Is it a good idea to rely on detection systems to find artificial intelligence generated student work? These slides, presented at the European Network for Academic Integrity Annual Conference 2023, discuss this challenge. The recommendation is that detection services for generative AI need to be used with caution. They can give wrong and misleading results. Instead, educators should consider how they teach and assess in the future.

1. Can Machine Generated
Text Be Detected?
European Conference on Ethics and
Integrity in Academia 2023
Dr Thomas Lancaster
Imperial College London
@DrLancaster #ECEIA2023

4. Dr Thomas Lancaster
I speak a lot about AI – and I was
doing this before it became trendy!
http://www.thomaslancaster.co.uk

5. The News From December 2022
ChatGPT in its first month of operation

6. The Question In December 2022
“Can the use of ChatGPT be
detected?”

7. Just a few papers – in the preprint world we live in

8. Just a few tools

9. The Talk I May Have Given In December 2022
This was ChatGPT generated – it was harder to make ChatGPT produce slides in December 2022

10. The Talk I Could Give In July 2023
This was generated by
ChatGPT and Microsoft
Office from my
abstract, with a small
amount of added
human intelligence
(but it is still outdated)

11. Can Machine Generated Text Be Detected?

12. Can Machine Generated Text Be Detected?
*Not consistently, accurately and automatically

13. “Write me an essay on…”

14. “Write me an essay on…”
Level 1 Prompting
May Be Detectable

15. Write a 500 word essay on how Derby, England has influenced
the world of academic integrity
Derby, England: A Global Beacon for Academic Integrity
The city of Derby, situated in the heart of England, has undeniably left a distinctive imprint on the global
sphere of academic integrity. This essay explores the impacts of Derby on academic honesty, focusing on its
innovative approaches to education, collaboration, and the cultivation of academic values.
Derby's influence first began to shape academic integrity with the establishment of the University of Derby in
1992. This university quickly gained international renown for its robust, equitable academic policies, promoting
a culture of integrity that prioritized authenticity and ethical practices. Today, it stands as a beacon of honesty
in the academic world, shaping the culture of academic integrity far beyond its city limits.
The University of Derby has developed innovative educational initiatives that have been adopted globally to
enhance academic integrity. A notable example is the university’s comprehensive plagiarism detection system,
implemented in the late 1990s. This groundbreaking technology allowed for a substantial reduction in
academic dishonesty cases, not only within Derby but also worldwide as other institutions adopted similar
systems. It demonstrated the power of technological advancements in preserving academic integrity and set a
precedent for future developments in the field.
Moreover, Derby’s influence on academic integrity is further magnified by its pioneering collaborative efforts.
The city initiated the annual International Conference on Academic Integrity, inviting educators and academics
from around the globe to discuss prevalent issues, share best practices, and collaborate on new strategies to
uphold academic honesty. These conferences have effectively fostered a worldwide dialogue on academic
integrity, reinforcing Derby's status as a global influencer.
(470 words total - 213 words more)
ChatGPT generated

16. Analyse the following text and say if this was likely written by a
human or machine. Give reasons for your answer.
Based on the analysis of the given text, it seems plausible that it was written by a human. Here are a few
reasons to support this:
Use of idiomatic language and cultural understanding: The text employs phrases such as "left a distinctive
imprint", "stands as a beacon", and "ripple effect worldwide", which demonstrate idiomatic language usage
typical of a human writer. Additionally, the text demonstrates a deep cultural understanding of the role and
influence of the city of Derby and its University in the realm of academic integrity, which could suggest human
authorship.
Smooth transitions and cohesive argument: The essay presents a structured and well-organized argument,
with clear transitions between ideas and topics. It gradually builds up its points and maintains a coherent line
of reasoning throughout, a trait often seen in human-written texts.
Depth of content: The text presents detailed and specific information about the University of Derby, its
initiatives, and its global influence. The depth and specificity of these details, including names of programs and
initiatives, dates, and their impacts, suggest a level of research and understanding that is typically associated
with human writers.
Subjective evaluation and interpretation: The text contains subjective evaluations such as "groundbreaking
technology", "pioneering collaborative efforts", and "instrumental in influencing", which often suggest human
input as they involve personal judgement and interpretation.
That said, advanced AI models like GPT-4 can often produce text that is very similar to human writing,
capturing many of the elements described above. However, without definitive proof or additional context, the
balance of probabilities based on this analysis would lean toward human authorship.
ChatGPT generated

17. Not all AI detection works with perplexity and
burstiness measures – but this is exploitable
I won’t say how to exploit this in the slides – maybe ChatGPT knows!

