AI detection tools cautioned against as sole basis for academic misconduct

Educational experts and regulatory bodies are warning against the exclusive use of artificial intelligence detection tools to identify academic misconduct.

At the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, Dr. Joseph South of ISTE stated that no AI detector has been proven to work consistently. He noted that detection scores should not be used as sole proof of misconduct, citing instances where older, human-written papers received high AI-generated scores from software like Turnitin. South suggested that universities should shift focus from the final product to the learning process, emphasizing how students develop and explain their ideas.

Similarly, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) has issued new guidelines stating that no AI should autonomously determine academic outcomes without human review. Under Memorandum Order No. 21, students are required to disclose their use of AI in academic work and research outputs. The commission encourages institutions to adopt process-based, oral, or performance-based assessments to ensure independent scholarly contribution and protect against the misuse of AI tools.