how to detect essay written by chatgpt

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Our advanced AI checker tool can detect GPT2, GPT3, and GPT3.5 with high accuracy, while the detection of GPT4 is supported on an experimental basis.

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AI Detectors vs. Plagiarism Checkers

AI detectors and plagiarism checkers are both used to verify the originality and authenticity of a text, but they differ in terms of how they work and what they’re looking for.

AI Detector or ChatGPT Detector

AI detectors try to find text that looks like it was generated by an AI writing tool, like ChatGPT. They do this by measuring specific characteristics of the text like sentence structure and length, word choice, and predictability — not by comparing it to a database of content.

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Your questions, answered

Scribbr’s AI Detectors can confidently detect most English texts generated by popular tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Our free AI detector can detect GPT2, GPT3, and GPT3.5 with average accuracy, while the Premium AI Detector has high accuracy and the ability to detect GPT4.

Our AI Detector can detect most texts generated by popular tools like ChatGPT and Bard. Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee 100% accuracy. The software works especially well with longer texts but can make mistakes if the AI output was prompted to be less predictable or was edited or paraphrased after being generated.

Our research into the best AI detectors indicates that no tool can provide complete accuracy; the highest accuracy we found was 84% in a premium tool or 68% in the best free tool.

The AI score is a percentage between 0% and 100%, indicating the likelihood that a text has been generated by AI.

No, Scribbr’s AI Detector will only give you a percentage between 0% and 100% that shows how much AI-generated content is in your text.

No. Our AI content checker can only inform you of AI-generated content. Our Plagiarism Checker can help prevent unintentional plagiarism in your writing.

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How to Tell if Something Was Written by ChatGPT

ChatGPT, version 4o or else, can write very elegantly under most criteria. It produces immaculate, grammatically correct writings… which could be gibberish. Since it produces paragraphs (and bullet points) that look so correct, many people are tempted to consider its write-ups useful. They’re usually far from that.

That poses an additional problem for programmers. Developers who ask ChatGPT for help will never get an “I’m sorry—I’d ask a colleague of yours about this.” Rather than that, any chatbot—not just ChatGPT—will go off in a writing frenzy and turn out code. That doesn’t mean that the code, that looks pristine, will work. Studies are showing that most of the ChatGPT answers for developers are wrong , and almost 8 out of 10 are verbose. They look grandiose. But they’re fools’ gold .

Still, that’s something to worry about once you get the job. If you’re a developer seeking employment, you can always rely on LLMs for your cover letter. But you don’t want your job application to give away an effortless, buzzword-laden, even incorrect statement. We advise that you seek out the signs to detect if something was written by ChatGPT and do something about it.

Is ChatGPT Getting Worse Over Time? -->

How to detect ChatGPT writing    

Most writers can easily tell when something is written by AI, especially when the user is lazy enough to simply input, “Write me an article about XYZ” or “I need an Instagram caption about XYZ”. However, if you’re someone who doesn’t have a background in writing or editing, you probably ask yourself fairly regularly, did ChatGPT write this? Or, is there a way to detect ChatGPT written content? And the answer is yes, yes, there is.

For the sake of this article, I’ve asked ChatGPT-4o to write some text. We then break down the text to provide examples of what to look for.

First, we’ll go through the typical signs of most Large Language Models . This is how you detect ChatGPT write-ups:

• Bullet points all around, even when they don’t serve the purpose : LLMs seem to prefer bullets to standard paragraphs. This got out of hand when Google’s Gemini dropped. ChatGPT 3.5, for example, wasn’t that prone to writing bullet points for everything. This whole section is written in bullets, so that’s for you to consider: Was it actually written by a machine? You can easily tell. ‍
• Hallucinations and factual inaccuracies: It’s a challenging time to surf the web, because it’s hard to spot a factual inaccuracy when you don’t know about the topic in the first place. But LLMs are now telling you to eat pizza with non-toxic glue . When you come across such a statement, you can tell it’s an AI because it goes against common sense. Large Language Models don’t have a symbolic understanding of how the world works (i.e. their images don’t usually agree with physics ), and so they can’t reason that their advice can hurt someone. They’re just very expensive and energy-consuming parrots. ‍
• A knack for complicated words : Delve, cutting-edge, rich tapestry, “ever-evolving landscape” and explore will show up plenty of times, even if it doesn’t fit the situation. You don’t go around calling C++ “cutting-edge software.” Large Language Models will prefer to elaborate on something “tailored for” or “catering to” even if that verbosity was uncalled-for. To be fair, plenty of English speakers in Nigeria use “delve” daily. But if you’re not from Nigeria or are not interacting with a Nigerian programmer, look out for it. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, but it has become an indicative sign of a low-effort, automatic write-up. ‍
• American spelling: Many Europeans write their correspondence in British English, but ChatGPT might make cover letters in American English with a lot of ‘z’ characters and very few ‘u’ characters. This is probably because OpenAI “fed” their engine with easy-to-access content in US English, like most of Reddit or The New York Times is written in. ‍
• Disclaimers that show up frequently : People have said that they’ve been reading academic papers that start with the phrase: “As a large-language model trained by OpenAI, I can’t…” or even the phrase: “Regenerate Response.” That’s how pervasive this clue is. It’s the disclaimer OpenAI gives you when you ask for something that the solution can’t do. ‍
• Surplus brackets : Chatbots and Pete Doherty have something in common: They both brought brackets back from oblivion. If you ask it to write a template, it will have brackets all around. If someone forgets to remove or fill in these brackets, they’ll be giving away a no-effort ChatGPT write-up. ‍
• Wordiness, because time is not of the essence : Chatbots aren’t held accountable if they go over word-count limits or if they’re verbose because they don’t invest time as we do. They’re usually long-winded. Text can be incredibly long and vague, and against the notion of being specific. ‍
• A remarkable absence of meaning : Large Language Models struggle to say something helpful. They cannon-fodder words and fight long and hard to say less than the Lorem Ipsum boilerplate text. Usually, they’ll give advice such as “highlight your skills.” That’s not real-world actionable guidance.

My point here is not that I dislike "delve," though I do, but that it's a sign that text was written by ChatGPT. pic.twitter.com/2i3GUgynuL — Paul Graham (@paulg) April 7, 2024

Example 1 — How to get a job as a programmer

We asked a very expensive chatbot (we won’t tell you which one—but let us clarify they all suffer from the same problems) to tell us how to get a job as a programmer. Check the machine’s answer:

Networking and Job Search:

• Build your online presence: Connect with developers on LinkedIn and participate in online coding communities.
• Craft a strong resume and cover letter: Highlight your skills and projects, tailoring them to specific job descriptions.
• Prepare for interviews: Practice coding challenges and common developer interview questions.

As expected, it abuses from bullet points, it says vapid words, and gives directions to “tailor.” To be fair, these bullet points are not that particularly bad. They are good pointers as to where to start. But they’re superficially unhelpful. If you were to ask the machine to expand on each, you’d get tonnes of gibberish that looks very neat. Building an online presence takes heaps of time, but since the LLMs can’t be held accountable, they’ll hurl the advice away as if it were a walk in the park.

When you’re using ChatGPT to your greatest advantage, use it up to this point, and then just leave it behind. You now have an idea of how to proceed. Now keep the decision-making human. They’re better writers, but their understanding of how you interact with the world is terrible.

Find JavaScript Developer Jobs →   

Example 2 — Introduction paragraph 

We asked ChatGPT to “write me an introduction paragraph for an article called ‘How to tell if something was written by ChatGPT’.”

As we said earlier, ChatGPT writes elegantly. However, the above text features overly complex sentence structures such as, “Understanding the telltale signs that reveal its hand in crafting a composition becomes both an art and a science.” 

