TechDigits

Tech news
Thursday, Jun 08, 2023

ChatGPT: Cardiff students admit using AI on essays

ChatGPT: Cardiff students admit using AI on essays

University students have confessed to writing essays with the help of ChatGPT's artificial intelligence program.

Cardiff University students said they had received first class grades for essays written using the AI chatbot.

ChatGPT is an AI program capable of producing human-like responses and academic pieces of work.

Cardiff University said it was reviewing its policies and would issue new university-wide guidance shortly.

Tom, not his real name, is one of the students who conducted his own experiment using ChatGPT.

Tom, who averages a 2.1 grade, submitted two 2,500 essays in January, one with the help of the chatbot and one without.

For the essay he wrote with the help of AI, Tom received a first - the highest mark he has ever had at university.

In comparison, he received a low 2.1 on the essay he wrote without the software.

"I didn't copy everything word for word, but I would prompt it with questions that gave me access to information much quicker than usual," said Tom.

He also admitted that he would most likely continue to use ChatGPT for the planning and framing of his essays.

A recent Freedom of Information request to Cardiff University revealed that during the January 2023 assessment period, there were 14,443 visits to the ChatGPT site on the university's own wi-fi networks.

One month before, there were zero recorded visits.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT last November


Despite the increase in visits during January's assessment period, the university believes there is nothing to suggest that the visits were for illegitimate purposes.

"Most visits have been identified as coming from our research network - our School of Computer Science and Informatics, for example, has an academic interest in the research and teaching of artificial intelligence," said Cardiff University.

John, not his real name, is another student at the university who admitted using the software to help him with assignments.

"I've used it quite a few times since December. I think I've used it at least a little bit for every assessment I've had," he said.

"It's basically just become part of my work process, and will probably continue to be until I can't access it anymore.

"When I first started using it, I asked it to write stuff like 'compare this niche theory with this other niche theory in an academic way' and it just aced it."

Although ChatGPT does not insert references, John said he had no issue filling those in himself.

"I've also used it to summarise concepts from my course that I don't think the lecturers have been great at explaining," he said.

"It's a really good tool for cutting out the waffle that some lecturers go into for theories which you don't actually need to talk about in essays.

"It probably cuts about 20% of the effort I would need to put into an essay."

Both students said they do not use ChatGPT to write their essays, but to generate content they can tweak and adapt themselves.

As for being caught, John is certain that the AI influence in his work is undetectable.

"I see no way that anyone could distinguish between work completely my own and work which was aided by AI," he said.

However, John is concerned about being caught in the future. He said if transcripts of his communication with the AI network were ever found, he fears his degree could be taken away from him.

"I'm glad I used it when I did, in the final year of my degree, because I feel like a big change is coming to universities when it comes to coursework because it's way too easy to cheat with the help of AI," he said.

"I like to think that I've avoided this, whilst reaping the benefits of GPT in my most important year."

Cardiff University said it took allegations of academic misconduct, including plagiarism, "extremely seriously".

"Although not specifically referenced, the improper use of AI would be covered by our existing academic integrity policy," a spokesman said.

"We are aware of the potential impact of AI programmes, like ChatGPT, on our assessments and coursework.

"Maintaining academic integrity is our main priority and we actively discourage any student from academic misconduct in its many forms."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
Close
0:00
0:00
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
The G-7 aims to make global crypto regulations tougher
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
A brief banking situation report
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Charlie Munger, calls for a ban on cryptocurrencies in the US, following China's lead
First generation unopened iPhone set to fetch more than $50,000 at auction.
Almost 30% of professionals say they've tried ChatGPT at work
Interpol seeks woman who ran elaborate exam cheating scam in Singapore
What is ChatGPT?
Tesla reported record profits and record revenues for 2022
Microsoft is finalising plans to become the latest technology giant to reduce its workforce during a global economic slowdown
Tesla slashes prices globally by as much as 20 percent
After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names
FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
U.S. Moves to Seize Robinhood Shares, Silvergate Accounts Tied to FTX
Coinbase to Pay $100 Million in Settlement With New York Regulator
×