Guardian investigation finds almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating – and experts says these are tip of the iceberg

Guardian investigation finds almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating – and experts says these are tip of the iceberg

Thousands of university students in the UK have been caught misusing ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools in recent years, while traditional forms of plagiarism show a marked decline, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

A survey of academic integrity violations found almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating using AI tools in 2023-24, equivalent to 5.1 for every 1,000 students. That was up from 1.6 cases per 1,000 in 2022-23.

Figures up to May suggest that number will increase again this year to about 7.5 proven cases per 1,000 students – but recorded cases represent only the tip of the iceberg, according to experts.

The data highlights a rapidly evolving challenge for universities: trying to adapt assessment methods to the advent of technologies such as ChatGPT and other AI-powered writing tools.

  • atomicbocks@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    7 hours ago

    WTF? 300? There were barely 350 people in my graduating class of high school and that isn’t a small class for where I am from. The largest class size at my college was maybe 60. No wonder people use LLMs. Like, that’s just called an auditorium at that point, how could you even ask a question? Self-guided isn’t supposed to mean “solo”.

    • Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      2·
      6 hours ago

      You can ask questions in auditorium classes.

      The 300+ student courses typically were high volume courses like intro or freshman courses.

      Second year cuts down significantly in class size, but also depends on the subject.

      3rd and 4th year courses, in my experience, were 30-50 students

      • atomicbocks@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        11·
        6 hours ago

        You can ask questions in auditorium classes.

        I am going to be honest; I don’t believe you. I genuinely don’t believe that in a class with more people than minutes in the session that a person could legitimately have time to interact with the professor.

        The 60 person class I referred to was a required lecture portion freshman science class with a smaller lab portion. That we could ask questions in the lab was the only reason 60 people was okay in the lecture and even then the professor said he felt it was too many people.

        • Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          2·
          6 hours ago

          That’s fine if you don’t, but you can ask questions.

          They even have these clickers that allow the professor to ask “snap questions” with multiple choice answers so they can check understanding