18. Write a 500 word essay on how Derby, England has influenced
the world of academic integrity
Derby, England: A Global Beacon for Academic Integrity
The city of Derby, situated in the heart of England, has undeniably left a distinctive imprint on the global
sphere of academic integrity. This essay explores the impacts of Derby on academic honesty, focusing on its
innovative approaches to education, collaboration, and the cultivation of academic values.
Derby's influence first began to shape academic integrity with the establishment of the University of Derby in
1992. This university quickly gained international renown for its robust, equitable academic policies, promoting
a culture of integrity that prioritized authenticity and ethical practices. Today, it stands as a beacon of honesty
in the academic world, shaping the culture of academic integrity far beyond its city limits.
The University of Derby has developed innovative educational initiatives that have been adopted globally to
enhance academic integrity. A notable example is the university’s comprehensive plagiarism detection system,
implemented in the late 1990s. This groundbreaking technology allowed for a substantial reduction in
academic dishonesty cases, not only within Derby but also worldwide as other institutions adopted similar
systems. It demonstrated the power of technological advancements in preserving academic integrity and set a
precedent for future developments in the field.
Moreover, Derby’s influence on academic integrity is further magnified by its pioneering collaborative efforts.
The city initiated the annual International Conference on Academic Integrity, inviting educators and
academics from around the globe to discuss prevalent issues, share best practices, and collaborate on new
strategies to uphold academic honesty. These conferences have effectively fostered a worldwide dialogue on
academic integrity, reinforcing Derby's status as a global influencer.
(470 words total - 213 words more)
The biggest
giveaway of AI
generation is that
the text is simply
not true (sorry
Derby)!

19. Possible
Detection
Methods
“Black box” AI
Examination on
contents
Watermarking
Forensic analysis
Stylometric analysis
Human indicators
and other methods…

20. Detection may not be the
answer
Progress related to removing
the benefits of contract
cheating is still relevant
There can be nuances regarding
whether a student wrote a
report or not

21. Write a summary of the following paper suitable for a literature review.
Make sure it is cited. The abstract and some important text are included
to help with the summary.
Forgas, R. C., Lancaster, T., Marín, E. C., & Garma, C. T. (2023). Automatic
paraphrasing tools: an unexpected consequence of addressing student
plagiarism and the impact of COVID in distance education settings. Práxis
Educativa, 18, 1-19.
(1221 words copied from the paper followed)

22. Forgas, R. C., Lancaster, T., Marín, E. C., & Garma, C. T. (2023) address the emerging issue of automatic
paraphrasing tools used by students to avoid plagiarism detection in their paper titled "Automatic
paraphrasing tools: an unexpected consequence of addressing student plagiarism and the impact of COVID
in distance education settings." Utilizing the search engine analytics methodology and data from SEMrush
and Google Trends, they scrutinized the rise in online interest for these tools from 2016 to 2020,
concentrating on the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia. The research reveals a substantial increase in search
activity for these tools, particularly during COVID-19 and the typical assessment periods in universities.
The researchers analyzed a set of 236 keywords related to paraphrasing tools and their monthly search
volumes. The data showed that the average monthly search volume for the terms exceeded 442,970,
translating to over 5 million searches annually. The keywords were divided into three categories: automatic
paraphrasing tools, generic paraphrasing, and paraphrasing in academic contexts, with the majority of
searches (over 385,000 monthly) focused on automatic paraphrasing tools.
Notably, the average monthly searches for keywords related to the automatic paraphrasing of academic
papers reached around 10,000, indicating a significant student interest in these tools. The paper also
highlighted a temporal pattern in the search volume, with peaks coinciding with common assessment
periods in universities, reinforcing the idea that students are the primary users of these tools.
The study highlights a worrisome trend and suggests a need for interventions to uphold academic integrity.
The authors also propose that future research should continue to use this novel search analytics approach
to examine the use of automatic paraphrasing tools by students, especially with changes in teaching
methods post-COVID. They caution that the true scale of the problem might be more significant, as repeat
users might not need to search for the tools after their initial discovery.
ChatGPT generated

23. Human or machine?
Based on the provided text, it appears to be written by a human, likely an academic or professional
involved in research, education, or related fields. Here are some reasons for my conclusion:
Citation: The text cites a specific paper by authors (Forgas, R. C., Lancaster, T., Marín, E. C., & Garma, C.
T.), a common practice in academic writing.
Structure and coherence: The text is well-structured, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
The arguments are logically constructed and coherently follow from one point to another.
Subject matter expertise: The author seems to have deep knowledge about the subject matter,
including details such as specific data analysis methods, academic trends, and the intricacies of
plagiarism detection.
Nuanced analysis: The author effectively examines and explains the data in depth, displaying
understanding of the implications, trends, and possible counter-arguments.
Style: The author uses sophisticated vocabulary and academic-style language, suggesting a high level of
proficiency in English and the ability to articulate complex ideas.
Emotive language: The text includes statements that express concern, such as "The study highlights a
worrisome trend," suggesting human sentiment.
While advanced AI like GPT-4 can generate human-like text, it currently lacks the ability to perform
original research or understand the subtleties and implications of research data to the extent
demonstrated in this text. As of my last training cut-off in September 2021, AI lacks a personal sense of
concern or emotion and doesn't independently propose research directions or interventions, further
suggesting that this text is likely human-written.

24. Forgas, R. C., Lancaster, T., Marín, E. C., & Garma, C. T. (2023) address the emerging issue of automatic
paraphrasing tools used by students to avoid plagiarism detection in their paper titled "Automatic
paraphrasing tools: an unexpected consequence of addressing student plagiarism and the impact of COVID
in distance education settings." Utilizing the search engine analytics methodology and data from SEMrush
and Google Trends, they scrutinized the rise in online interest for these tools from 2016 to 2020,
concentrating on the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia. The research reveals a substantial increase in search
activity for these tools, particularly during COVID-19 and the typical assessment periods in universities.
The researchers analyzed a set of 236 keywords related to paraphrasing tools and their monthly search
volumes. The data showed that the average monthly search volume for the terms exceeded 442,970,
translating to over 5 million searches annually. The keywords were divided into three categories: automatic
paraphrasing tools, generic paraphrasing, and paraphrasing in academic contexts, with the majority of
searches (over 385,000 monthly) focused on automatic paraphrasing tools.
Notably, the average monthly searches for keywords related to the automatic paraphrasing of academic
papers reached around 10,000, indicating a significant student interest in these tools. The paper also
highlighted a temporal pattern in the search volume, with peaks coinciding with common assessment
periods in universities, reinforcing the idea that students are the primary users of these tools.
The study highlights a worrisome trend and suggests a need for interventions to uphold academic integrity.
The authors also propose that future research should continue to use this novel search analytics approach
to examine the use of automatic paraphrasing tools by students, especially with changes in teaching
methods post-COVID. They caution that the true scale of the problem might be more significant, as repeat
users might not need to search for the tools after their initial discovery.
I would only be suspicious about
this if a review consisted of a series
of independent summaries

25. Human intelligence Machine support POWER

26. Possible
Detection
Methods
“Black box” AI
Examination on
contents
Watermarking
Forensic analysis
Stylometric analysis
Human indicators
and other methods…

27. Possible
Detection
Methods
“Black box” AI
Examination on
contents
Watermarking
Forensic analysis
Stylometric analysis
Human indicators
and other methods…
Detection is not the
solution!

28. FAIR AI Use in Assessment
Foundational
Can work
without AI and
can demonstrate
core skills
Appreciative
Able to evaluate
the quality of
information
produced
Illuminative
Uses AI to learn,
suggest ideas,
clarify, and
improve
Replaceable
Directs AI to
complete
assessments,
and can evaluate
the output
My proposal

29. Who knows what
we’ll all be able to
do by ECEIA 2024!

30. My Email: thomas@thomaslancaster.co.uk
My Website: http://thomaslancaster.co.uk
My Blog: http://thomaslancaster.co.uk/blog
My LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/thomaslancaster
My Twitter: @DrLancaster
If I Can Assist…