How A.I. is Affecting Louisiana’s Educational System [OPINION]

(LAFAYETTE, La) - Only in science fiction could we have dreamed up the technology available today. From wristwatch communication devices to video conferencing, GPS location services, as well as the vast amount of information available at your fingertips, the development rate has been staggering. Last millennium, students had to resort to going to the library and finding actual books for research papers and more school projects. Then it was on to hand-written papers or the even more fun option of typing out the information, using liquid paper to correct errors, dealing with margins and footnotes, the struggle was real.

A.I. and the Rise of Plagiarism

Today, students can get any information they need on their phones and laptops. But then, the deployment of A.I. tools. Now, the search for information is easier than ever, with results as quick as you can type the request. But there's a problem. The same tool that can help with research is now a tool that can be used to complete assignments with little to no work required from the student. Gone are the days of buying term papers from smart students who wanted some extra cash. The problem is real, but the solution isn't much better.

How A.I. is Affecting Students Today

Now, students are being asked to use AI detection tools and submit analysis of their work along with the assignments. Using AI to detect AI sounds sensible, right? Tools like ZeroGPT and others can analyze submitted text, and using a series of algorithms to look for patterns of text commonly identified in AI-generated content. But, there have been reported issues with the detection tools.

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When AI Detectors Get It Wrong

Users have reported inconsistencies between AI detection tools, showing a wide range of results using the same text in different tools. Other issues reported include utilizing the detection tool, making a change to a single word, then rerun to find that paragraphs that were not associated with the change were 'no longer identified as AI written'. There have even been tests using text from the Bible, lyrics to Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Harry Potter' text that, for obvious reasons, were not created using AI which were being misidentified as being AI-generated.

Teachers on the Front Lines

Once again, the struggle is real. Teachers are now having to try and figure out which papers were AI generated amongst all the work they have to do every day. Some teachers have the experience to be able to identify suspect content without the need for AI tools, but it's very difficult to definitively say whether or not AI was used.

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One side effect of the AI issue is that students are having to change what they write in order to get a lower AI score. Even when the entirety of their paper is original in nature, AI detection tools can and do identify that content as AI generated. So, students have to reframe their content to avoid being targeted for plagiarism.

AI-generated content is improving and matching human-style writing more and more as the technology improves. At some point, AI may be indistinguishable from human-generated content (we already see how easily society is fooled on social media by AI content). How long before the AI detection tools see all content as AI-generated?

What Can Be Done Regarding AI and Plagiarism?

Aside from a technological apocalypse which leaves students with nothing but tangible books and pencil and paper, there are no easy solutions to prevent plagiarism, and inaccurately identifying content as AI-generated. I remember someone once saying "When you cheat, you're only cheating yourself". A student that cheats their way using AI will eventually pay the price, especially if they use AI to complete assignments instead of learning the information themselves. It may come in the form of losing your job because you couldn't perform the job you were supposedly trained to do. It may result in struggles down the road because you just didn't put in the effort to learn something new.

Schools need to protect their academic integrity by doing their best to prevent plagiarism, cheating, and all the other short-cuts to academic success. Good grades mean scholarships and grants, and in this economy, students need as much help as they can get as tuition costs continue to rise. But, the use of AI has caused students who follow the rules to be evaluated with extra scrutiny, using a sometimes-flawed detection system as part of their education. All I can say is that as much as technology has improved certain aspects of daily life today, I'm glad I was a product of the old-school educational system.