Universities Reject Turnitin AI Writing Tool Over Accuracy and Privacy Concerns

Some universities like Vanderbilt are rejecting Turnitin's new AI writing detection software due to concerns it could falsely accuse students of cheating.
Turnitin claims the software has a false positive rate under 1%, but some universities find even that unacceptable when run across thousands of student papers.
There are questions around how Turnitin actually detects AI writing and whether it's truly effective or accurate.
Universities are concerned about privacy issues and taking student data to analyze with unclear policies at Turnitin.
Detecting AI writing is very difficult, if not impossible, and these tools can't replace human judgement according to experts. Reports should support conversations not cheating accusations.

theregister.com

Relevant topic timeline:

8/23/2023

The GPT college classroom is almost here, but professors say AI isn't the real threat

Universities are grappling with how to navigate the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in the classroom, with some banning it due to fears of AI-assisted cheating, while others argue that schools should embrace AI and teach students how to fact-check its responses. However, educators stress that the real threat to education lies in outdated teaching methods rather than AI itself.

8/27/2023

‘A real opportunity’: how ChatGPT could help college applicants

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT are being tested by students to write personal college essays, prompting concerns about the authenticity and quality of the essays and the ethics of using AI in this manner. While some institutions ban AI use, others offer guidance on its ethical use, with the potential for AI to democratize the admissions process by providing assistance to students who may lack access to resources. However, the challenge lies in ensuring that students, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, understand how to use AI effectively and avoid plagiarism.

8/28/2023

'It's not that accurate': Teachers rely on apps to catch students using artificial intelligence

More students are using artificial intelligence to cheat, and the technology used to detect AI plagiarism is not always reliable, posing a challenge for teachers and professors.

9/7/2023

AI vs. Human Writing: Experts Fooled Almost 62% of the Time - Neuroscience News

Linguistics experts struggle to differentiate AI-generated content from human writing, with an identification rate of only 38.9%, raising questions about AI's role in academia and the need for improved detection tools.

9/8/2023

OpenAI Admits Its AI Text Detectors Are Unreliable

AI writing detectors cannot reliably distinguish between AI-generated and human-generated content, as acknowledged by OpenAI in a recent FAQ, leading to false positives when used for punishment in education.

9/14/2023

AI Text Detectors Spur Cat-and-Mouse Game With Students As 'Centaur Writing' Blurs Lines

A student named Edward Tian created a tool called GPTZero that aims to detect AI-generated text and combat AI plagiarism, sparking a debate about the future of AI-generated content and the need for AI detection tools; however, the accuracy and effectiveness of such tools are still in question.

9/22/2023

Major Universities Halt Use of AI Cheating Detectors Over False Accusation Worries

Several major universities have stopped using AI detection tools over accuracy concerns, as they fear that these tools could falsely accuse students of cheating when using AI-powered tools like ChatGPT to write essays.

9/23/2023

Concerns Grow Over Unchecked A.I. Voice Cloning and Data Use

As AI technology progresses, creators are concerned about the potential misuse and exploitation of their work, leading to a loss of trust and a polluted digital public space filled with untrustworthy content.

Topics

Posted 9/23/2023, 12:10:00 AM