Are college students using AI to write papers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish my HS student would use AI for writing. She is 100% against it. I try to encourage her to only use it as a brainstorming tool and to find sources, but she won't have it.

Turns out one of her classmates at her private HS lost her valedictorian status when it was discovered she used AI to write some papers. That's quite the scare tactic.

It’s a good thing she won’t use it. It’s in its early years and not regulated. Why would she need AI to find resources? She should have that skill already and keep using it to improve. Kids who depend on it will quickly lose their skills in writing and research. They’ll get sloppier, start to use more and more until they get caught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been out of college for a long time, but I saw something on the news about this.

Is it true that college students are using AI to write their papers for their classes? Even at elite colleges! What can we do to stop this?

I asked my nephew, and he said he doesn’t use it, but he could be an outlier.

My opinion is that kids are going to use it. The best way to address it is to help them understand the most efficient ways to use it, what its limitations are, and that you always need to cross-reference what AI gives you. They still need to do the work, understand the concepts, etc., because AI could produce an answer or essay that is totally off base. It's a good tool for generating outlines, for giving you an idea on how to sharpen a paragraph you've written, and, if you feed it text that you are having trouble understanding, it can break it down and make things easier to understand.

My college-aged daughter has used it, and we have had these discussions. She understands the limitations; she has caught AI giving inaccurate answers, but does feel it is a useful tool for helping her get started on essays by generating a sample draft.

I use AI for parts of my work, but I wouldn't advise anyone new in my position to use it until they have a good grasp on what their work product should include and strong knowledge of the required content. It is going to be available to this generation as they move into the work field, so perhaps college is the time for them to learn how to use it responsibly and apply analytical skills to ensure AI produces accurate work products.

She will get used to having a sample draft to follow but she needs to know how to quickly put together a draft herself. You said she caught some AI with inaccurate information so you have to worry about misinformation you’ve missed.

I just don’t think it’s a good idea to depend on it. And it won’t be long before teachers can automatically detect its overuse on a paper.