Revealed: Thousands of UK university students caught cheating using AI
-Guardian investigation finds almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating – and experts says these are tip of the iceberg

爆料:數(shù)千名英國大學(xué)生被發(fā)現(xiàn)使用人工智能作弊
——《衛(wèi)報》的一項調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)近7000起被證實的作弊案例——專家稱這些只是冰山一角


(More than a quarter of responding universities did not yet record AI misuse as a separate category of misconduct in 2023-24.)

(在2023-2024年,超過四分之一的受訪大學(xué)尚未將人工智能濫用列為單獨的不當(dāng)行為類別。)

新聞:
Thousands of university students in the UK have been caught misusing ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools in recent years, while traditional forms of plagiarism show a marked decline, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

《衛(wèi)報》的一項調(diào)查顯示,近年來,英國有數(shù)千名大學(xué)生被發(fā)現(xiàn)濫用ChatGPT和其他人工智能工具,而傳統(tǒng)形式的剽竊行為明顯減少。

A survey of academic integrity violations found almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating using AI tools in 2023-24, equivalent to 5.1 for every 1,000 students. That was up from 1.6 cases per 1,000 in 2022-23.

一項針對學(xué)術(shù)誠信違規(guī)行為的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),在2023年至2024年期間,有近7000起已證實的使用人工智能工具作弊案件,相當(dāng)于每1000名學(xué)生中有5.1起。這比2022-23年的每1000例1.6起有所上升。

Figures up to May suggest that number will increase again this year to about 7.5 proven cases per 1,000 students – but recorded cases represent only the tip of the iceberg, according to experts.

專家表示,截至5月份的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,今年這一數(shù)字將再次上升,達(dá)到每1000名學(xué)生中有7.5起,但記錄在案的案例僅是冰山一角。

The data highlights a rapidly evolving challenge for universities: trying to adapt assessment methods to the advent of technologies such as ChatGPT and other AI-powered writing tools.

這些數(shù)據(jù)凸顯了大學(xué)面臨的一個快速演變的挑戰(zhàn):試圖調(diào)整評估方法,以適應(yīng)ChatGPT和其他人工智能寫作工具等技術(shù)的出現(xiàn)。

In 2019-20, before the widespread availability of generative AI, plagiarism accounted for nearly two-thirds of all academic misconduct. During the pandemic, plagiarism intensified as many assessments moved online. But as AI tools have become more sophisticated and accessible, the nature of cheating has changed.

在生成式人工智能廣泛普及之前的2019- 2020年,剽竊占所有學(xué)術(shù)不端行為的近三分之二。疫情期間,隨著許多評估轉(zhuǎn)移到網(wǎng)上,剽竊現(xiàn)象加劇。但隨著人工智能工具變得越來越復(fù)雜和易用,作弊的本質(zhì)也發(fā)生了變化。

The survey found that confirmed cases of traditional plagiarism fell from 19 per 1,000 students to 15.2 in 2023-24 and are expected to fall again to about 8.5 per 1,000, according to early figures from this academic year.

調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),根據(jù)本學(xué)年的早期數(shù)據(jù),已確認(rèn)的傳統(tǒng)剽竊案例從每1000名學(xué)生19起下降到2023-24學(xué)年的15.2起,預(yù)計將再次下降到每1000名學(xué)生8.5起左右。

The Guardian contacted 155 universities under the Freedom of Information Act requesting figures for proven cases of academic misconduct, plagiarism and AI misconduct in the last five years. Of these, 131 provided some data – though not every university had records for each year or category of misconduct.

英國《衛(wèi)報》根據(jù)《信息自由法》聯(lián)系了155所大學(xué),要求提供近5年來學(xué)術(shù)不端行為、剽竊和人工智能不端行為的具體數(shù)據(jù)。其中,131所大學(xué)提供了一些數(shù)據(jù)——盡管并非每所大學(xué)都有每年或每類不當(dāng)行為的記錄。

More than 27% of responding universities did not yet record AI misuse as a separate category of misconduct in 2023-24, suggesting the sector is still getting to grips with the issue.

在2023- 2024年,超過27%的受訪大學(xué)尚未將人工智能濫用列為單獨的不當(dāng)行為類別,這表明該行業(yè)仍在努力解決這一問題。

Many more cases of AI cheating may be going undetected. A survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute in February found 88% of students used AI for assessments. Last year, researchers at the University of Reading tested their own assessment systems and were able to submit AI-generated work without being detected 94% of the time.

