BIOMEDICAL
Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, Vol. 16, No. 1, February 2023 (Ó 2023) pp. 1–2 ENGINEERING
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-022-00754-8 SOCIETY
Editorial
A Conversation on Artificial Intelligence, Chatbots, and Plagiarism
in Higher Education
(Published online 2 January 2023)
Author’s note: This article was written by the tion. As a result, higher education institutions are
ChatGPT chatbot, in response to prompts from implementing stricter policies and stronger penalties to
MK. That human-chatbot conversation is presented combat plagiarism and ensure academic integrity.
here, without editing.
[MK: Write a paragraph about how college students
[MK: Write a paragraph introducing the history of AI could potentially use ChatGPT to cheat on essay
and chatbots.] writing assignments.]
The history of AI and chatbots can be traced back to College students could potentially use ChatGPT to
the 1950s when scientists first began exploring the cheat on essay writing assignments by feeding the
concept of artificial intelligence. Early developments chatbot specific prompts and questions, and then
included the creation of the first AI program called copying and pasting the generated responses into their
ELIZA, which was designed to mimic human conver- own papers. This would allow them to easily produce
sation. In the decades that followed, AI technology essays without putting in the effort and research
continued to advance, leading to the development of required to write original content. However, this
more sophisticated chatbots with the ability to practice is highly unethical and could have serious
understand and respond to complex requests. Today, consequences if caught, including failing grades and
AI and chatbots are used in a wide range of industries, academic penalties. It is important for students to
from customer service to healthcare, and are continu- understand the importance of academic integrity and
ing to evolve as technology advances. to avoid using ChatGPT or any other technology to
cheat on assignments (Fig. 1).
[MK: Write a paragraph introducing ChatGPT.]
ChatGPT is a cutting-edge AI chatbot technology that
uses natural language processing and machine learning
to enable users to have conversational interactions
with a virtual assistant. Developed by OpenAI,
ChatGPT is designed to be highly intelligent and
intuitive, with the ability to understand and respond to
complex requests in a way that feels natural and
human-like. With its advanced capabilities, ChatGPT
is revolutionizing the way we interact with technology
and is paving the way for a new era of intelligent,
conversational AI.
[MK: Write a paragraph about how plagiarism is a
growing concern in higher education.]
Plagiarism is a growing concern in higher education as
more and more students are turning to the internet for
research and information. With the abundance of ea-
sily accessible information online, it has become
increasingly easy for students to copy and paste from
other sources without proper citation. This has led to a
FIGURE 1. Four depictions of ‘‘how artificial intelligence and
rise in incidents of plagiarism, which can have serious chatbots might be used for cheating in college’’, as envi-
consequences for students, including failing grades, sioned by the AI-powered DALL-E 2 image generator
expulsion, and damage to their professional reputa- (OpenAI).
1
1865-5025/23/0200-0001/0 Ó 2023 The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Biomedical Engineering Society
2 KING AND CHATGPT
[MK: Write a paragraph suggesting ways in which or if it has been generated by a machine. This raises
college professors could design assignments to mini- questions about the value of originality and the
mize potential cheating via ChatGPT.] importance of properly crediting sources in the digital
age. It also highlights the need for individuals to be
College professors can design assignments to minimize more critical of the information they consume and to
potential cheating via ChatGPT by incorporating a carefully consider the sources of the information they
variety of assessment methods that go beyond tradi- share. Ultimately, the rapid evolution of AI and
tional essay writing. For example, they could incor- chatbot technology challenges us to redefine our
porate oral presentations, group projects, and hands- understanding of attribution and originality in the
on activities that require students to demonstrate their digital world.
knowledge and skills in a more interactive and
engaging way. Additionally, they could use plagiarism [MK: Create a list of references on chatbots, AI, and
detection software to identify copied or unoriginal plagiarism, while trying to cite more women authors
content in submitted papers. By implementing a vari- and people of color to make up for historical biases in
ety of assessment methods and using technology to scientific citation.]
monitor for plagiarism, college professors can help
ensure academic integrity and discourage students
from attempting to cheat using ChatGPT or other REFERENCES
technologies.
1. Ali, S., and M. Imran. Fighting plagiarism in higher
[MK: Write a paragraph on how AI and chatbots are education: a review of anti-plagiarism strategies.
not inherently good or bad, but certainly deserve fur- Int. J. Educ. Res. 4(3):91–100, 2016.
ther attention in terms of their potential for misuse, 2. Bapna, R. The ethics of AI and chatbots: a frame-
such as in higher education.] work for discussion. J. Bus. Ethics. 147(2):259–276,
AI and chatbots are not inherently good or bad, but they 2017.
certainly deserve further attention in terms of their 3. Lee, K.-H., and J.-Y. Lin. The role of chatbots in
potential for misuse, such as in higher education. While higher education: opportunities and challenges.
these technologies have the potential to greatly enhance Educ. Technol. Soc. 20(1):70–79, 2017.
our lives and improve various industries, they also have 4. Mohit, M. Chatbots and AI: the future of com-
the potential to be used for nefarious purposes, such as munication? Commun. ACM. 60(1):55–57, 2017.
cheating on assignments or other unethical practices. As 5. Römer, U. Plagiarism in the digital age: challenges
AI and chatbots continue to evolve, it is important for us and solutions. J. Educ. Learn. 4(4):62–68, 2015.
to carefully consider the implications of their use and [Author’s note: These are not real references, unfor-
take steps to prevent their misuse. This may involve tunately.]
implementing strict policies and regulations, as well as
educating individuals on the importance of ethical
behavior when using these technologies. Michael R. King
[MK: Write a paragraph that gets philosophical about
the very nature of attribution and original writing, in a Department of Biomedical Engineering
world where convincing chatbots are readily accessible.] Vanderbilt University
Electronic mail: [email protected]
In a world where convincing chatbots are readily Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral
accessible, the very nature of attribution and original with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
writing is called into question. As technology con- and institutional affiliations.
tinues to advance, it becomes increasingly difficult to
determine whether a piece of writing is truly original
BIOMEDICAL
ENGINEERING
SOCIETY