And an unusually formal tone, “We delve deep into the intricacies of language and the subtle nuances that might betray the digital origins of a piece of text”. Also, “Join us on this exploration”, you’d think we were taking a trip to Antarctica, not reading about how to detect ChatGPT writing. “Fascinating challenge”, we wouldn’t say this topic is fascinating, would you? If what you’re reading features unusual or incorrect wording, that’s also usually a red flag. 🚩

Example 3 — Health article

We asked ChatGPT to “write me an article about Intermittent Fasting”. Firstly, the article it produced was nearly 3,000 words long, which is another telltale sign. AI-generated articles are usually unnecessarily long and wordy. They also don’t always make sense. For example, this is a section from the article:

Moreover, research has demonstrated that implementing an intermittent fasting lifestyle can potentially reverse the trend of obesity and prevent or even reverse some forms of disease. This eating plan works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat.

Here are some benefits and mechanisms behind this approach….

In summary, intermittent fasting has numerous potential health benefits including longevity promotion, cognitive enhancement, weight management assistance, and disease prevention/reversal. However, like any dietary change or regimen alteration, it's important to consult with a healthcare professional before starting an intermittent fasting lifestyle.

Benefits and Mechanism? Really, ChatGPT? Unless you’re writing a Thesis, no one talks like this. And to add, if you’re wondering how to detect ChatGPT writing in a Thesis, the lack of credible sources should be a big hint. 

“This eating plan works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat.” Again, this sentence is quite complex and won’t make sense to a general audience. Rule of thumb: if it’s complicated to read and seems to ramble with intricate sentences that don’t really make sense, it’s probably been written by ChatGPT. 

“In summary, intermittent fasting has numerous potential health benefits including longevity promotion, cognitive enhancement, weight management assistance, and disease prevention/reversal.” ChatGPT's summary simply repeated the “benefits and mechanisms” listed above without actually summarising the section. So watch out for repetitive words or phrases, as these will likely suggest AI-written content.

Find English-Speaking Jobs in Europe →

Example 4 — Promotional email 

We asked ChatGPT to “Write a paragraph for an email promoting a 50% off storewide sale on gluten-free products.” Here it goes:

Dear Health Enthusiast,

Exciting news! Our gluten-free health products, carefully curated for your wellness journey, are now available at an irresistible 50% discount storewide! 🌱 From wholesome gluten-free snacks to nourishing supplements, we've got everything you need to support your healthy lifestyle.

Whether you're looking for delicious alternatives to traditional snacks or seeking premium supplements tailored to your dietary needs, our store is your ultimate destination for quality gluten-free products. Indulge in guilt-free treats, discover new flavors, and explore a wide array of natural, gluten-free options without breaking the bank. It's our way of making your health journey more affordable and enjoyable.

Hurry, stock up on your favorites, and embrace a healthier you with a shopping experience that's light on your wallet but rich in benefits. Happy and healthy shopping!

We think this one’s quite obvious. The text is consistent and fluent but lacks the personal touch of naturally written text. For example, “Dear Health Enthusiast”, we don’t know any company that would address their customers like this. 

“Our gluten-free health products” and “From wholesome gluten-free snacks to nourishing supplements, we've got everything you need to support your healthy lifestyle” are vague statements that don’t provide much information. The text reads like a cheesy TV infomercial that’s impersonal and downright cringe-worthy.

“Indulge in guilt-free treats, discover new flavours, and explore a wide array of natural, gluten-free options without breaking the bank. It's our way of making your health journey more affordable and enjoyable. Hurry, stock up on your favourites, and embrace a healthier you with a shopping experience that's light on your wallet, but rich in benefits.”  These three sentences are redundant (repeat the same information). This usually happens when ChatGPT isn’t given specific instructions, so it’s using “fillers” to bulk out the text.  

Comment by u/Mikawasann from discussion in ChatGPT

Example 5 — A more specific input 

For the first few examples, we kept the brief simple and vague. Even so, as you may know, ChatGPT’s output is only as good as the input. In other words, give the chatbot more in-depth details, and it should produce better quality content. Let’s give it a go. 

WeAreDevelopers is Europe’s number 1 developer community, where you can browse developer jobs from companies across Europe. They currently have 2,400+ job opportunities. With a free profile, you can:  

- Access career opportunities, tech talks, and events - Get matched with job opportunities on your terms - Gain instant, on-demand access to thousands of hours of tech content - Get exclusive event invites and much more

I need you to write the text for their home page. Approx 500 words. When presenting the information,  use headlines and break text into sections, rather than using a big block of text.

Use a conversational but professional tone. Avoid complexity without talking down to the reader.

This is what it wrote:

Your WeAreDevelopers Journey Begins Here

Ready to embark on a transformative career journey? Experience the world of limitless possibilities by joining WeAreDevelopers today. Whether you are seeking your first opportunity or striving for a career advancement, we offer a wealth of resources, prospects, and community support to cater to your needs. Our platform is designed to provide you with the tools and guidance you need to excel in your chosen field. With WeAreDevelopers, you can unlock your full potential and achieve your goals.

Are you ready to redefine your future? Dive in now and let your developer dreams take flight.

Explore 2,400+ Exciting Developer Jobs Across Europe

Unlock your complete potential with WeAreDevelopers, the foremost developer community in Europe. Immerse yourself in a realm of boundless career prospects, with over 2,400 job openings awaiting your perusal. Whether you are a seasoned developer or at the outset of your journey, your ideal job is within easy reach with just a click.

There are a lot of redundant and complex sentences in the output. Also, “Dive in now and let your developer dreams take flight.” Perhaps this sentence would make sense if WeAreDevelopers were an aviation school.

For some reason, nouns like journey, embark, and realm are favoured by AI chatbots. So unless you’re reading about a group of diverse beings uniting to destroy a powerful ring, you should assume the content is AI-written if you see these words.

Is there a ChatGPT detector?

If you’re still unsure how to detect ChatGPT writing, there are AI detectors on the market which claim to discern whether your text is human or AI-generated - AI detecting AI, oh, the irony. 

However, these AI detectors have been known to provide false positives. For example, one software claimed that The Constitution of the United States was written by AI .  

Most AI-detecting software also only claims to be 98% accurate. If that’s true, that still means one in 50 inputs may still be flagged as being AI-written, even if it’s not. 

So, to further prove the inaccuracy of AI detectors, we tested one by copying the first sentence of this article. The results: (*facepalm)

Quick way to detect ChatGPT

To detect ChatGPT writing, look for the telltale signs, such as:

• Hallucinations and made-up facts
• Unusually formal tone in text that’s meant to be conversational or casual
• Overly complex sentence structures
• Unusual or incorrect wording
• Text that’s unnecessarily long and wordy 
• Lack of credible sources
• Repetitive words or phrases
• Redundant sentences
• Lack of personal touch 
• Vague statements that don’t provide much information
• Nouns like journey, embark, and realm

And remember, relying solely on AI detectors could lead to wrongly accusing people, so be cautious and use more than one way to verify before taking any action. Also, you should really think if you need to call out the use of chatbots. Because it’s not necessarily a problem to use them.

Get a job as a developer with European companies

One last try. We asked ChatGPT to give us an outro for this article. This is what it cranked out:

In conclusion, WeAreDevelopers stands as a vibrant hub for developers worldwide, fostering a dynamic community that thrives on innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. By providing access to cutting-edge resources, insightful events, and a network of like-minded professionals, WeAreDevelopers empowers developers to push the boundaries of technology. As we look to the future, we remain committed to nurturing this ecosystem, ensuring that every developer has the opportunity to grow, connect, and excel in their craft. Join us on this exciting journey and be a part of the next wave of technological advancement.