更多的人工智能作弊案例可能未被發(fā)現(xiàn)。高等教育政策研究所今年2月的一項調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),88%的學(xué)生為自己的評估使用人工智能。去年,雷丁大學(xué)的研究人員測試了他們自己的評估系統(tǒng),發(fā)現(xiàn)測試期內(nèi)提交的人工智能生成的成果有94%不被檢測出來。

Dr Peter Scarfe, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Reading and co-author of that study, said there had always been ways to cheat but that the education sector would have to adapt to AI, which posed a fundamentally different problem.

雷丁大學(xué)心理學(xué)副教授、該研究的合著者彼得·斯卡夫博士表示,作弊的方法一直存在,但教育部門必須適應(yīng)人工智能,這帶來了一個根本不同的問題。

He said: “I would imagine those caught represent the tip of the iceberg. AI detection is very unlike plagiarism, where you can confirm the copied text. As a result, in a situation where you suspect the use of AI, it is near impossible to prove, regardless of the percentage AI that your AI detector says (if you use one). This is coupled with not wanting to falsely accuse students.

他說:“我認(rèn)為那些被抓住的案例只是冰山一角。人工智能檢測與抄襲非常不同,后者你可以確認(rèn)抄襲的文本。因此,在你懷疑使用人工智能的情況下,無論你的人工智能檢測器顯示AI生成的百分比(如果你使用了AI)是多少,都幾乎不可能證明。這一點又與不想錯誤地指責(zé)學(xué)生相結(jié)合。

“It is unfeasible to simply move every single assessment a student takes to in-person. Yet at the same time the sector has to acknowledge that students will be using AI even if asked not to and go undetected.”

“簡單地將學(xué)生的每一項評估都轉(zhuǎn)移到面對面進(jìn)行是不可行的。但與此同時,該行業(yè)必須承認(rèn),即使學(xué)生被要求不使用人工智能,他們也會使用人工智能,而且不會被發(fā)現(xiàn)。”

Students who wish to cheat undetected using generative AI have plenty of online material to draw from: the Guardian found dozens of videos on TikTok advertising AI paraphrasing and essay writing tools to students. These tools help students bypass common university AI detectors by “humanising” text generated by ChatGPT.

那些希望使用生成式人工智能在不被發(fā)現(xiàn)的情況下作弊的學(xué)生有大量的在線材料可以借鑒:《衛(wèi)報》在抖音上發(fā)現(xiàn)了數(shù)十個視頻,向?qū)W生宣傳人工智能的釋義和論文寫作工具。這些工具通過將ChatGPT生成的文本“人性化”,幫助學(xué)生繞過常見的大學(xué)人工智能檢測器。

Dr Thomas Lancaster, an academic integrity researcher at Imperial College London, said: “When used well and by a student who knows how to edit the output, AI misuse is very hard to prove. My hope is that students are still learning through this process.”

倫敦帝國理工學(xué)院的學(xué)術(shù)誠信研究員托馬斯·蘭開斯特博士說:“如果一個學(xué)生知道如何編輯輸出,并且使用得當(dāng),人工智能的濫用是很難證明的。我希望學(xué)生們?nèi)阅芡ㄟ^這個過程學(xué)習(xí)。”

Harvey* has just finished his final year of a business management degree at a northern English university. He told the Guardian he had used AI to generate ideas and structure for assignments and to suggest references, and that most people he knows used the tool to some extent.

哈維*剛剛在英國北部的一所大學(xué)修完最后一年的商業(yè)管理學(xué)位。他告訴《衛(wèi)報》,他已經(jīng)使用人工智能來為作業(yè)產(chǎn)生想法和結(jié)構(gòu),并提出參考意見,他認(rèn)識的大多數(shù)人都在某種程度上使用該工具。

“ChatGPT kind of came along when I first joined uni, and so it’s always been present for me,” he said. “I don’t think many people use AI and then would then copy it word for word, I think it’s more just generally to help brainstorm and create ideas. Anything that I would take from it, I would then rework completely in my own ways.

