Cheaters beware: AI is now being used to catch students who cheat

AI is increasingly being used by students to do their homework, which results in much neater and more perfect, looking work. At the same time, teachers and schools are employing AI tools and training to catch those who cheat. In the last few months, a remarkable transformation has been noticed in schools nationwide. Teachers are astonished that not only are the students submitting their homework on time, but also the quality of the language, cleanliness, and presentation of the work have improved drastically. At first, teachers thought that the children had put in more effort, but upon a closer look, it was found that artificial intelligence (AI) had a major influence in this change. Nowadays, AI tools are easily accessible for free. Kids are using them to solve math problems, write long essays, and prepare projects. In most cases, students just type in the question and get the complete answer in a few seconds. This is the reason it took a while for teachers of many schools to find out the way in which children's work has become so perfect overnight.

Media reports suggest that Preeti Sridharan, a teacher at KC High International School in Chennai, also had an experience along the same lines. As she noticed some assignments where the language was unusually good compared to the students' typical level, she became suspicious. To find out the truth, the school started using 'Turnitin', like platforms. A few years back, this tool only helped in locating copy, paste portions and texts taken from the internet, but now it has the capability to detect AI generated content. This is turning out to be quite helpful for teachers. Nevertheless, the plot is getting thicker. Some of the students have gotten so smart that they simply change the answers that they get from AI a little, change the order of words, or take the help of paraphrasing tools so that they cannot be found. At such times, the detection of cheating by teachers becomes an even more challenging task.

Special training programs launched

Amid such a changing scenario, IIT Madras has taken the initiative to launch special training programs for teachers. These training sessions are acquainting teachers with the use of AI, not as an adversary, but as a co, worker. They are being shown how AI can be used to make learning more effective and also how to identify cheating. A significant number of teachers opine that AI, if properly utilized, can be a great tool in elevating the quality of education.

What do the experts say?

Education experts emphasize that beyond just changing the way papers are graded, it will take much more work to bring about such a change. The nature of assignments also needs to be changed so that students cannot simply copy but have to think creatively. Moreover, questions should be designed in such a way that students are asked to relate the topic to their own experiences, give their opinions and demonstrate their understanding. For instance, instead of giving a mere command like "Write an essay on this topic, " a more effective question would be "Explain this topic using examples from your surroundings." This approach will offer students the chance to develop their own thinking and relying entirely on AI will not be an option for them.