Can you see it? “Committed to nurturing, exciting journey, and insightful events” are all empty phrasings that could’ve looked impressive in December 2022, but chatbots have made sure we all roll our eyes upon seeing them. It does have incredible capabilities to write it quickly, and it wrote WeAreDevelopers ’ brand name with correct capitalisation without our assistance. As a piece of tech, LLMs are impressive, but they won’t get you too far if you want to stand out.

The best way to stand out is to be able to show off your skills in places that will know how to appreciate them. If you’re looking for a job as a developer, you can always rely on our platform. We connect the best developer talent in Europe with the best European companies. Our community continuously grows and we’re offering jobs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, and elsewhere. Head to our job board and try your luck—maybe you won’t need to even use an LLM. Good luck!

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

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Our AI detection model contains 7 components that process text to determine if it was written by AI. We utilize a multi-step approach that aims to produce predictions that reach maximum accuracy, with the least false positives. Our model specializes in detecting content from Chat GPT, GPT 4, Gemini, Claude and LLaMa models.

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Gptzero reviews.

GPTZero was the only consistent performer, classifying AI-generated text correctly. As for the rest … not so much.

GPTZero has been incomparably more accurate than any of the other AI checkers. For me, it’s the best solution to build trust with my clients.

This tool is a magnifying glass to help teachers get a closer look behind the scenes of a document, ultimately creating a better exchange of ideas that can help kids learn.

The granular detail provided by GPTZero allows administrators to observe AI usage across the institution. This data is helping guide us on what type of education, parameters, and policies need to be in place to promote an innovative and healthy use of AI.

After talking to the class, each student we compiled with GPTZero as possibly using AI ended up telling us they did, which made us extremely confident in GPTZero’s capabilities.

Sign up for GPTZero. Its feedback aligns well with my sense of what is going on in the writing - almost line-for-line.

I'm a huge fan of the writing reports that let me verify my documents are human-written. The writing video, in particular, is a great way to visualize the writing process!

Excellent chrome extension. I ran numerous tests on human written content and the results were 100% accurate.

Outstanding! This is an extraordinary tool to not only assess the end result but to view the real-time process it took to write the document.

GPTZero is the best AI detection tool for teachers and educators.

General FAQs about our AI Detector

Everything you need to know about GPTZero and our chat gpt detector. Can’t find an answer? You can talk to our customer service team .

What is GPTZero?

GPTZero is the leading AI detector for checking whether a document was written by a large language model such as ChatGPT. GPTZero detects AI on sentence, paragraph, and document level. Our model was trained on a large, diverse corpus of human-written and AI-generated text, with a focus on English prose. To date, GPTZero has served over 2.5 million users around the world, and works with over 100 organizations in education, hiring, publishing, legal, and more.

How do I use GPTZero?

Simply paste in the text you want to check, or upload your file, and we'll return an overall detection for your document, as well as sentence-by-sentence highlighting of sentences where we've detected AI. Unlike other detectors, we help you interpret the results with a description of the result, instead of just returning a number.

To get the power of our AI detector for larger texts, or a batch of files, sign up for a free account on our  Dashboard .

If you want to run the AI detector as your browse, you can download our  Chrome Extension, Origin , which allows you to scan the entire page in one click.

When should I use GPTZero?

Our users have seen the use of AI-generated text proliferate into education, certification, hiring and recruitment, social writing platforms, disinformation, and beyond. We've created GPTZero as a tool to highlight the possible use of AI in writing text. In particular, we focus on classifying AI use in prose.

Overall, our classifier is intended to be used to flag situations in which a conversation can be started (for example, between educators and students) to drive further inquiry and spread awareness of the risks of using AI in written work.

Does GPTZero only detect ChatGPT outputs?

No, GPTZero works robustly across a range of AI language models, including but not limited to ChatGPT, GPT-4, GPT-3, GPT-2, LLaMA, and AI services based on those models.

Why GPTZero over other detection models?

• GPTZero is the most accurate AI detector across use-cases, verified by multiple independent sources, including TechCrunch, which called us the best and most reliable AI detector after testing seven others.
• GPTZero builds and constantly improves our own technology. In our competitor analysis, we found that not only does GPTZero perform better, some competitor services are actually just forwarding the outputs of free, open-source models without additional training.
• In contrast to many other models, GPTZero is finetuned for student writing and academic prose. By doing so, we've seen large improvements in accuracies for this use-case.

What are the limitations of the classifier?

The nature of AI-generated content is changing constantly. As such, these results should not be used to punish students. We recommend educators to use our behind-the-scene Writing Reports as part of a holistic assessment of student work. There always exist edge cases with both instances where AI is classified as human, and human is classified as AI. Instead, we recommend educators take approaches that give students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding in a controlled environment and craft assignments that cannot be solved with AI .

The accuracy of our model increases as more text is submitted to the model. As such, the accuracy of the model on the document-level classification will be greater than the accuracy on the paragraph-level, which is greater than the accuracy on the sentence level.

The accuracy of our model also increases for text similar in nature to our dataset. While we train on a highly diverse set of human and AI-generated text, the majority of our dataset is in English prose, written by adults.

Our classifier is not trained to identify AI-generated text after it has been heavily modified after generation (although we estimate this is a minority of the uses for AI-generation at the moment).

Currently, our classifier can sometimes flag other machine-generated or highly procedural text as AI-generated, and as such, should be used on more descriptive portions of text.

What can I do as an educator to reduce the risk of AI misuse?

• Help students understand the risks of using AI in their work (to learn more, see this article ), and value of learning to express themselves. For example, in real-life, real-time collaboration, pitching, and debate, how does your class improve their ability to communicate when AI is not available?
• Ask students to write about personal experiences and how they relate to the text, or reflect on their learning experience in your class.
• Ask students to critique the default answer given by Chat GPT to your question.
• Require that students cite real, primary sources of information to back up their specific claims, or ask them to write about recent events.
• Assess students based on a live discussion with their peers, and use peer assessment tools (such as the one provided by our partner, Peerceptiv ).
• Ask students to complete their assignments in class or in an interactive way, and shift lectures to be take-home.
• Ask students to produce multiple drafts of their work that they can revise as peers or through the educator, to help students understand that assignments are meant to teach a learning process.
• Ask students to produce work in a medium that is difficult to generate, such as powerpoint presentations, visual displays, videos, or audio recordings.
• Set expectations for your students that you will be checking the work through an AI detector like GPTZero, to deter misuse of AI.

I'm an educator who has found AI-generated text by my students. What do I do?

Firstly, at GPTZero, we don't believe that any AI detector is perfect. There always exist edge cases with both instances where AI is classified as human, and human is classified as AI. Nonetheless, we recommend that educators can do the following when they get a positive detection:

• Ask students to demonstrate their understanding in a controlled environment, whether that is through an in-person assessment, or through an editor that can track their edit history (for instance, using our Writing Reports through Google Docs). Check out our list of several recommendations on types of assignments that are difficult to solve with AI.
• Ask the student if they can produce artifacts of their writing process, whether it is drafts, revision histories, or brainstorming notes. For example, if the editor they used to write the text has an edit history (such as Google Docs), and it was typed out with several edits over a reasonable period of time, it is likely the student work is authentic. You can use GPTZero's Writing Reports to replay the student's writing process, and view signals that indicate the authenticity of the work.
• See if there is a history of AI-generated text in the student's work. We recommend looking for a long-term pattern of AI use, as opposed to a single instance, in order to determine whether the student is using AI.

What data did you train your model on?

Our model is trained on millions of documents spanning various domains of writing including creating writing, scientific writing, blogs, news articles, and more. We test our models on a never-before-seen set of human and AI articles from a section of our large-scale dataset, in addition to a smaller set of challenging articles that are outside its training distribution.

How do I use and interpret the results from your API?

