So, AI Ruined Your Term Paper Assignment?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made headlines since the release of ChatGPT at the end of 2022.  This technology has definitely changed the game for the future of writing. To this end, higher education and K-12 school faculty throughout the land cried foul because it ruined their course term papers, automatic answering of multiple-choice tests, or writing of any basic writing prompt. The resolution to this problem varies with most electing to ban the technology however, this is not a viable solution. 

Banning AI is similar to banning the use of word-processing software in the early 1990s. That is, it may work for a bit of time but is impossible to continue over time. Additionally, banning a technology that can enhance human performance has longer-term implications for learners, especially those with disabilities. Think about how an instructor might truly ban AI writing support. If the student has access to the internet, ChatGPT or OpenAI is available for use. Given that someone can use AI to partially write a paper, or develop an initial draft and then edit it, the only way to ban the use of AI is the ban the use of the internet, digital writing technology, and computers. Basically, pushing the students back to pen and paper. Thus, accessible text, spellcheck, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and so on would be lost. More generally, pushing students back to pen and paper is an inauthentic real-world application.  

Fortunately, AI technology is not perfect yet. The use of AI has already demonstrated inconsistency in producing quality papers. The current AI has noted issues with writing including making up information to complete the prompts. Remember AI is a computer-generated output based on human inputs. For example, AI will falsify APA citations, with made-up DOI, for supporting the AI’s academic argumentation if it’s asked to support it with citations. Understanding the larger implications of an AI falsifying information is terrifying. But the AI’s flaw is a win for knowledgeable humans. Specifically, you can grade your term papers looking to identify the misinformation. This said, grading papers to the level wherein you are checking APA citations may change the way people grade. Currently, there are some quickly developed software solutions (see future posts) for testing whether a paper was written by AI. However, the accuracy of these AI testing systems is unknown at this time. Nonetheless, changing your grading process and using systems to check human authenticity might serve as an immediate solution.  

Similar to humans, AI will also improve its performance. Hopefully, new rules will be put into place to overcome the issue of AI spreading misinformation. So, if it has not done it already, AI may still ruin your term paper. Obvious big questions exist, such as what kinds of policies should universities and K-12 schools put in place? How do educators change the way in which writing is taught? How will AI impact research dissemination? These are things CIDDL would like to discuss further but for now, here are suggestions for help with your term paper assignment.