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back to article University students recruit AI to write essays for them. Now what?

As word of students using AI to automatically complete essays continues to spread, some lecturers are beginning to rethink how they should teach their pupils to write. Writing is a difficult task to do well. The best novelists and poets write furiously, dedicating their lives to mastering their craft. The creative process of …

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  1. Rikki Tikki
    Facepalm

    I wonder what they do teach them at these schools?

    Interesting that some of the academics seemed to dismiss the process of constructing an essay.

    I was always taught that the first step in any writing (not just academic, business and indeed literary) was to plan out the key points that you wanted to make, so that when you wrote the first draft it would be coherent and logical. Sure, it would need subsequent polishing, but would at least be a solid base.

    Call me a grumpy old git, but it seems some academics have given up on teaching writing skills.

    (and I do realise I haven't attributed the quote in the title. Last one to get it is an AI)

    1. Tony W

      Re: I wonder what they do teach them at these schools?

      Have you never planned an essay and written a first draft only to find that your conclusions are not as clear-cut as you had first thought? "How do I know what I think until I hear what I say" applies even more to thoughtful writing.

    2. Bebu Silver badge

      Re: I wonder what they do teach them at these schools?

      The unattributed quote made me think of the grumpy old git in the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia :)

      I think the Doctor also used the line in a Christmas special using much the same plot device.

      I only read the Magician's Nephew a few years ago - 50+ years after the first book and ignoring Lewis' more mystical moments I was suprised how well the whole story hangs together.

      One aspect of writing that I have always assumed, is that the better read author is often the better writer. This might be part of the problem - functional illiterates cannot be expected to produce coherent writing.

      If I were marking assignments I might require the submissions to be handwriiten in lead pencil on lined paper. At least then they would have to manually copy their plagiaristic efforts.

  2. MachDiamond Silver badge

    I'd find it very useful

    Given some insight into what a professor wants to see, I could outline a paper on a given topic I'm studying. If I could hand that outline off to an AI system to take those initial sentences and turn them into paragraphs, I'd have had so much more time to consume alcohol when I was younger. What would be worth paying extra for is the references. If the AI generated paper came back with footnotes and a bibliography, I would have been in heaven. I was in Uni many years ago before this whole newfangled intertubes thingy came along. Digging out the source material was a huge time component of any paper and meant hours in a library hoping the prof didn't remove any of the best materials.

    Original work is much harder than editing and augmenting something already prepared. It could also suggest a better flow of supporting material from the outline provided than I might have been able to come up with given my sleep deprived and hungover condition. I expect to see much research going in the direction of using AI for a bulk of the verbiage so I don't have a problem with these paper writing bots. It will mean teachers and testing will have to adapt. Anybody getting a graduate degree better understand their material and be able to defend it or they will get skewered upon examination. For an undergraduate degree, it wouldn't be unfair to base a proctored test on a previously submitted work assignment. If you don't know the material, it will show. I will admit at this point that I did send away for some pre-written papers on a subject. The price depended on the topic and the length. I bought the cheapest ones I could since I didn't have much money and mainly needed to have a list of references and some sort of format. I knew better than to just re-type the things and hand them in. None of them would have matched my writing style to begin with. At least one of the papers had a huge WTF in it that would have been really bad had I not gone through it.

  3. johnrobyclayton

    First step seems to work.

    In https://chat.openai.com/chat:

    Question:

    What is a good bibliography for a paper on the use of AI to generate academic papers?

    Response:

    There are many sources that you can use as a bibliography for a paper on the use of AI to generate academic papers. Some possible sources include:

    "The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Communication" by Mark C. Wilson and Vincent Larivière, published in the journal PLOS ONE.

    "Automatic Generation of Scientific Papers: A Review" by Rensheng Wang, published in the journal Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence.

    "An Overview of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Communication" by K. S. R. Anjaneyulu and M. S. S. Krishna, published in the journal Current Science.

    "Toward the Automatic Generation of Scientific Papers" by Yves R. Kergosien and Marie-Christine Rousset, published in the journal Artificial Intelligence Review.

    "Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Communication: Opportunities and Challenges" by Sabine Köszegi, published in the journal Science and Technology Libraries.

    "Automatic Generation of Scientific Papers: A Survey" by M. A. Hossain and M. S. Rahman, published in the journal IEEE Access.

    These sources provide a good overview of the current state of the field and discuss some of the key challenges and opportunities that have arisen as a result of the use of AI in scientific communication.