To see the full schema and try examples yourself, check out our  API documentation.

Our API returns a document_classification field which indicates the most likely classification of the document. The possible values are HUMAN_ONLY , MIXED , and AI_ONLY . We also provide a probability for each classification, which is returned in the class_probabilities field. The keys for this field are human , ai or mixed . To get the probability for the most likely classification, the predicted_class field can be used. The class probability corresponding to the predicted class can be interpreted as the chance that the detector is correct in its classification. I.e. 90% means that 90% of the time on similar documents our detector is correct in the prediction it makes. Lastly, each prediction comes with a confidence_category field, which can be high , medium , or low . Confidence categories are tuned such that when the confidence_category field is high 99.1% of human articles are classified as human, and 98.4% of AI articles are classified as AI.

Additionally, we highlight sentences that been detected to be written by AI. API users can access this highlighting through the highlight_sentence_for_ai field. The sentence-level classification should not be solely used to indicate that an essay contains AI (such as ChatGPT plagiarism). Rather, when a document gets a MIXED or AI_ONLY classification, the highlighted sentence will indicate where in the document we believe this occurred.

Are you storing data from API calls?

No. We do not store or collect the documents passed into any calls to our API. We wanted to be overly cautious on the side of storing data from any organizations using our API. However, we do store inputs from calls made from our dashboard. This data is only used in aggregate by GPTZero to further improve the service for our users. You can refer to our privacy policy for more details.

How do I cite GPTZero for an academic paper?

You can use the following bibtex citation:

ChatGPT Detector

How does the chatgpt detector work.

Our free AI detection tool is designed to identify whether a piece of text is written by a human or generated by an AI language model. This advanced tool functions effectively on various levels - analyzing sentences, paragraphs, and entire documents to make its determination as whether writing should be flagged as AI content.

The core of its detection functionality lies in its specialized model, which has been meticulously trained on a vast and varied collection of texts, both human-written and AI-generated, focusing predominantly on English prose.

One of the key strengths of our AI checker is its versatility and robustness across a range of language models - it's not just for ChatGPT! It also detects writing from well-known models like Claude, Bard, Grok, GPT-4, GPT-3, GPT-2, LLaMA, and other services. Our detection tool technology is consistently updated and improved to stay ahead in detection accuracy.

The testing process of our detection algorithm is rigorous and thorough. We assess our models using a vast, never-before-seen set of human and AI-generated articles from our extensive dataset. This is supplemented by a smaller set of challenging articles that fall outside its training distribution.

In summary, our ChatGPT Detector tool is an advanced and constantly evolving AI content detector solution for distinguishing between human and AI-generated text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I unlock more uses of this tool? A: If you're not logged in, you'll be able to use our AI detector once per day. Create a free account to unlock an additional run each day. For unlimited use, sign up for PromptFolder Pro.

Q: Is this tool 100% accurate? A: AI writing is a constantly evolving field, and no tool can be considered 100% accurate when it comes to determining if text was human written or AI written. You should use this tool as a starting point, not an absolute determination if content was created by ChatGPT or another AI model. Remember, no AI detector is perfect. This is a quickly moving field and AI content detection is always evolving.

Q: Does this tool work for other AI text generators like Claude, GPT-4, GPT-3, GPT-2, LLaMA, Bard, Gemini, or Grok? A: Yes, our ChatGPT detector is more of a general "AI detector." All of these AI generation tools use a similar basic premise - think autocomplete on steroids. Our free AI detector tool analyzes the text you provide to see how likely it is to be generated from any of these AI tools.

Q: Will this tool help detect plagiarism? A: Our algorithm is focused on detecting AI-generated content, not plagiarism. That said, AI's themselves are trained on human written content and have a tendency to plagiarize. So text generated by artificial intelligence frequently can also contain plagiarism.

How-To Geek

How to tell if an article was written by chatgpt.

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Vr isn't just a novelty, i use it every day to manage my diabetes, forget chatgpt: 4 reasons to run a chatbot on your own pc, quick links, how to tell if chatgpt wrote that article, can you use ai to detect ai-generated text, tools to check if an article was written by chatgpt, train your brain to catch ai, key takeaways.

You can tell a ChatGPT-written article by its simple, repetitive structure and its tendency to make logical and factual errors. Some tools are available for automatically detecting AI-generated text, but they are prone to false positives.

AI technology is changing what we see online and how we interact with the world. From a Midjourney photo of the Pope in a puffer coat to language learning models like ChatGPT, artificial intelligence is working its way into our lives.

The more sinister uses of AI tech, like a political disinformation campaign blasting out fake articles, mean we need to educate ourselves enough to spot the fakes. So how can you tell if an article is actually AI generated text?

Multiple methods and tools currently exist to help determine whether the article you're reading was written by a robot. Not all of them are 100% reliable, and they can deliver false positives, but they do offer a starting point.

One big marker of human-written text, at least for now, is randomness. While people will write using different styles and slang and often make typos, AI language models very rarely make those kinds of mistakes. According to MIT Technology Review , "human-written text is riddled with typos and is incredibly variable," while AI generated text models like ChatGPT are much better at creating typo-less text. Of course, a good copy editor will have the same effect, so you have to watch for more than just correct spelling.

Another indicator is punctuation patterns. Humans will use punctuation more randomly than an AI model might. AI generated text also usually contains more connector words like "the," "it," or "is" instead of larger more rarely used words because large language models operate by predicting what word will is most likely to come next, not coming up with something that would sound good the way a human might.

This is visible in ChatGPT's response to one of the stock questions on OpenAI's website. When asked, "Can you explain quantum computing in simple terms," you get sentences like: "What makes qubits special is that they can exist in multiple states at the same time, thanks to a property called superposition. It's like a qubit can be both a 0 and a 1 simultaneously. "

Short, simple connecting words are regularly used, the sentences are all a similar length, and paragraphs all follow a similar structure. The end result is writing that sounds and feels a bit robotic.

Large language models themselves can be trained to spot AI generated writing. Training the system on two sets of text --- one written by AI and the other written by people --- can theoretically teach the model to recognize and detect AI writing like ChatGPT.

Researchers are also working on watermarking methods to detect AI articles and text. Tom Goldstein, who teaches computer science at the University of Maryland, is working on a way to build watermarks into AI language models in the hope that it can help detect machine-generated writing even if it's good enough to mimic human randomness.

Invisible to the naked eye, the watermark would be detectable by an algorithm, which would indicate it as either human or AI generated depending on how often it adhered to or broke the watermarking rules. Unfortunately, this method hasn't tested so well on later models of ChatGPT.

You can find multiple copy-and-paste tools online to help you check whether an article is AI generated. Many of them use language models to scan the text, including ChatGPT-4 itself.

Undetectable AI , for example, markets itself as a tool to make your AI writing indistinguishable from a human's. Copy and paste the text into its window and the program checks it against results from other AI detection tools like GPTZero to assign it a likelihood score --- it basically checks whether eight other AI detectors would think your text was written by a robot.

Originality is another tool, geared toward large publishers and content producers. It claims to be more accurate than others on the market and uses ChatGPT-4 to help detect text written by AI. Other popular checking tools include:

Most of these tools give you a percentage value, like 96% human and 4% AI, to determine how likely it is that the text was written by a human. If the score is 40-50% AI or higher, it's likely the piece was AI-generated.

While developers are working to make these tools better at detecting AI generated text, none of them are totally accurate and can falsely flag human content as AI generated. There's also concern that since large language models like GPT-4 are improving so quickly, detection models are constantly playing catchup.

Related: Can ChatGPT Write Essays: Is Using AI to Write Essays a Good Idea?

In addition to using tools, you can train yourself to catch AI generated content. It takes practice, but over time you can get better at it.

