SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Remember when spell check came onto the scene? Many were worried students would abuse the software and not know how to spell. The same happened with the calculator and solving math problems by hand. Now, those worries seem to be trivial.
That's how some see the fears of ChatGPT, while others say the impact AI devices will have on the future of integrity in the classroom is unknown.
“I do have friends that use it, but I personally don’t," said UC Davis student Angelique Bell.
ChatGPT, an AI system that can write an entire essay for you if you just give it the needed prompt, is the newest trend exploding on college campuses. Bell says she believes ChatGPT creates a blurry line between creativity and cheating.
“One professor has mentioned it and she says 'she didn’t mind if you use it' as long as the majority of the work is yours. So, if you use it for inspiration that’s fine, but to just turn in an essay that’s ChatGPT then it doesn’t seem right,” said Bell.
How does the professor know the difference? ABC10 took the question and more to Stacy Vander Velde, the Director of the Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs.
“Some of what we look for is reading the actual written work that’s been submitted. 'Does it make sense? Are the citations actually real references that they are citing?'" said Vander Velde.
There's been an uptick in the number of plagiarism complaints linked to ChatGPT at UC Davis since the end of fall 2022, according to Vander Velde.
The consequences of getting caught cheating using ChatGPT can range from a warning to suspension or even dismissal from the institution.
Finding a way to detect if a student is actually using ChatGPT compared to their own work comes with its challenges.
“We recently started using a tool from “Turn It In” to evaluate that. It’s doing pretty good. No tool that we’ve found so far is 100% and probably as soon as one is 100%, there will be something new,” said Vander Velde.
Artificial intelligence is not going anywhere and is only continuing to grow. College of Education Dean Sasha Sidorkin says it's time to incorporate ChatGPT into the lesson plan.
"If you just say 'write me an essay about Plato,' it will give you something generic, but if you say 'write me an essay about Plato and here are my key ideas.' Say 'change the tone, change the style,' then you will eventually get to the piece of writing that was made by both the human and ChatGPT. If you’re a good instructor, you’ll see which one is which,” said Sidorkin.
Watch more on ABC10 | California Drought: Summer outlook, helping the Delta and restoring groundwater