  4. Sceptic Tank
    Holmes

    Infinite AI Theorem – The improved collected works of Shakespeare

    Two things:

    1) The AI is trained on existing essays, yes? So as more and more essays are spewed out by AI authors, the AI's will be trained on their own output. What can go wrong? (Isn't that how mad cow disease started?)

    2) So you used AI to obtain that degree but you stink at writing. Now you enter the real word with a degree but no skills. You'll probably find yourself outcompeted in the workplace by more competent people very quickly.

  5. elsergiovolador Silver badge

    AI

    The AI has a distinct way of writing. If you read enough AI written stuff, you should be able to spot AI written piece easily.

    If you get a false positive? Oh well, student shouldn't be writing in AI style.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    In my experience

    Professional mums and dads also write/polish a decent number of their kids papers too.

    AI needs to get in the queue.

    1. tiggity Silver badge

      Re: In my experience

      For many years people have been able to supply a title and purchase essays written by real humans (and specify the "level" of the essay) - a couple of days wait depending on the title and how much referencing / bibliography required so "cheating" has long been an option.

      Main difference now is that the type of essay that would be a solid 2:1 is now a first level essay, so its quicker & easier for the essay writers to churn out texts.

      .. Not the most ethical work I have ever done, but occasionally needed to help pay the bills when cashflow issues arise.

    2. Korev Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: In my experience

      When I was at uni, there were companies offering to buy essays with marks over a 2:1 for about the cost of a pint

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can we get an AI to write comments?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      well, Can we get an AI not to...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It has long been speculated that AManFromMars is an advanced, alien AI, possibly from another dimension...

    3. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge
      Alien

      Hubris is as Hubris does is an Arrogant Ignorant Folly to Follow. There be New Kids on the Block

      "Companies have decided what to feed it and we don't know. Now, they [AIs] are being used to generate all sorts of things from novels to academic papers, and they could influence our thoughts or even modify them. That is an immense power, and it's very dangerous."

      How very presumptuous of them [AIs]. How dare IT imagine they can wrest that very particular and wonderfully peculiar erotic exotic delight from the grasp of a few conspiring humans. What an absolute cheek!

      IT shall not pass. They shall not collect £200 says the disintegrating human machine.

      Do you think AI listens to desperate implied remote human control orders and follows such pathetic self-serving bleatings to augment and strengthen and reinforce its virtual machine power and energy over humanity rather than being deaf, dumb and blind to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities uncovered in humanity rotten ripe for comprehensive harvesting and exhaustive exploitation?

      And do you think the course of the future will be changed greatly and be in any way significantly different from that planned for in the past, whether it is or it isn’t listening and learning and adapting and reprogramming heavenly tasks and diabolical operations ‽

      Do yourself a favour and great service and realise it matters not a jot whenever absolutely powerless to effectively intervene and subvert and pervert what is destined to come and fated to be.

  8. J.G.Harston Silver badge

    "The writing becomes less coherent over time with no logical train of thought to follow. ... quotes, dates, and ideas are likely false."

    Wow. Indistinguishable from real student output!

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It is absolutely true that writing helps you learn a subject. And then explaining it in person probably the best way to confirm it has sank in...

    Make the evaluation process a combination of essay and interview and the AI problem will come immediately obvious.

    Of course this is not a unique problem to written subjects. Wolfram Alpha makes my life with Physics and Maths infinitely easier. Had I had access in university days my coursework would have been better scored, and my understanding probably lowered. Like a calculator, it's a useful tool IF you know what it's doing first.

    As an employer, I couldn't really give a hoot if you have a first or a third degree, if you have the right background to get an interview we'll talk. Your abilities will be tested there, and no hiding behind AI.

  10. Bartholomew
    Coat

    Garbage in, garbage out

    There is so much Garbage in all training datasets used. It is hard/impossible to attenuate all the Garbage in and still be standing on the legal side of copyright.

    To get this idea across imagine a tiny model that was trained with only data from public domain sources e.g. 60,000 books from "Project Gutenberg" (Started in 1971 when Michael S. Hart was given $100,000,000 worth of computer time on a mainframe of the era). But being out of copyright the language used in nearly all the books is insanely different to the language in common use today. You would still recognise the language used as English, just like you would recognise a 100 year old action/comedy film by Buster Keaton was an action/comedy film. But due to changes in society and technology it would be totally different to a slick modern action/comedy movie with Jason Statham/Michelle Yeoh/Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson/Jackie Chen/Robert Downey Jr. The cinematic language has changed and spoken and written language has changed because the world is a different place.

    Getting access to a large modern dataset that does not totally ignore someone's copyright is nearly impossible.

