Project Description
How does the phenomenon of AI-generated text affect higher education institutions (HEIs)? That’s the subject of this study, which arose from the many discussions, articles and debates revolving around the use of AI in higher education and questions over the consistency and quality of AI-generated content and assessment. While some countries have tried to ban AI from the workplace and HEIs, advocates tout its advantages, often stating that it’s a ‘good’ tool. However, is ‘good’ sufficient for the workplace? For students and faculty? Worse still, is it only ‘good enough’?
Over a period of six months, the same prompt was used repeatedly and the output analyzed to gauge if the quality was the same each time. AI was then asked to grade the outputs generated from these prompts (using a common rubric) to see if the grades were also consistent. A guide was subsequently created to help HEI stakeholders, particularly faculty and students, judge the benefits and dangers of using AI in their work.
This unprecedented study aimed to:
- Help faculty better understand how AI can help them in their daily tasks
- Highlight the challenges of marking text or analyzing AI detector feedback, with specific examples given in the guide
- Pinpoint the phrases or patterns faculty should be looking for when they seek to detect AI-generated text
- Help students navigate the world of AI tools and understand where to draw the line
- Provide guidelines as to what constitutes acceptable use of AI inside and outside the classroom
- Make broad suggestions as to how other HEI stakeholders may use AI-generated content
