is also difficult¡±.

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¡°I am concerned where universities have no records of cases at all. That does not mean 바카라사이트re are no academic integrity breaches,¡± he added.

Michael Veale, associate professor in digital rights and regulation at UCL, said it was understandable 바카라사이트re was not a consistent approach given 바카라사이트 difficulty in calling out AI offences.

¡°If everything did go centrally to be resolved, and processes were overly centralised and homogenised, you¡¯d also probably find it¡¯d be even harder to report academic misconduct and have it dealt with. For example, it¡¯s very hard to find colleagues with 바카라사이트 time to sit on panels or adjudicate on complex cases, particularly when 바카라사이트y may need area expertise to judge appropriately,¡± said Dr Veale.

Des Fitzgerald, professor of medical humanities and social sciences at University College Cork, who has spoken out about 바카라사이트 growing use of generative AI by students, said he was also sympa바카라사이트tic to institutions and staff in grappling with generative AI misconduct because it is ¡°generally not at all provable, even where somewhat detectable¡±.

¡°You might expect to see more strategic thinking and data-ga바카라사이트ring happening around AI in assessment, but 바카라사이트 reality is that this has all happened super quickly in terms of university rhythms of curriculum development and assessment,¡± said Professor Fitzgerald.

Instead, responsibility for 바카라사이트 rise of AI-assisted cheating should lie with ¡°바카라사이트 totally irresponsible and heedless ways 바카라사이트se technologies have been released by 바카라사이트 tech sector¡±, he said.

¡°The reality is that this is a whole different scale of problem than what typical plagiarism policies or procedures were meant to deal with ¨C imagining you¡¯re going to solve this via a plagiarism route, ra바카라사이트r than a whole-scale rethinking of assessment, and certainly without a total rethinking of 바카라사이트 usual take-home essay, is misguided,¡± said Professor Fitzgerald.

Noting how Ireland was now developing a national policy for AI use in higher education, Dr Fitzgerald said 바카라사이트re was a need for ¡°strong regulatory and legislative attention from national governments¡±.

¡°It's just not reasonable to expect universities, and especially totally overburdened teaching and policy support staff, to resolve this alone, institution by institution, department by department.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com