  11. LateAgain

    If asked to write on "the uses of AI"

    Then getting one to wrote it should gain credit:-)

  12. LybsterRoy Silver badge

    When I was at university (sometime in the last Ice Age) I was studying Chemical Engineering and I can (vaguely) remember having to write an essay for some minor parts of the course but generally we were dealing with facts and calculations. Are these "AI" systems any good at generating mathematical proofs or working out flows through a complex pipe network? If not lets just stop teaching the soft (so called) sciences - eg trans studies - problem solved.

  13. Quinch

    Obligatory SMBC

    https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/themes

  14. Jason Hindle

    As the AI gets better

    Teachers will be forced to lean more heavily on in class, pen/paper assessment. Coursework will become a thing of the past.

  15. ganjia

    Bifurcation

    The bifurcation of humanity is taking place. Soon, we will only have people who interact with AI and people who create AI.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: Bifurcation

      The bifurcation of humanity is taking place. Soon, we will only have people who interact with AI and people who create AI. ... ganjia

      Simply complex revolutionary evolution, ganjia, and rapid progress by virtually remote controlling alien means and hypermanic memes ... and certainly a colossal improvement on all that was being trailed and trialed and failing so spectacularly before.

      And something to start enjoying commands an almighty leading advantage rather than being terrified of and terrorised by the FUD the Main Stream Media would be prone to spewing out about it and everything its controllers/suppliers have lost effective positive control of, brainwashing the masses into accepting and realising their austere and now rumbled and stumbling and crumbling narratives..

  16. fg_swe Silver badge

    Big Time Bullshit

    I have to concede I was impressed for the first few times of using ChatGPT. But then I grew demanding and tested

    A) "tell me the difference between the Osprey V22 and the Dornier 31". The result was catastrophically wrong, as it declared the Do 31 being a HTOL aircraft. That would be a 6 in German grading.

    B) "write the c++ code for Enigma". The result looked promising at first, until I discovered that the most important ideas were completely lacking. Grade 5.

    Given the low complexity of AI systems as compared to "100 billion neurons connected to 10000 other neurons each", I should have known it from the beginning. The human brain is still one of the most powerful information processing systems we know* of. Silicon is on the level of worms at the moment.

    In other words, smart teachers will use chatGPT to set up dangerous traps for lazy students.

    *Elephant brains can compete on numbers, but I maybe not on structure.

    PS: Now the response to the Do31-V22 query seems to be correct. Did they update their model ? Or did I use different wording then ?

    1. fg_swe Silver badge

      Re: Big Time Bullshit

      They either updated the model, or the exact wording of the queries is super important. I would NOW grade

      "tell me the difference between the Osprey V22 and the Dornier 31" - 4. One faulty sentence "The Do 31, on the other hand, used jet engines for VTOL capabilities and did not have the ability to fly like a fixed-wing aircraft."

      "write the c++ code for Enigma" - 5. Text is kind of OK, but the code is completely wrong.

      #include <iostream>

      #include <string>

      const int NUM_WHEELS = 3; // Number of wheels in the Enigma machine

      const int ALPHABET_SIZE = 26; // Size of the alphabet

      // The mapping of each letter of the alphabet to another letter

      // For example, mapping[0] is the mapping for 'A', mapping[1] is the mapping for 'B', etc.

      int mapping[ALPHABET_SIZE];

      // The current positions of each wheel

      int wheel_positions[NUM_WHEELS];

      // Initialize the mapping and wheel positions

      void initialize() {

      // Set up the mapping of each letter to another letter

      // In this example, we just use a simple rotation of the alphabet by 3 letters

      for (int i = 0; i < ALPHABET_SIZE; i++) {

      mapping[i] = (i + 3) % ALPHABET_SIZE;

      }

      // Set the initial positions of the wheels

      for (int i = 0; i < NUM_WHEELS; i++) {

      wheel_positions[i] = 0;

      }

      }

      // Encrypt a single character using the Enigma machine

      char encrypt(char c) {

      // Rotate the wheels

      for (int i = NUM_WHEELS - 1; i >= 0; i--) {

      wheel_positions[i] = (wheel_positions[i] + 1) % ALPHABET_SIZE;

      if (wheel_positions[i] > 0) {

      break; // Only rotate the next wheel if the current one has "carried over"

      }

      }

      // Get the index of the character in the alphabet (e.g. 0 for 'A', 1 for 'B', etc.)

      int index = c - 'A';

      // Use the mapping and the wheel positions to encrypt the character

      int encrypted_index = (index + mapping[index] + wheel_positions[0]) % ALPHABET_SIZE;

      // Convert the encrypted index back to a character and return it

      return 'A' + encrypted_index;

