how many of them spend more time revising what AI writes to mask detection than they would've actually writing their papers
I am so frustrated by this. The one assessment I had to mark had a required reading of about 1-2 pages. It would have taken students 10 minutes to read the actual paper. But most if not all of them relied on revising AI generated papers and other students' papers (yes, even when AI is there, students still copy from other students). So, they spend MORE time revising AI slop and really bad answers, rather than just read the actual work. I am not even sure how this logic works.
built into a browser or a plug-in that analyzes everything we read
This will be such a good help. But in terms of Universities, they still need to bite the bullet and just implement this. The institutions I work for all rely on Turnitin, and each and everyone of these institutes tell us "these software are not reliable". So, in my opinion, they just need to bite the bullet and tell us which ones to use, so that we can actually learn students also how to use AI in a productive and responsible manner.
It feels like we markers and lecturers are playing more the role of "police" than actual teaching and assessing.
That's hard to understand! Is it laziness or lack of confidence that they can do better themselves?
If used properly I think LLMs can be very helpful but I don't know that a majority of people will have the discipline not to rely on them too much or in ways they shouldn't.
That's a sad state of affairs in academia. I hope methods and tools evolve to find away around it or else I see a societal separation happening—those who can still think/act on their own and those who must rely on AI to perform daily tasks/responsibilities.
I just keep telling myself we're going through a chaotic, transformational few years and things will settle down soon. I hope that's the case anyway.
A combination, but I think the biggest issue is accountability and that there is no real harsh punishment if you get caught. It is really difficult to accuse students of anything without really solid evidence, and depending on institution you work for, they sometimes give more credit to student voices than stand behind the lecturer. (In South Africa, from my experience, universities are really just money making machines at this stage. But this is obviously a very much oversimplified view of things and it needs much more nuanced discussions.)
Especially in a place like South Africa where the majority of people (including myself) are not first or even second or third language English speakers. I have worked with so many students, and I include myself here as well, who have great ideas, but it is difficult to translate it into English. LLMs or any chatbot (ChatGPT Claude Gemini) can seriously help with structure and logic of thoughts if you already pen it down. So, in a country where few really speak English but where academia is almost 100% English, these LLMs can help in the best way possible: Writing your existing ideas in a scholarly way in a language that is not your own. But students and even lecturers are not even trying to tap this incredible resource, as they either misuse it (students) or they are incredible sceptical about it (lecturers).
Oh for sure. I think this is it. I am sure we will reach an equilibrium somewhere, where these tech will be normalised for the best case scenarios. Or maybe I am just too naive. But I think if people understand how to use it, they will see the potential. Maybe. Let us be hopeful.
P.S. So sorry for the long reply!
No need to apologize! Universities are the same way here in America—money making machines. Reaching an equilibrium is a good way to phrase it. I think this is what needs to happen. Our heads are spinning by the pace of innovation and change and this is only going to speed up in the short term.
For sure. It feels like there are new releases each and every day. Sometimes I really just turn everything off and go for a walk. It can just overwhelm you so quickly. But then you need to re-enter it again (almost like entering a simulation).