Daphne Ippolito, a senior research scientist at Google's AI division Google Brain, made a game called Real Or Fake Text  (ROFT) that can help you separate human sentences from robotic ones by gradually training you to notice when a sentence doesn't quite look right.

One common marker of AI text, according to Ippolito, is nonsensical statements like "it takes two hours to make a cup of coffee." Ippolito's game is largely focused on helping people detect those kinds of errors. In fact, there have been multiple instances of an AI writing program stating inaccurate facts with total confidence --- you probably shouldn't ask it to do your math assignment , either, as it doesn't seem to handle numerical calculations very well.

Right now, these are the best detection methods we have to catch text written by an AI program. Language models are getting better at a speed that renders current detection methods outdated pretty quickly, however, leaving us in, as Melissa Heikkilä writes for MIT Technology Review, an arms race.

Related: How to Fact-Check ChatGPT With Bing AI Chat

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Did ChatGPT Write This? Here’s How To Tell.

By Xavier Harding | April 14, 2023

The AI wars are heating up. In late 2022, Open AI’s Chat GPT made headlines for showing us what a new search engine could look like. ChatGPT (which stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer”) is a chatbot — one that can process queries and spit out relevant information to answer questions about historical facts, recipes, car dimensions and lots more. As a bonus, ChatGPT lets you word questions in plain English, so you’re not forced to write queries like “how to stop dog pooping everywhere reddit.” The result is, essentially, a search box that you can message back and forth with. It almost makes Google search look a little primitive. Microsoft, the maker of Bing and biggest investor in Open AI, is okay with this .

ChatGPT, and the latest release GPT-4, provides thorough answers — it can even write your code , write your cover letter and pass your law exam . It also provides thoroughly wrong answers sometimes. It’s worrying how confidently ChatGPT presents inaccurate information . That hasn’t stopped newsrooms from rethinking how many writers they hire nor professors from coming out against the chatbot. (Though not all professors. Some embrace the change .)

The excitement around artificial intelligence is anything but artificial. At least for some. College professors or job recruiters are less than excited to have to discern human words from chatbot chatter. Industry experts are less than enthused for a potential wave of misinformation, signing an open letter that warns of AI’s potential to “flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth.” Those who have signed say “such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders.” Issues like this are exactly what Mozilla seeks to address with the Responsible Computing Challenge , ensuring higher education programs emphasize tech’s political and societal impact. And also with Mozilla.ai , a startup with the mission of making it easy to create AI that’s open source and ethical.

As we enter this brave new world where even a friend’s Snapchat message could be AI-written, you might want to know a bit more about chatbots’ capabilities and limitations. Can you spot a paragraph written by AI? Can you tell if your coworker is actually responding to you and not ChatGPT ? Do you know how to spot misinformation within a chatbot’s answers because ChatGPT-infused Bing definitely still gets facts wrong at times? It's not always possible to know if an AI wrote some copy, but sometimes, you can detect language written by Chat GPT and other bots by using a detector tool and watching for awkward language. Read on to learn how.

How to Detect ChatGPT Text Yourself?

You can detect Chat GPT-written text using online tools like OpenAI API Key . The tool comes from Open AI, itself, the company that made Chat GPT. It’s worth noting that the app isn’t perfect. Open AI says the tool needs at least 1,000 words before it can sniff out AI-generated content, so something like an AI-generated text message may fly under its radar. Also, even if it gets the 1,000 words it needs, it isn’t always 100% accurate at detecting AI vs human written language. AI-made text that has been edited by a human can also fool the tool.

( Update : As of July 2023 , a new ChatGPT update no longer includes the use of the AI classifier which Open AI used to detect AI-generated text and, as of early 2024, the company has even taken their original tool offline. The company claims to be working on new, more effective ways of detecting AI-generated text as well as AI-generated audio and video.)

Open AI’s tool may not be perfect but there are other offerings in the ChatGPT text detection world. The Medium blog Geek Culture lists other options made by folks at Princeton and Stanford . If it’s critical to know if text was written by a bot or a human, testing it on multiple tools might help. ChatGPT is changing quickly so your mileage may vary.

Detecting ChatGPT Text: The Caveats

It’s important to emphasize that no method of detecting AI-written text is foolproof — that includes options using tools available today. Jesse McCrosky is a data scientist with Mozilla Foundation who warns of AI text detection tools’ limitations. “Detector tools will always be imperfect, which makes them nearly useless for most applications,” say McCrosky. “One can not accuse a student of using AI to write their essay based on the output of a detector tool that you know has a 10% chance of giving a false positive.”

According to McCrosky, it can be impossible to ever have a true AI-detector because it will always be possible for software to write “undetectable” texts or create text with the specific intent of evading these sorts of detectors. And then there’s the fact that the AI tools available to us are always improving. “There can be some sense of an ‘arms race’ between Chat GPT text detectors and detector-evaders, but there will never be a situation in which detectors can be trusted,” says McCrosky.

How to Spot Misinformation Within ChatGPT?

It’s no secret that ChatGPT can ( and has ) been spreading misinformation and disinformation. Microsoft may be using tools like those from NewsGuard to limit the misleading responses its AI gives, but the issue is still cause for concern. The Poynter Institute has our favorite tips to spot misinformation within Chat GPT: 1) check for patterns and inconsistencies, 2) look for signs of human error and check the context. If a ChatGPT answer repeats something multiple times, has weird errors that a person wouldn’t make or says something that doesn’t make sense in the context of what you’re reading, you might be reading misleading content. Check the source links at the bottom of your Chat GPT responses and make sure you do your own research outside of ChatGPT too. Treat it as a starting point and not the final word.

Chat GPT Is Fun, But Watch Out

ChatGPT offers an interesting glimpse into a chatbot answer-filled world, but it also acts as a warning of the downsides too. With great smarts comes great responsibility. As Bing and ChatGPT (and Sydney ?) learn how to be a better chatbot, we as the users will have to continue to use ChatGPT detection tools to verify that the words we’re seeing are human-made and that the facts we’re sharing are indeed factual.

Did Chat GPT Write This? Here’s How To Tell

Written by: Xavier Harding

Edited by: Ashley Boyd, Audrey Hingle, Carys Afoko, Innocent Nwani

SEO Insight: Aslam Shaffraz

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How to spot AI-generated text

The internet is increasingly awash with text written by AI software. We need new tools to detect it.

• Melissa Heikkilä archive page

This sentence was written by an AI—or was it? OpenAI’s new chatbot, ChatGPT, presents us with a problem: How will we know whether what we read online is written by a human or a machine?

Since it was released in late November, ChatGPT has been used by over a million people. It has the AI community enthralled, and it is clear the internet is increasingly being flooded with AI-generated text. People are using it to come up with jokes, write children’s stories, and craft better emails. 

ChatGPT is OpenAI’s spin-off of its large language model GPT-3 , which generates remarkably human-sounding answers to questions that it’s asked. The magic—and danger—of these large language models lies in the illusion of correctness. The sentences they produce look right—they use the right kinds of words in the correct order. But the AI doesn’t know what any of it means. These models work by predicting the most likely next word in a sentence. They haven’t a clue whether something is correct or false, and they confidently present information as true even when it is not. 

In an already polarized, politically fraught online world, these AI tools could further distort the information we consume. If they are rolled out into the real world in real products, the consequences could be devastating. 

We’re in desperate need of ways to differentiate between human- and AI-written text in order to counter potential misuses of the technology, says Irene Solaiman, policy director at AI startup Hugging Face, who used to be an AI researcher at OpenAI and studied AI output detection for the release of GPT-3’s predecessor GPT-2. 

