The Rise of ChatGPT and Its Impact on Education

ChatGPT is trending more than cats on YouTube as the new generative AI phenomenon begins to spread like wildfire. It seems that every other conversation revolves around ChatGPT. So, what exactly is ChatGPT, and what does it mean for the future of education?

ChatGPT is a generative AI program that functions similarly to a search engine, but with a more personalized touch. Just like you would pose a query to Google, you can ask ChatGPT questions and receive unique, tailored responses. The range of questions you can ask is virtually limitless – ChatGPT is designed to provide answers to nearly anything. Now, will that response always be accurate, true, and ethical? No. But, the AI model will respond to the best of its ability.

What sets ChatGPT apart from search engines is its ability to undertake creative tasks, such as writing an essay, thinking of content ideas, or asking for lyrical poetry. This aspect of ChatGPT is why it has become a sensitive topic in the education space. Will students become reliant on the technology for written submissions, thesis ideas, and research papers? It’s hard to know for certain as the technology continues to grow and develop. Nevertheless, we can deter students from becoming dependent on ChatGPT by employing tools like AI detectors.

Proctorio’s new AI Detection technology is an opt-in feature that identifies submissions written by generative AI. It can tell how much of the submission was written by AI and highlight specific sections or even phrases that were composed by AI.

This advanced technology not only identifies instances of plagiarism with high accuracy and low false positive rates but also detects AI-generated content when it’s been run through paraphrasing services, which are typically used to avoid detection.

Generative AI can serve as a valuable tool to inspire creativity, but it shouldn’t be a crutch that hinders the imagination. Proctorio’s plagiarism detection feature, including the new AI detector, encourages students to have confidence in their own abilities and take pride in their original work. We hope this tool will empower learners and educators to strive for originality, and create an academic space where authenticity is valued.



Written for OEB Global 2023 by the team at Proctorio.