Using academic words, proper sentence structure, and advanced punctuation in assignments might now be approached with caution. 

With the rise of AI usage in essays, a lot of teachers in EGR are using AI detectors to make sure students’ work is authentic. 

“[To detect AI], I know that we use ChatGPT… the other one is Turnitin, we use that to alleviate some of the [issues with authenticity]  to make sure work is not plagiarized or from complete AI,” Mike Teitz, Manager of End-User Devices and Technology Clubs said. 

 With teachers relying more on these software more however, comes with some concerns from students. While there are valid concerns about students using AI inappropriately, kids have noticed that the detection sophwares tend to flag big words and more advanced punctuation like M-dashes, even if the text is fully written by a student. 

“The AI detectors sometimes flag words I have been taught in class in my papers, just because they are more advanced,” Willa Norden ‘28 said. “This really scares me because I don’t want to get in trouble for something that I didn’t do,” Norden continued.

So what is the solution? How can students be held accountable for using AI without getting falsely accused?  

“Since there isn’t really a solution right now, I think it’s up to the integrity of the students but also the trust of the teachers to figure out,” Joe Hunter ‘26 proposed.

If teachers use AI detectors but don’t solely rely on and automatically believe the results of these machines, this could help reduce some students’ anxiety. 

“The biggest thing is if a student can prove… where they got the information. [If they can prove] how they wrote something instead of saying they copy and pasted it from somewhere, it is really helpful with false flags. They really have to have good sources so they can keep track of their information,” Teitz added.
With technology constantly evolving day by day, it is impossible for teachers to exactly determine whether a student is using AI. If people use AI to work in the place of actually learning, this is never acceptable.

Teachers recognize that AI detectors have flaws but that doesn’t take away from the fact that students are required to be honest and authentic.