ChatGPT: Cardiff students admit using AI on essays

University students have confessed to writing essays using ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence program.

Cardiff University students reported receiving top grades for essays written using the AI ​​chatbot.

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

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

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

Tom, who has an average grade of 2.1, 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 1st grade – the highest grade he ever received at university.

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

“I didn’t copy everything word for word, but I did ask questions that gave me access to information much faster than usual,” Tom said.

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

A recent Freedom of Information request to Cardiff University found that there were 14,443 visits to the ChatGPT site on the university’s own Wi-Fi networks during the January 2023 assessment period.

A month earlier there were zero registered visits.

Despite the increase in visits during the January assessment period, the University believes there is no evidence that the visits were for illegitimate purposes.

“Most visits are from our research network – our School of Computer Science and Informatics, for example, has an academic interest in artificial intelligence research and teaching,” Cardiff University said.

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

“I’ve used it a few times since December. I think I’ve used it at least a little bit in every review I’ve had,” he said.

“It’s basically just become part of my work process and will probably remain so until I can’t access it anymore.

“When I started using it, I asked it to write things like ‘compare this niche theory to this other niche theory in an academic way,’ and it just outperformed it.”

Although ChatGPT doesn’t include references, John said he has no problem adding them himself.

“I also used it to summarize concepts from my class that I didn’t think the instructors explained well,” he said.

“It’s a really good tool for cutting out the gibberish some professors throw themselves into about theories that don’t really need to be covered in essays.

“It probably saves about 20% of the effort I would have to put into an essay.”

Both students said they don’t use ChatGPT to write their essays, but to generate content that they can tweak and customize themselves.

John is certain that the AI ​​influence in his work is undetectable.

“I don’t see any way that anyone could differentiate between my own work and the work that was powered by AI,” he said.

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

“I’m glad I used it back in my final year of college because I feel like there’s a big shift coming for universities when it comes to academic achievement because it’s way too easy to do with the help of AI.” cheating.” he said.

“I like to think I avoided that while reaping the benefits of GPT in my most important year.”

Cardiff University said it takes allegations of academic misconduct, including plagiarism, “extremely seriously”.

“Although not specifically noted, 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 programs like ChatGPT on our exams and coursework.

“Maintaining academic integrity is our top priority and we actively discourage any student from academic misconduct in its many forms.”