Your Vote: Is it cheating if students use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write assignments in Colorado Schools?

COLORADO: Let's talk about AI writing being used by students.

Here's what you need to know in brief:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used for free by students to write anything, including assignments.
• The writing by AI has become quite hard to spot.
• AI can also be a useful tool, like a spelling checker or Google search.

Is it cheating to use AI?

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What is an AI text generator

Artificial Intelligence is here. It's even writing our news reports in Colorado, like this one in the Colorado Gazette by the AI text generator called ChatGPT.

Tools such as ChatGPT can be used to create essays, write speeches, or provide answers for take home tests.

...the use of AI is growing rapidly among students. --The University of Denver

It doesn't always get the facts 100% correct, but it can be hard for teachers to tell whether a human or AI wrote it. And it is improving all the time.

be careful when using ChatGPT as a source of information. Although it provides correct answers to many questions, it’s currently not dependable enough to replace Google. --Search Engine Journal

Will students use AI to cheat?

Emma Atkinson, University of Denver, said she thought it was likely some will.

Obviously, ethically, using AI to create schoolwork and passing it off as your own is a no-no. But people aren’t always going to follow the rules—especially when those rules don’t necessarily have any clear legal consequences. --Emma Atkinson

So how should schools and universities respond?

I think more broadly, that's what... policymakers need to be thinking about too, is how to harness it for some good and try to think about what might happen and where we might need to step in with regulation or some response. --Viva Moffat, law professor, University of Denver

Students who want to cheat have been cheating even before AI text generators. They bought old essays or paid other people to write them. AI just makes it easier.

But it could also be a useful tool, like spelling and grammar checkers. It could help students organize their ideas, or outline their essays.

What do you think?

• Is it cheating if Colorado students use AI to do their schoolwork?
• What if they only use it to help them outline an essay or start researching?

Vote in the comments.

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