AI tools like ChatGPT are at the heart of the covert transformation of cheating in British colleges. A Guardian investigation in 2023–24 detected nearly 7,000 university students using AI to cheat. This is a significant increase from the year before.

5.1 students per 1,000 is the approximate ratio, and preliminary data for 2024–2025 indicates that the number may increase once again.

A decrease in traditional plagiarism instances coincides with this increase in AI misuse, demonstrating how students are substituting AI-generated work for copy-paste methods.

In 2019–20, plagiarism accounted for over two-thirds of all academic discipline violations. However, those incidences fell to 15.2 per 1,000 by 2023–2024, and preliminary data indicates that they may drop even lower this year to 8.5 per 1,000.

Colleges are still catching up

The Guardian asked 155 UK universities for information on wrongdoing. Despite 131 responses, not all were able to provide comprehensive data, and many still fail to independently register instances of AI misuse, demonstrating the system's lack of readiness.

According to experts, the majority of AI trickery goes unnoticed. AI-generated essays were able to evade detection software 94% of the time, according to a recent experiment from the University of Reading.

Students are also becoming more adept at exploiting AI; tutorials on how to "humanize" AI text to evade university scanners can be found on YouTube and TikTok.

Students See AI as a Tool, Not Just a Cheat

Students aren't simply copying and pasting their answers, the inquiry found. Some people, particularly those who struggle with learning disorders like dyslexia, use AI technologies to organize their readings, rephrase challenging ideas, or summarize them.

As a result, AI is viewed as more than just a shortcut but also as a study tool.

Changing the Method for Evaluating Students

This change is, however, making colleges reconsider their methods of student evaluation. Exams might not be the only solution, and not all beneficial skills can be evaluated face-to-face.

In addition to helping students comprehend the importance of the tasks they are assigned, experts say the emphasis should now be on teaching abilities like critical thinking, communication, and teamwork that AI cannot readily replace.

The UK government, on the other hand, claims to be funding skill-building initiatives and hopes AI will enhance education rather than undermine it. However, for the time being, the industry is still figuring out how to strike a balance between the advantages of AI and the hazards it poses to equitable learning.