Since ChatGPT’s inception, edtech companies have banded together to guide educators in their journeys to embrace the technology in their classrooms. One of the most important aspects of this guidance pertains to teachers’ primary concern surrounding generative AI: cheating. However, tactics like plagiarism may not be so easy anymore.
This month, plagiarism detector Turnitin announced its new AI paraphrasing detection feature more than one year after it released its “state-of-the-art” AI writing detector. This new addition helps educators identify when a student may have used AI paraphrasing tools to modify AI-generated text with the hopes of avoiding detection.
“With the proliferation of generative AI tools, ensuring original critical thinking in education and research writing has become increasingly challenging,” the company wrote in an announcement.
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A recent study from Tyton Partners revealed that students are at the forefront of AI experimentation. Fifty-nine percent of college students report using AI tools for school at least once a month, compared to 36% of instructors.
Data collected by Turnitin also suggests that its AI writing detector has flagged student papers in both K12 and higher ed over the past year. Around 11% of over 200 million papers reviewed contained at least 20% of AI-generated writing. Another 3% contained at least 80% of AI-generated text.
“AI has incredible potential to benefit education but writers need to be transparent in how they use generative AI,” Turnitin’s Chief Product Officer Annie Chechitelli said in a statement. “Applying AI paraphrasing to AI-generated content is likely a sign that the writer is trying to hide their use of AI, which is the opposite of transparency.”