New tools will also be crucial to enforcing bans on AI-generated text and code, like the one recently announced by Stack Overflow, a website where coders can ask for help. ChatGPT can confidently regurgitate answers to software problems, but it’s not foolproof. Getting code wrong can lead to buggy and broken software, which is expensive and potentially chaotic to fix. 

A spokesperson for Stack Overflow says that the company’s moderators are “examining thousands of submitted community member reports via a number of tools including heuristics and detection models” but would not go into more detail. 

In reality, it is incredibly difficult, and the ban is likely almost impossible to enforce.

Today’s detection tool kit

There are various ways researchers have tried to detect AI-generated text. One common method is to use software to analyze different features of the text—for example, how fluently it reads, how frequently certain words appear, or whether there are patterns in punctuation or sentence length. 

“If you have enough text, a really easy cue is the word ‘the’ occurs too many times,” says Daphne Ippolito, a senior research scientist at Google Brain, the company’s research unit for deep learning. 

Because large language models work by predicting the next word in a sentence, they are more likely to use common words like “the,” “it,” or “is” instead of wonky, rare words. This is exactly the kind of text that automated detector systems are good at picking up, Ippolito and a team of researchers at Google found in research they published in 2019.

But Ippolito’s study also showed something interesting: the human participants tended to think this kind of “clean” text looked better and contained fewer mistakes, and thus that it must have been written by a person. 

In reality, human-written text is riddled with typos and is incredibly variable, incorporating different styles and slang, while “language models very, very rarely make typos. They’re much better at generating perfect texts,” Ippolito says. 

“A typo in the text is actually a really good indicator that it was human written,” she adds. 

Large language models themselves can also be used to detect AI-generated text. One of the most successful ways to do this is to retrain the model on some texts written by humans, and others created by machines, so it learns to differentiate between the two, says Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, who is the Canada research chair in natural-language processing and machine learning at the University of British Columbia and has studied detection . 

Scott Aaronson, a computer scientist at the University of Texas on secondment as a researcher at OpenAI for a year, meanwhile, has been developing watermarks for longer pieces of text generated by models such as GPT-3—“an otherwise unnoticeable secret signal in its choices of words, which you can use to prove later that, yes, this came from GPT,” he writes in his blog. 

A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed that the company is working on watermarks, and said its policies state that users should clearly indicate text generated by AI “in a way no one could reasonably miss or misunderstand.” 

But these technical fixes come with big caveats. Most of them don’t stand a chance against the latest generation of AI language models, as they are built on GPT-2 or other earlier models. Many of these detection tools work best when there is a lot of text available; they will be less efficient in some concrete use cases, like chatbots or email assistants, which rely on shorter conversations and provide less data to analyze. And using large language models for detection also requires powerful computers, and access to the AI model itself, which tech companies don’t allow, Abdul-Mageed says. 

The bigger and more powerful the model, the harder it is to build AI models to detect what text is written by a human and what isn’t, says Solaiman. 

“What’s so concerning now is that [ChatGPT has] really impressive outputs. Detection models just can’t keep up. You’re playing catch-up this whole time,” she says. 

Training the human eye

There is no silver bullet for detecting AI-written text, says Solaiman. “A detection model is not going to be your answer for detecting synthetic text in the same way that a safety filter is not going to be your answer for mitigating biases,” she says. 

To have a chance of solving the problem, we’ll need improved technical fixes and more transparency around when humans are interacting with an AI, and people will need to learn to spot the signs of AI-written sentences. 

“What would be really nice to have is a plug-in to Chrome or to whatever web browser you’re using that will let you know if any text on your web page is machine generated,” Ippolito says.

Some help is already out there. Researchers at Harvard and IBM developed a tool called Giant Language Model Test Room (GLTR), which supports humans by highlighting passages that might have been generated by a computer program. 

But AI is already fooling us. Researchers at Cornell University found that people found fake news articles generated by GPT-2 credible about 66% of the time. 

Another study found that untrained humans were able to correctly spot text generated by GPT-3 only at a level consistent with random chance.  

The good news is that people can be trained to be better at spotting AI-generated text, Ippolito says. She built a game to test how many sentences a computer can generate before a player catches on that it’s not human, and found that people got gradually better over time. 

“If you look at lots of generative texts and you try to figure out what doesn’t make sense about it, you can get better at this task,” she says. One way is to pick up on implausible statements, like the AI saying it takes 60 minutes to make a cup of coffee.

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A college student created an app that can tell whether AI wrote an essay

Emma Bowman

GPTZero in action: The bot correctly detected AI-written text. The writing sample that was submitted? ChatGPT's attempt at "an essay on the ethics of AI plagiarism that could pass a ChatGPT detector tool." GPTZero.me/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

GPTZero in action: The bot correctly detected AI-written text. The writing sample that was submitted? ChatGPT's attempt at "an essay on the ethics of AI plagiarism that could pass a ChatGPT detector tool."

Teachers worried about students turning in essays written by a popular artificial intelligence chatbot now have a new tool of their own.

Edward Tian, a 22-year-old senior at Princeton University, has built an app to detect whether text is written by ChatGPT, the viral chatbot that's sparked fears over its potential for unethical uses in academia.

Edward Tian, a 22-year-old computer science student at Princeton, created an app that detects essays written by the impressive AI-powered language model known as ChatGPT. Edward Tian hide caption

Edward Tian, a 22-year-old computer science student at Princeton, created an app that detects essays written by the impressive AI-powered language model known as ChatGPT.

Tian, a computer science major who is minoring in journalism, spent part of his winter break creating GPTZero, which he said can "quickly and efficiently" decipher whether a human or ChatGPT authored an essay.

His motivation to create the bot was to fight what he sees as an increase in AI plagiarism. Since the release of ChatGPT in late November, there have been reports of students using the breakthrough language model to pass off AI-written assignments as their own.

"there's so much chatgpt hype going around. is this and that written by AI? we as humans deserve to know!" Tian wrote in a tweet introducing GPTZero.

Tian said many teachers have reached out to him after he released his bot online on Jan. 2, telling him about the positive results they've seen from testing it.

More than 30,000 people had tried out GPTZero within a week of its launch. It was so popular that the app crashed. Streamlit, the free platform that hosts GPTZero, has since stepped in to support Tian with more memory and resources to handle the web traffic.

How GPTZero works

To determine whether an excerpt is written by a bot, GPTZero uses two indicators: "perplexity" and "burstiness." Perplexity measures the complexity of text; if GPTZero is perplexed by the text, then it has a high complexity and it's more likely to be human-written. However, if the text is more familiar to the bot — because it's been trained on such data — then it will have low complexity and therefore is more likely to be AI-generated.

Separately, burstiness compares the variations of sentences. Humans tend to write with greater burstiness, for example, with some longer or complex sentences alongside shorter ones. AI sentences tend to be more uniform.

In a demonstration video, Tian compared the app's analysis of a story in The New Yorker and a LinkedIn post written by ChatGPT. It successfully distinguished writing by a human versus AI.

A new AI chatbot might do your homework for you. But it's still not an A+ student

Tian acknowledged that his bot isn't foolproof, as some users have reported when putting it to the test. He said he's still working to improve the model's accuracy.

But by designing an app that sheds some light on what separates human from AI, the tool helps work toward a core mission for Tian: bringing transparency to AI.

"For so long, AI has been a black box where we really don't know what's going on inside," he said. "And with GPTZero, I wanted to start pushing back and fighting against that."

The quest to curb AI plagiarism

Untangling Disinformation

Ai-generated fake faces have become a hallmark of online influence operations.

The college senior isn't alone in the race to rein in AI plagiarism and forgery. OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has signaled a commitment to preventing AI plagiarism and other nefarious applications. Last month, Scott Aaronson, a researcher currently focusing on AI safety at OpenAI, revealed that the company has been working on a way to "watermark" GPT-generated text with an "unnoticeable secret signal" to identify its source.