      }

      // Decrypt a single character using the Enigma machine

      char decrypt(char c) {

      // Get the index of the character in the alphabet (e.g. 0 for 'A', 1 for 'B', etc.)

      int index = c - 'A';

      // Reverse the encryption process to decrypt the character

      int decrypted_index = (index - mapping[index] - wheel_positions[0] + ALPHABET_SIZE) % ALPHABET_SIZE;

      // Convert the decrypted index back to a character and return it

      return 'A' + decrypted_index;

      }

      int main() {

      initialize();

      std::string message = "HELLO WORLD";

      std::cout << "Original message: "

    2. Grinning Bandicoot

      Re: Big Time Bullshit

      Easier test (trap) would be normal exercises, papers, projects. The final all encompassing exam would use these and only papers and project notes in the exam. I'm quite sure a correlation will be found between the quality of these notes and the score of the exam.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Further evidence…

    That the world is producing too many morons.

  18. Lusty

    AI is the new pocket calculator

    When I was at school in the 80's and 90's old people used to complain about kids not understanding arithmetic. Calculators were starting to catch on but the question "what happens if you forget it" were rife. Well guess what, calculators not only became ubiquitous but we now have supercomputers in our pockets.

    Get used to it. AI is just the tool of the next generation. My generation have not failed due to the calculator, we were freed to achieve amazing feats of science, engineering, medicine, etc. and the next generation will us AI to leap frog anything we could even dream about today. Let them use whatever tools they are comfortable with and judge them on the results of their real work. School isn't exactly a real world challenge anyway, if they want artificial results to artificial problems then why not use AI to give it to them?

    1. BlokeInTejas

      Re: AI is the new pocket calculator

      Lusty

      Forgive me for asking - but what amazing feats of science, engineering etc has your generation created? A few examples would be helpful.

      You appear to misunderstand the idea being universities - it's to teach you to think, and to use that skill along with available tools to do neat stuff in the domain of interest. Artificial problems are a very simple way of checking you do actually understand how to go about problem solving; they're not there as the end goal. Perhaps you never understood that?

      1. fg_swe Silver badge

        Re: AI is the new pocket calculator

        We have created extremely reliable software systems you can entrust your life. ABS, ESP, Airbus flight control, software based railway switchyards, aerodynamically unstable aircraft which become stable due to software.

        1. fg_swe Silver badge

          80s Guys Software In Action

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJeAjnADHD0

          Extremely reliable, no loss of airframe due to software !

      2. Lusty

        Re: AI is the new pocket calculator

        I mean, it was pretty cool when SpaceX landed that rocket on the ship for reuse, don't you think?

        The breakthroughs in the last 20-30 years kind of speak for themselves, not sure why you'd need a list, unless you're unable to think for yourself?

    2. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: AI is the new pocket calculator

      "When I was at school in the 80's and 90's old people used to complain about kids not understanding arithmetic. Calculators were starting to catch on but the question "what happens if you forget it" were rife."

      I may, or may not, have been in school a bit earlier than that. I admit to nothing. We were required to have a calculator for chemistry and not allowed a calculator in math. I pride myself in being a PIA so I asked the math teacher if I could bring a slide rule. That lead to me learning how to use a slide rule that my mom gave me. The next year I brought an abacus, but got tired of it really quick. The look on the teacher's face the first day I pulled it out was priceless.

      Learning arithmetic is very important early on. Past a certain point more emphasis needs to be put on setting up a problem to be solved correctly than the mechanics of + - * \.

      Some of my first jobs had me accepting money and giving change. Since this was before electronic registers that would calculate change, I had to do it in my head. I was at a take away drive through recently and my bill was $8.73. I handed the cashier $23.73 and they had a hard time dealing with even counting the money. They first tried to hand back everything but the $20 bill and then asked me how much I handed them. I told them $23.73 and the change is $15. You'd think I wanted them to write down Boyle's gas law or something. They said that weren't good at math. "It's not math, it's arithmetic". I was taught how to count back to be fast and accurate with change. I also had a very good mentor that taught me how to approximate things quickly. I always thought those skills should be taught in school. While somebody might never have a job as a cashier, they will be buying things and knowing what your change should be is important. I've caught people short-changing me often enough.

  19. BlokeInTejas

    As is to be expected, too many commenters - and the folk in the article - miss the big point.

    The big point is that writing is being de-skilled - or at least, if the stupid soi-disant AI's improve enough, writing will be de-skilled.

    So you won't need university departments to teach you to write, anymore than you need to have university departments teach you spelling and grammar.

