Can AI outsmart teachers? Study finds fake papers earn higher grades

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Exam submissions generated by artificial intelligence went almost entirely undetected by markers at a leading university.

And, on average, fake answers generated by AI earned higher grades than those achieved by real students.

Researchers say their worrying findings, published in the journal PLOS One , suggest that experienced exam markers may "struggle" to spot AI-generated answers - and should act as a "wakeup call" to education chiefs.

In recent years, machine learning tools such as ChatGPT have become more advanced and widespread, leading to concerns about students using them to cheat by submitting AI-generated work as their own.

Such concerns are heightened by the fact that many universities and schools switched from supervised in-person exams to unsupervised take-home exams during the Covid pandemic, with many now continuing such models.

Tools for detecting AI-generated written text have so far not proven very successful.

To better understand the issues, a Reading University research team generated answers that were 100% written by the AI chatbot GPT-4 and submitted on behalf of 33 fake students to the examinations system of the University's School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences.

The exam markers were unaware of the study.

The research team found that 94% of their AI submissions went undetected.

On average, the fake answers earned higher grades than real students’ answers.

In 83.4% of cases, the AI submissions received higher grades than a randomly selected group of the same number of submissions from real students.

The results suggest the possibility that students could not only get away with using AI to cheat, but they could also achieve better grades than achieved by their colleagues who do not cheat.

The research team says that a number of real students may have gotten away with AI-generated submissions in the course of the study.

Updated advice has already been issued to university staff and students as a result of the findings of the largest and most robust study of its kind to date.

The research team called for the global education sector to follow the example of Reading, and others who are also forming new policies and guidance and do more to address this emerging issue.

Associate Professor Peter Scarfe and Professor Etienne Roesch, who led the study, said their findings should be a “wakeup call” for educators around the world.

A recent UNESCO survey of 450 schools and universities found that less than 10% had policies or guidance on the use of generative AI.

Dr. Scarfe said: “Many institutions have moved away from traditional exams to make assessment more inclusive.

"Our research shows it is of international importance to understand how AI will affect the integrity of educational assessments.

“We won’t necessarily go back fully to hand-written exams, but global education sector will need to evolve in the face of AI.

“It is testament to the candid academic rigor and commitment to research integrity at Reading that we have turned the microscope on ourselves to lead in this.”

Professor Roesch said: “As a sector, we need to agree how we expect students to use and acknowledge the role of AI in their work.

"The same is true of the wider use of AI in other areas of life to prevent a crisis of trust across society.

“Our study highlights the responsibility we have as producers and consumers of information. We need to double down on our commitment to academic and research integrity.”

Professor Elizabeth McCrum, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience at the University of Reading said: “It is clear that AI will have a transformative effect in many aspects of our lives, including how we teach students and assess their learning.

“At Reading, we have undertaken a huge program of work to consider all aspects of our teaching, including making greater use of technology to enhance student experience and boost graduate employability skills.

“Solutions include moving away from outmoded ideas of assessment and towards those that are more aligned with the skills that students will need in the workplace, including making use of AI.

"Sharing alternative approaches that enable students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills, with colleagues across disciplines, is vitally important.

“I am confident that through Reading’s already established detailed review of all our courses, we are in a strong position to help our current and future students to learn about, and benefit from, the rapid developments in AI.”

The research team say that as AI tools continue to advance and infiltrate professional workplaces, universities might focus on working out how to embrace the “new normal” of AI in order to enhance education.

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