他說:“ChatGPT在我剛加入大學(xué)的時候就出現(xiàn)了,所以它一直陪伴著我。我不認(rèn)為很多人使用人工智能,然后逐字逐句地復(fù)制它,我認(rèn)為它更多的是幫助頭腦風(fēng)暴和創(chuàng)造想法。我從中吸取的任何東西,我都會以自己的方式完全重新制作。

“I do know one person that has used it and then used other methods of AI where you can change it and humanise it so that it writes AI content in a way that sounds like it’s come from a human.”

“我確實知道有一個人使用過它,然后使用了其他人工智能方法,你可以改變它,使它人性化,這樣它就能以一種聽起來像是來自人類的方式編寫人工智能內(nèi)容?!?br />
Amelia* has just finished her first year of a music business degree at a university in the south-west. She said she had also used AI for summarising and brainstorming, but that the tools had been most useful for people with learning difficulties. “One of my friends uses it, not to write any of her essays for her or research anything, but to put in her own points and structure them. She has dyslexia – she said she really benefits from it.”

阿米莉亞*剛剛在西南部的一所大學(xué)完成了音樂商業(yè)學(xué)位的第一年學(xué)習(xí)。她說,她也用人工智能進(jìn)行總結(jié)和頭腦風(fēng)暴,但這些工具對有學(xué)習(xí)困難的人最有用?!拔业囊粋€朋友用它,不是為她寫任何文章或研究任何東西,而是把她自己的觀點和組織起來。她有閱讀障礙,她說她真的從中受益。”

The science and technology secretary, Peter Kyle, told the Guardian recently that AI should be deployed to “l(fā)evel up” opportunities for dyslexic children.

科技大臣彼得·凱爾最近告訴《衛(wèi)報》,應(yīng)該利用人工智能來“提升”閱讀困難兒童的機(jī)會。

Technology companies appear to be targeting students as a key demographic for AI tools. Google offers university students a free upgrade of its Gemini tool for 15 months, and OpenAI offers discounts to college students in the US and Canada.

科技公司似乎把學(xué)生作為使用人工智能工具的關(guān)鍵人群。谷歌為大學(xué)生提供為期15個月的Gemini工具免費升級,OpenAI為美國和加拿大的大學(xué)生提供折扣。

Lancaster said: “University-level assessment can sometimes seem pointless to students, even if we as educators have good reason for setting this. This all comes down to helping students to understand why they are required to complete certain tasks and engaging them more actively in the assessment design process.

蘭開斯特說:“大學(xué)水平的評估有時對學(xué)生來說似乎毫無意義,即使我們作為教育工作者有充分的理由這樣做。這一切都是為了幫助學(xué)生理解為什么他們需要完成某些任務(wù),并讓他們更積極地參與評估設(shè)計過程。

“There’s often a suggestion that we should use more exams in place of written assessments, but the value of rote learning and retained knowledge continues to decrease every year. I think it’s important that we focus on skills that can’t easily be replaced by AI, such as communication skills, people skills, and giving students the confidence to engage with emerging technology and to succeed in the workplace.”

“經(jīng)常有人建議我們應(yīng)該用更多的考試來代替書面評估,但是死記硬背和保留知識的價值每年都在下降。我認(rèn)為重要的是,我們要關(guān)注那些不容易被人工智能取代的技能,比如溝通技巧、人際交往技巧,讓學(xué)生有信心接觸新興技術(shù),并在工作場所取得成功?!?br />
A government spokesperson said it was investing more than £187m in national skills programmes and had published guidance on the use of AI in schools.

一位政府發(fā)言人表示,政府將在國家技能項目上投資逾1.87億英鎊,并發(fā)布了在學(xué)校使用人工智能的指導(dǎo)意見。

They said: “Generative AI has great potential to transform education and provides exciting opportunities for growth through our plan for change. However, integrating AI into teaching, learning and assessment will require careful consideration and universities must determine how to harness the benefits and mitigate the risks to prepare students for the jobs of the future.”

他們表示:“生成式人工智能具有改變教育的巨大潛力,并通過我們的變革計劃提供令人興奮的增長機(jī)會。然而,將人工智能整合到教學(xué)、學(xué)習(xí)和評估中需要仔細(xì)考慮,大學(xué)必須確定如何利用人工智能的好處并降低風(fēng)險,讓學(xué)生為未來的工作做好準(zhǔn)備?!?