Does Emerson College Have Access to Plagiarism or AI Detection Software?
We get this question a lot, and the answer is no. For AI detection, the depressing thing is that there are lots of people who are eager to make money selling promises of AI detection, but no real evidence that the detectors actually work, and lots of potential for harm. In fact, universities are turning the AI detection part of TurnItIn off.
The best advice I’ve seen is for faculty is to keep rewarding specific, personal, and well-thought-out writing is:
“I am also telling my students something I said last semester. That any “generic looking writing” of the kind AI often produces (and which a B- or C student used to produce in the past) will not be acceptable any more. Any written work needs to be very specific and reflective and connected directly to their lives and to the course. Any writing that involves reflecting on written work won’t be graded on how well it summarizes the reading (it never really was, but I used to give partial credit, and now I’d give none!) but how it makes connections. Someone can still cleverly use AI to do this one, but if they manage, they’ve probably done enough reading/thinking and given it as a prompt to the AI.”
– Bali, Maha. “My Assessments Next Semester – Modified for Avoiding & Embracing AI.” Reflecting Allowed: Maha Bali’s Blog about Education, 12 Aug. 2023, https://blog.mahabali.me/educational-technology-2/my-assessments-next-semester-modified-for-avoiding-embracing-ai/. Accessed 21 Dec. 2023.
Image citation: Niemann, Christoph. “Create Your Own Cover with Till-E.” New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2023-11-20. Accessed 21 Dec. 2023.
