The advent of artificial intelligence has brought many conveniences to people, no matter what industry they are in. In academia, the benefits of AI are faster data processing and analysis, better positioning of required academic articles, etc. At the same time, AI brings a series of disadvantages, such as long-term use leading to a decline in students’ independent thinking ability and plagiarism and patent problems.
In academia, the word originality is very important. The invention of AI such as Chatgpt and Deepseek has brought unprecedented impact on originality. The definition of plagiarism proposed by Tang et al (2023) is not only direct word-for-word copying, but also includes indirect plagiarism such as plagiarizing ideas. Most of the texts generated by AI do not have “human” ideas, but are captured and generated through their own big data LLM model. Of course, there are countermeasures for policies. Turnitin is a widely used plagiarism and AI usage detection software in academia. Professors can place students’ papers in this software to detect potential plagiarism. With the widespread use of AI, many universities have also issued guidelines to teach students how to write with AI correctly, such as declaring the use of AI and ethically using AI for writing assistance (University of Kansas).
Sources:
Tang, A., Li, K-K., Kwok, K. O., Cao, L., Luong, S. & Tam, W. (2024). The importance of transparency: Declaring the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in academic writing. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 56, 314–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12938 15475069, 2024, 2, Downloaded from https://sigmapub
https://www.forwardpathway.com/135174 (Xuhang Education: The rise and challenges of artificial intelligence in academia. Webpage content in Chinese)
https://cte.ku.edu/ethical-use-ai-writing-assignments (University of Kansas: Using AI ethically in writing assignments)
There are pros and cons to AI. However, it depends on how we use AI. Using AI as a tool for brainstorming or generating critical thinking in a good way is one of those positive uses. It can help spark new ideas, organize thoughts, or explore different perspectives that might not come to mind right away. When used responsibly, AI can support learning and creativity rather than replace them. But it’s important to remember that relying too much on AI, especially without thinking critically about its suggestions, can limit originality and personal growth.