Can a teacher detect if students are using artificial intelligence?
News & Politics
Introduction
Concerns regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education have been growing, particularly around its potential to aid students in cheating. To explore this issue further, NBC News digital reporter Andrew Stern devised an experiment with his former high school teacher, Mr. Topp, to see if he could discern which essays were written by students using AI, specifically ChatGPT.
The experiment began with nine students assigned to write a political essay within one day. Some students were instructed to use the AI tool, while Mr. Topp remained unaware of how many students had cheated. His task was to grade all the essays and identify the ones created with the help of AI.
When asked about his confidence in identifying AI-generated essays, Mr. Topp expressed initial confidence but later admitted to having doubts. The students also shared their perspectives about AI in academia, some acknowledging its use while others considered it cheating.
As the grading commenced, Mr. Topp found that the overall quality of the essays was higher than usual. He assessed each essay one by one, attempting to differentiate between student-generated and AI-generated content.
At the conclusion of the exercise, Mr. Topp identified three essays as AI-generated and six as student-written, an outcome that surprised him. Reflecting on the results, he noted that many essays he initially thought might have been AI-generated turned out to be genuinely written by the students.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Topp expressed a concern that students might invest more time in manipulating technology rather than focusing on developing their own writing skills. Ultimately, the results of the experiment demonstrated the growing challenge teachers face in distinguishing between student work and that produced by AI technology.
Keyword
- Artificial Intelligence
- AI Cheating
- ChatGPT
- Education
- Essay Writing
- Teacher's Observation
- Grading Essays
- Student Writing Skills
FAQ
Q: What was the primary focus of the experiment?
A: The experiment aimed to determine whether a teacher could accurately detect essays written by students with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
Q: How many students participated in the essay writing?
A: Nine students were assigned to write political essays for the experiment.
Q: What tool did the students use to cheat?
A: Some students utilized ChatGPT, an AI tool, to generate their essays.
Q: How many essays did the teacher correctly identify as AI-generated?
A: The teacher identified three essays as AI-generated and incorrectly labeled six as student-written.
Q: What concern did the teacher express regarding students using AI?
A: The teacher expressed concern that students could be spending more time trying to manipulate technology instead of enhancing their writing skills.
