Lecturers have warned that ”chatbot” platforms can churn out passable university essays in just two minutes – and the Daily Record’s tested the theory to prove the case.
Our investigation yesterday revealed how cheating has risen by 1000 per cent in five years at some Scottish universities.
Senior academics have warned an “arms race” is being waged against chatbot and other internet plagiarists who are threatening to undermine Scotland’s respected further education institutions.
The artificial intelligence is believed to be wiping the floor with top universities, despite a host of working groups and anti-cheat processes being activated.
The Daily Record yesterday told how cheating is so rife via essay mills - and platforms like ChatGPT being abused - that courses are being reconstructed.
We cobbled together a politics essay in under two minutes on the controversial software, which processes internet search returns into presentable academic formats.
And two experts agreed that the essay - on the success or failure of Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister of Scotland - could easily be a pass.
Alarmingly, the experts said that the type of cheating that ChatGPT can produce is the kind that can be retro-fitted with cast iron references - often making it impossible to detect.
Our essay was constructed by asking ChatGPT three quick-fire questions relating to the FM’s successes and failures and a summary of her time in power.
We simply stitched the three parts together and sent the hastily completed work to our experts for appraisal.
One academic at a university in Glasgow said the rise of AI may well see a return to traditional exams, which have been discredited in recent years.
They said: “With this essay, the text (with insertion of appropriate academic citation) could easily be made passable.
“It narrates the contemporary history of Nicola Sturgeon’s time as First Minister pretty well.
“Analysis is perhaps slightly basic but would probably be passable. It is written in a journalistic (rather than academic style) but with minimal effort could be given a more academic tone and style.
“I think any academic setting assignments in the humanities, social sciences and business schools today must acknowledge and presence and ubiquity of this type of software and adjust his/her essay based assessments so they cannot be so easily cheated using this type of software.”
The well known lecturer said every single submission is checked through the Turnitin anti-cheat software.
But he added: “While this software does detect plagiarism and poor scholarship it may be pretty useless at detecting use of this type of chatbot software –though if multiple students were asking ChatGPT the same questions and providing the same answer it would detect. Thinking more strategically, such software is likely to become embedded in educational activity in the medium to longer term.
“How it should be utilised is a question leaders in education should be asking.”
Another politics lecturer that we emailed the essay to was similarly impressed.
The academic said: “There is an arms race going on right now between universities trying to catch the cheats and the cheats, who are growing in number massively each year.
“There will barely be a single lecturer who has not been discussing Chat GPT in the last few weeks.
“The battle could end up between universities and Microsoft - and there will only be one winner.”
Universities Scotland director Alastair Sim said: “AI brings many benefits and risks for universities and the education of their students.
“Our members are aware of the possible impact of Chat GPT and other AI software on learning, and they are collaborating closely with the relevant expert bodies for ICT and academic integrity such as Jisc and the QAA in their work on this issue.”
READ NEXT:
