Australian universities are returning to pen and paper tests due to artificial intelligence

Australian universities have been forced to change the way they conduct tests and assessments amid concerns that students are using artificial intelligence software to write and submit papers and essays as the product of their efforts.
 

Use of artificial intelligence

According to the British newspaper “The Guardian”, major institutions in Australia have added new rules stating that the use of artificial intelligence is tantamount to cheating, with some students caught already using the program, but one AI expert says that universities are in an arms race “that they can never win.” », and banning any unrealistic program with the arrival of more sophisticated programs.

OpenAI's Chat GPT, which generates text on any topic being queried, was banned across all New York public schools due to its "negative impact on student learning" and potential for cheating.

Back to paper and pen tests in Australian universities

And now in Australia, eight of the country's leading research universities are reporting that they are reviewing the way they will conduct assessments in 2023, including "moderated testing, increased use of paper-and-pencil tests, and tests for units with low integrity risks," adding, "Re Assessment design is critical and a work in progress at our universities, as we seek to stay ahead of developments in artificial intelligence.”

The University of Sydney's latest Academic Integrity Policy notes that "creating content with AI is a form of cheating", adding: "But we also know that AI can help students learn, and it's a tool we use in future work, so we need to teach Our students how to use it legally».

The Australian National University, for its part, has changed its assessment designs by relying on laboratory activities and fieldwork and refining its examinations with more oral presentations.

At the University of New South Wales in Sydney, a professor of artificial intelligence reported that teachers were in “crisis meetings,” while a university spokesperson confirmed that they were aware of students using artificial intelligence programs to write papers that they submitted as their own, saying: “The use of intelligence Artificial intelligence in this way undermines academic integrity and is an important issue for all education and training institutions, both nationally and internationally.