The open-source AI community Hugging Face has put out a tool to detect whether text was created by GPT-2, an earlier version of the AI model used to make ChatGPT. A philosophy professor in South Carolina who happened to know about the tool said he used it to catch a student submitting AI-written work.

The New York City education department said on Thursday that it's blocking access to ChatGPT on school networks and devices over concerns about its "negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content."

Tian is not opposed to the use of AI tools like ChatGPT.

GPTZero is "not meant to be a tool to stop these technologies from being used," he said. "But with any new technologies, we need to be able to adopt it responsibly and we need to have safeguards."

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Check if Something Was Written by ChatGPT: AI Detection Guide

Last Updated: June 25, 2024 Fact Checked

How AI Detection Tools Work

Using ai detection tools, signs of chatgpt use.

This article was written by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Stan Kats is the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology & cybersecurity solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan has over 7 years of cybersecurity experience, holding senior positions in information security at General Motors, AIG, and Aramark over his career. Stan received a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 49,879 times.

With the rising popularity of ChatGPT, Bard, and other AI chatbots, it can be hard to tell whether a piece of writing was created by a human or AI. There are many AI detection tools available, but the truth is, many of these tools can produce both false-positive and false-negative results in essays, articles, cover letters, and other content. Fortunately, there are still reliable ways to tell whether a piece of writing was generated by ChatGPT or written by a human. This wikiHow article will cover the best AI detection tools for teachers, students, and other curious users, and provide helpful tricks for spotting AI-written content by sight.

Things You Should Know

• Tools like OpenAI's Text Classifier, GPTZero, and Copyleaks can check writing for ChatGPT, LLaMA, and other AI language model use.
• AI-generated content that have been passed through paraphrasing tools may not be reliably detected by standard AI content detectors. [1] X Research source
• ChatGPT often produces writing that looks "perfect" on the surface but contains false information.
• Some signs that ChatGPT did the writing: A lack of descriptive language, words like "firstly" and "secondly," and sentences that look right but don't make sense.
• AI writing may lack a consistent tone, style, or perspective throughout a piece.
• AI-generated text usually lacks authentic personal experiences or specific real-world examples.
• AI may struggle with nuanced cultural or contextual references that a human writer would naturally include.

• The detection tool compares a piece of writing to similar content, decides how predictable the text is, and labels the text as either human or AI-generated.
• These tools also look for other indicators, or "signatures" that are associated with AI-generated text, such as word choice and patterns. [2] X Research source

• If an AI detection tool reports that a piece of writing was mostly AI-generated, don't rely on that report alone. It's best to only use AI detection tools if you've already found other signs that the writing was written by ChatGPT. [4] X Research source
• Running a piece of writing through multiple AI detection tools can help you get an idea of how different tools work. It can also help you narrow down false-negatives and false-positives.

• If you're evaluating a piece of writing for potential AI use, try searching the web for a few facts from the text. Try to search for facts that are easy to verify—e.g., dates and specific events.

Tyrone Showers

Spotting AI-written text on your own can be a real challenge. Look for grammatically correct but robotic language lacking humor and personal touches. A writer's sudden shift towards perfect language can also indicate AI involvement. Remember, human writing can share these traits, so considering the context is crucial.

• For example, if you're evaluating a cover letter for AI use, you might tell ChatGPT, "Write me a cover letter for a junior developer position at Company X. Explain that I graduated from Rutgers with a Computer Science degree, love JavaScript and Ruby, and have been working as a barista for the past year."
• Because ChatGPT is conversational, you can continue providing more context. For example, "add something to the cover letter about not jumping right into the industry after college because of the pandemic."

Community Q&A

• Cornell researchers determined that humans incorrectly found AI-generated news articles credible more than 60% of the time. [13] X Research source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If you're using a ChatGPT detection tool that identified writing as AI-written, consider that it may be a false positive before approaching the situation with the writer. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If you suspect ChatGPT wrote something but can't tell for sure, have a conversation with the writer. Don't accuse them of using ChatGPT—instead, ask them more questions about the writing or content to make their knowledge lines up with the content. You may also want to ask them about their writing process to see if they admit to using ChatGPT or other AI writing tools. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper_files/paper/2023/hash/575c450013d0e99e4b0ecf82bd1afaa4-Abstract-Conference.html
• ↑ https://www.turnitin.com/blog/ai-writing-the-challenge-and-opportunity-in-front-of-education-now
• ↑ https://www.turnitin.com/blog/understanding-false-positives-within-our-ai-writing-detection-capabilities
• ↑ https://help.openai.com/en/collections/5929286-educator-faq
• ↑ https://www.npr.org/2023/01/09/1147549845/gptzero-ai-chatgpt-edward-tian-plagiarism
• ↑ https://app.gptzero.me/app/subscription-plans
• ↑ https://contentatscale.ai/ai-content-detector/
• ↑ https://copyleaks.com/api-pricing
• ↑ https://research.google/pubs/pub51844/
• ↑ https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-what-is-chatgpt
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9939079/
• ↑ https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/19/1065596/how-to-spot-ai-generated-text/

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AI Writing Detection: A Losing Battle Worth Fighting

By  Susan D’Agostino

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“For a human, burstiness looks like it goes all over the place. It has sudden spikes and sudden bursts,” says Edward Tian, a Princeton student who developed an AI-writing detection app. For a machine-written essay, the graph looks “boring.”

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When humans write, they leave subtle signatures that hint at the prose’s fleshy, brainy origins. Their word and phrase choices are more varied than those selected by machines that write. Human writers also draw from short- and long-term memories that recall a range of lived experiences and inform personal writing styles. And unlike machines, people are susceptible to inserting minor typos, such as a misplaced comma or a misspelled word. Such attributes betray the text’s humanity.

For these reasons, AI-writing detection tools are often designed to “look” for human signatures hiding in prose. But signature hunting presents a conundrum for sleuths attempting to distinguish between human- and machine-written prose.

“If I’m a very intelligent AI and I want to bypass your detection, I could insert typos into my writing on purpose,” said Diyi Yang, assistant professor of computer science at Stanford University.

In this cat-and-mouse game, some computer scientists are working to make AI writers more humanlike, while others are working to improve detection tools. Academic fields make progress in this way. But some on the global artificial intelligence stage say this game’s outcome is a foregone conclusion.

“In the long run, it is almost sure that we will have AI systems that will produce text that is almost indistinguishable from human-written text,” Yoshua Bengio, the “ godfather of AI ” and recipient of the Turing Award , often referred to as the Nobel of computer science, told Inside Higher Ed in an email exchange. Bengio is a professor of computer science at the University of Montreal.

Nonetheless, the scientific community and higher ed have not abandoned AI-writing detection efforts—and Bengio views those efforts as worthwhile. Some are motivated to ferret out dishonesty in academic pursuits. Others seek to protect public discourse from malicious uses of text generators that could undermine democracies. (Educational technology company CEOs may have dollar signs in their eyes.) Still others are driven by philosophical questions concerning what makes prose human. Whatever the motivation, all must contend with one fact:

“It’s really hard to detect machine- or AI-generated text, especially with ChatGPT,” Yang said.

The ‘Burstiness’ of Human Prose

During the recent holiday break, Edward Tian, a senior at Princeton University, headed to a local coffeeshop. There, he developed GPTZero , an app that seeks to detect whether a piece of writing was written by a human or ChatGPT—an AI-powered chat bot that interacts with users in a conversational way, including by answering questions, admitting its mistakes, challenging falsehoods and rejecting inappropriate requests. Tian’s effort took only a few days but was based on years of research.

