Over the course of 2023, students from various educational institutions submitted over 22 million scientific papers generated by artificial intelligence (AI). This was reported by Wired citing the plagiarism detection service Turnitin.
Experts from the company analyzed 200 million scientific papers written by students from schools, colleges, and universities around the world. It was found that 11% of them contained at least 20% of text likely written with the help of AI. 3% of student papers contained over 80% generated text or were completely written by artificial intelligence.
According to the study authors, teachers usually have a negative attitude towards their students using AI. However, text generated by neural networks, while not necessarily reflecting a specific student’s knowledge, is original. Therefore, detecting AI-written text is extremely difficult.
Turnitin representative Annie Chechitelli believes that banning the use of AI in preparing scientific papers is not the solution. She noted that teachers should explain where new technologies can be used and where they cannot.
In early April, it was announced that the authorities of the state of Texas (USA) will use a neural network to grade students’ test papers. This way, the state aims to save up to $20 million per year.