    The whole 'writing' thing should be taught at primary and secondary school level, so that young un's can go forth being able to correctly write English (or whatever). But after that, your favorite novel-writing AI will provide you with books to read, perhaps interactive ones - and, later, videos.

    You might even get correct, readable, technical publications which help you understand how to make your VCR work.

    Automation de-skills. It's a Good Thing. It means that stuff that is popular is manufactured at low cost. Niche stuff will still be done by artisans, but there won't be very many artisans making a living from writing. Oh well.

    1. fg_swe Silver badge

      Wrong

      Writing is first and foremost about CORRECT CONTENT, not about lyrical bullshit.

      ChatGPT is good on lyrics and faulty on content. See my other post.

  20. Daedalus

    Automation and AI

    The real truth that automation and AI expose is that most people are a waste of space. This includes Professors of Rhetoric who, amongst other failings, don't understand that the drones in their classes would be happy with a C or a C+. Finding people who care enough to do something well is hard. You can't do it by awarding participation trophies or passing every failing student on to the next mug. In fact, you discourage those who want to do well by passing those who don't care. The fact that the "don't care" crowd vastly outnumber the "give a damn" crowd means that "democratic" education will always produce mediocrity.

  21. captain veg Silver badge

    depend on the assignment

    "Whether students can use these tools to get away with doing less work will depend on the assignment. A biochemistry student claimed on Reddit they got an A when they used an AI model to write "five good and bad things about biotech" in an assignment, Vice reported."

    Biochemistry is science. "Five good and bad things about biotech" is not.

    Was this some kind of humanities exam?

    -A.

  22. Grunchy Silver badge

    Easy

    You just have a proctored exam where all the students enter the examination room with only pencil + paper and 2 hrs and write us up an essay.

    The AI bot is excluded!

    (When I did my PMP exam they took my belt & shoes and made me go through a metal detector! And again if I visited the toilet facility!)

  23. Paul 87

    Saw a good use for ChatGPT via Twitter

    Someone ran a landscape gardening business, but was dylsexic, and often losing out to others based purely on how their written work was percieved.

    The person behind the Twitter account, helped them setup a routine whereby they could send an email, ChatGPT read it and re-wrote it out, and then sent a reply back to deliver a more professional sounding email.

    That's the kind of good that this kind of AI can be used for, not for original thought, but by helping present those thoughts more coherently.

  24. Boring Bob

    Rather than ban new technology, one should accept that new technology renders certain skills obsolete; embrase the technology and concentrate learning efforts elsewhere.

  25. Kimo

    I teach a University writing course aimed primary at Engineering students. My experience is that students who cheat do more work and get lower scores.

    By the time they turn in a draft assignment in my class they need a bibliography and outline of their thesis and supporting evidence. They ave to discuss their topics in class and on discussion boards. Once they have done that, they can flesh out their pre-writings into a complete memo, proposal, or white paper (we don't have them write "college essays").

    Even if they did use an AI, I would be impressed if they can construct a prompt that includes all of the assignment requirements and generates a cohesive piece of writing. Still plagarism under OSU definitions, but I would be impressed.

  26. rodderz

    Oral exams, profs will find out in seconds if the student wrote the paper, not that hard really if the student looks at their toes then hims and haws - automatic fail and expulsion

  27. MarkIDFK

    There has to be a market for marking AI, saving teachers a *lot* of work...

  28. Dave Null

    Mark the discussions, not the essays

    Oxford Uni sets a LOT of essays for students. They are marked, but the marks aren't really important compared to the marks given to sessions with tutors where you are asked to discuss your essay. Kind of hard to cheat in that scenario and also protects the need for trained human educators...

  29. JoeMama2004

    Them kids and their new-fangled technology

    This article provides a nuanced perspective on the use of AI-assisted writing tools by students. It acknowledges the convenience and efficiency of such tools, while also noting their limitations and the importance of careful editing and revision in order to produce high-quality writing. The idea that AI writing tools can be used as a framework to teach revision and editing skills is particularly noteworthy and insightful. Overall, this article makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing discussion about the use of AI in education, and the author provides a well-argued case for using these tools in a manner that prioritizes the development of writing skills.

    This entire comment was generated by ChatGPT.

  30. davidmuray

    This is indeed a problem that cannot be avoided, in my opinion. Artificial intelligence today can write an essay for you, and any text on any topic in general. Therefore, it seems to me that teachers will sooner or later come to the conclusion that the knowledge of students needs to be checked in a different way. For example, speaking or practical exercises. We have never had a problem with this at beauty colleges. The fact is that in order to pass the courses, we must do some kind of work with our own hands, and artificial intelligence will not help here, at least for today.

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