According to People's Daily Online, the graduation season is coming, and the 2024 college graduates are entering the thesis defense stage one after another. The reporter paid attention to the fact that many colleges and universities issued a special notice this year, making it clear that they will detect the proportion of AI-generated content in the graduation design (thesis), and standardize the proportion of AI ghostwriting in the paper.
In December 2023, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued the Guidelines on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Research (2023), which provides specific guidelines on how to reasonably use generative artificial intelligence (AIGC) in accordance with regulations, and proposes that AIGC shall not be used to directly generate application materials, AIGC shall not be listed as a co-completer of the results, and unverified references generated by AIGC shall not be directly used, etc., clearly delineating specific boundaries.
A number of colleges and universities have issued documents regulating the use of AI in students' graduation theses
This year, the Communication University of China issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Standardized Use of Artificial Intelligence in 2024 Graduation Theses (Design)". Since then, the university's School of Continuing Education has required students to clearly disclose whether they use generative AI. If so, the method and details of use, including the name, version and time of use of the model/software/tool, should be stated. The auxiliary generation content involving the citation of facts and opinions must clearly explain the generation process, and at the same time specifically mark the corresponding position of the graduation thesis (design) to ensure truthfulness and accuracy and respect for the intellectual property rights of others.
Screenshot source: Official website of the School of Continuing Education, Communication University of China
On April 28, the Academic Affairs Office of Fuzhou University issued a notice to decide to conduct AI ghostwriting testing for the graduation design (thesis) of 2024 undergraduates, and the test results will be used as a reference basis for the evaluation of grades and the selection of excellent graduation projects (theses) at the school level. The notice pointed out that the move is to "further strengthen the education of academic ethics and academic integrity, create a good academic ecology, regulate the scientific and rational use of generative AI technology by students, and put an end to academic misconduct such as artificial intelligence ghostwriting, plagiarism, and forgery."
Screenshot source: Official website of the Academic Affairs Office of Fuzhou University
On April 10, the Undergraduate College of Hubei University issued a notice clarifying that this year's undergraduate graduation thesis (design) will be added to AIGC testing on a trial basis. The graduation thesis (design) detection system will identify whether the paper appears "AI ghostwriting" and issue the corresponding test report as a reference. If the test result of the paper (design) is "AI ghostwriting high risk", the teacher should guide the students to revise it.
Screenshot source: The official website of the Undergraduate College of Hubei University
On April 9, the Academic Affairs Office of Tianjin University of Science and Technology issued a document stipulating that if the results of generative AI detection in undergraduate students' graduation theses exceed 40%, the college will issue a warning to students and require them to self-examine and self-correct; After receiving the warning, the student needs to revise it carefully, and the college will conduct a re-inspection in the detection channel of the relevant platform.
Screenshot source: Official website of the Academic Affairs Office of Tianjin University of Science and Technology
Experts: Encourage innovation and experimentation, but students should not be opportunistic and lazy
At present, the rapid development of emerging technologies represented by information technology and artificial intelligence has brought new opportunities for scientific research, promoted profound changes in the paradigm of scientific research, and may also cause new problems in research data processing, research results formation, authorship and intellectual property ownership.
According to Liang Zheng, deputy dean of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and International Governance at Tsinghua University, the core evaluation criteria of the paper include the author's creativity and contribution to the paper. An article that is mostly generated by AI and conceals its use is neither intellectual nor meets the requirements of scientific integrity, and is academic fraud.
Zhang Hongsheng, executive dean of the School of Cultural Industry Management at Communication University of China, said in a previous interview with the media that since last year, many college students have begun to use artificial intelligence-assisted courses for learning. "I encourage students to make this kind of innovation and experimentation, but they must have their own originality, and they can't directly copy and 'copy and paste' generative AI."
Zhang Hongsheng believes that in the face of the impact of new technologies, the technical supervision of dissertations and graduation projects should be strengthened. It is necessary to understand the laws and ethics of artificial intelligence technology, and not to be opportunistic, lazy, and not to commit academic fraud or deception. (People's Daily Online-Education Channel Reporter: Li Yihuan)