Universities drop AI detection tools over fears about accuracy

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Universities drop AI detection tools over fears about accuracy 图片 1

When Orion Newby, an Adelphi University student, was wrongly accused of violating academic integrity by using AI to generate an essay, he faced a long battle to clear his name.

In January this year, a New York court ruled in his favour. The judgment recorded that while the Turnitin AI detection tool used by the university had delivered an “AI-generated score of 100 per cent”, Newby had submitted evidence from other AI detection tools purporting to show a zero per cent chance of AI-generated content, but the university upheld the misconduct finding. The court found that the university had failed to follow its own disciplinary procedures and had denied Newby a meaningful appeal.

The Turnitin result is a probability score indicating that the tool concluded the submission was highly likely to have been AI-generated. But the ruling underscores concerns over the reliability of AI detection tools being used by universities and raises questions over the whole system of assessment.

Institutions now face a dilemma following a surge in clandestine AI use by students. A recent study by researchers at Edinburgh Napier University, based on a survey of more than 6,600 students across seven UK universities, found that 32 per cent admitted some level of unpermitted AI use in assessments.

Universities, determined to maintain integrity following the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, have turned to applications with AI-detection features such as GPTZero, Copyleaks and Turnitin.

The tools analyse features such as text structure and rhythm to identify non-human patterns, but their reliability — specifically regarding false positives and bias — is under fire.

Several institutions have since restricted or disabled their use, including Vanderbilt, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern Universi…

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