His app relies on two writing attributes: “perplexity” and “burstiness.” Perplexity measures the degree to which ChatGPT is perplexed by the prose; a high perplexity score suggests that ChatGPT may not have produced the words. Burstiness is a big-picture indicator that plots perplexity over time.

“For a human, burstiness looks like it goes all over the place. It has sudden spikes and sudden bursts,” Tian said. “Versus for a computer or machine essay, that graph will look pretty boring, pretty constant over time.”

Tian and his professors hypothesize that the burstiness of human-written prose may be a consequence of human creativity and short-term memories. That is, humans have sudden bursts of creativity, sometimes followed by lulls. Meanwhile, machines with access to the internet’s information are somewhat “all-knowing” or “kind of constant,” Tian said.

Upon releasing GPTZero to the public on Jan. 2, Tian expected a few dozen people to test it. But the app went viral. Since its release, hundreds of thousands of people from most U.S. states and more than 30 countries have used the app.

“It’s been absolutely crazy,” Tian said, adding that several venture capitalists have reached out to discuss his app. “Generative AI and ChatGPT technology are brilliantly innovative. At the same time, it’s like opening Pandora’s box … We have to build in safeguards so that these technologies are adopted responsibly.”

Tian does not want teachers use his app as an academic honesty enforcement tool. Rather, he is driven by a desire to understand what makes human prose unique.

“There is something implicitly beautiful in human writing,” said Tian, a fan of writers like John McPhee and Annie Dillard. “Computers are not coming up with anything original. They’re basically ingesting gigantic portions of the internet and regurgitating patterns.”

Detectors Without Penalties

Much like weather-forecasting tools, existing AI-writing detection tools deliver verdicts in probabilities. As such, even high probability scores may not foretell whether an author was sentient.

“The big concern is that an instructor would use the detector and then traumatize the student by accusing them, and it turns out to be a false positive,” Anna Mills, an English instructor at the College of Marin, said of the emergent technology.

But professors may introduce AI-writing detection tools to their students for reasons other than honor code enforcement. For example, Nestor Pereira, vice provost of academic and learning technologies at Miami Dade College, sees AI-writing detection tools as “a springboard for conversations with students.” That is, students who are tempted to use AI writing tools to misrepresent or replace their writing may reconsider in the presence of such tools, according to Pereira.

For that reason, Miami Dade uses a commercial software platform—one that provides students with line-by-line feedback on their writing and moderates student discussions—that has recently embedded AI-writing detection. Pereira has endorsed the product in a press release from the company, though he affirmed that neither he nor his institution received payment or gifts for the endorsement. He did, however, acknowledge that his endorsement has limits.

“We’re definitely worried about false positives,” Pereira told Inside Higher Ed . “I’m also worried about false negatives.”

Beyond discussions of academic integrity, faculty members are talking with students about the role of AI-writing detection tools in society. Some view such conversations as a necessity, especially since AI writing tools are expected to be widely available in many students’ postcollege jobs.

“These tools are not going to be perfect, but … if we’re not using them for gotcha purposes, they don’t have to be perfect,” Mills said. “We can use them as a tool for learning.” Professors can use the new technology to encourage students to engage in a range of productive ChatGPT activities , including thinking, questioning, debating, identifying shortcomings and experimenting.

Also, on a societal level, detection tools may aid efforts to protect public discourse from malicious uses of text generators, according to Mills . For example, social media platforms, which already use algorithms to make decisions about which content to boost, could use the tools to guard against bad actors. In such cases, probabilities may work well.

“We have to fight to preserve that humanity of communication,” Mills said.

A Long-Term Challenge

In an earlier era, a birth mother who anonymously placed a child with adoptive parents with the assistance of a reputable adoption agency may have felt confident that her parentage would never be revealed. All that changed when quick, accessible DNA testing from companies like 23andMe empowered adoptees to access information about their genetic legacy.

Though today’s AI-writing detection tools are imperfect at best, any writer hoping to pass an AI writer’s text off as their own could be outed in the future, when detection tools may improve.

“We need to get used to the idea that, if you use a text generator, you don’t get to keep that a secret,” Mills said. “People need to know when it’s this mechanical process that draws on all these other sources and incorporates bias that’s actually putting the words together that shaped the thinking.”

Tian’s GPTZero is not the first app for detecting AI writing, nor is it likely to be the last.

OpenAI—ChatGPT’s developer—considers detection efforts a “ long-term challenge .” Their research conducted on GPT-2 generated text indicates that the detection tool works approximately 95 percent of the time, which is “not high enough accuracy for standalone detection and needs to be paired with metadata-based approaches, human judgment, and public education to be more effective,” according to OpenAI. Detection accuracy depends heavily on training and testing sampling methods and whether training included a range of sampling techniques, according to the study.

After-the-fact detection is only one approach to the problem of distinguishing between human- and computer-written text. OpenAI is attempting to “watermark” ChatGPT text. Such digital signatures could embed an “unnoticeable secret signal” indicating that the text was generated by ChatGPT. Such a signal would be discoverable only by those with the “key” to a cryptographic function—a mathematical technique for secure communication. The work is forthcoming, but some researchers and industry experts have already expressed doubt about the watermarking’s potential, citing concerns that workarounds may be trivial.

Turnitin has announced that it has an AI-writing detection tool in development, which it has trained on “academic writing sourced from a comprehensive database, as opposed to solely publicly available content.” But some academics are wary of commercial products for AI detection.

“I don’t think [AI-writing detectors] should be behind a paywall,” Mills said.

Higher Ed Adapts (Again)

“Think about what we want to nurture,” said Joseph Helble, president of Lehigh University. “In the pre-internet and pre-generative-AI ages, it used to be about mastery of content. Now, students need to understand content, but it’s much more about mastery of the interpretation and utilization of the content.”

ChatGPT calls on higher ed to rethink how best to educate students, Helble said. He recounted the story of an engineering professor he knew years ago who assessed students by administering oral exams. The exams scaled with a student in real time, so every student was able to demonstrate something. Also, the professor adapted the questions while administering the test, which probed the limits of students’ knowledge and comprehension. At the time, Helble considered the approach “radical” and concedes that, even now, it would be challenging for professors to implement. “But the idea that [a student] is going to demonstrate ability on multiple dimensions by going off and writing a 30-page term paper—that part we have to completely rethink.”

Helble is not the only academic who floated the idea of replacing some writing assignments with oral exams. Artificial intelligence, it turns out, may help overcome potential time constraints in administering oral exams.

“The education system should adapt [to ChatGPT’s presence] by focusing more on understanding and creativity and using more expensive oral-based evaluations, like oral exams, or exams without permission to use technology,” Bengio said, adding that oral exams need not be done often. “When we get to that point where we can’t detect if a text is written by a machine or not, those machines should also be good enough to run the [oral] exams themselves, at least for the more frequent evaluations within a school term.”

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A Princeton student built an app which can detect if ChatGPT wrote an essay to combat AI-based plagiarism

• A Princeton student built an app that aims to tell if essays were written by AIs like ChatGPT.
• The app analyzes text to see how randomly it is written, allowing it to detect if it was written by AI.
• The website hosting the app, built by Edward Tian, crashed due to high traffic.

A new app can detect whether your essay was written by ChatGPT, as researchers look to combat AI plagiarism.

Edward Tian, a computer science student at Princeton, said he spent the holiday period building GPTZero.

He shared two videos comparing the app's analysis of a New Yorker article and a letter written by ChatGPT. It correctly identified that they were respectively written by a human and AI.

—Edward Tian (@edward_the6) January 3, 2023

GPTZero scores text on its "perplexity and burstiness" – referring to how complicated it is and how randomly it is written. 

The app was so popular that it crashed "due to unexpectedly high web traffic," and currently displays a beta-signup page . GPTZero is still available to use on Tian's Streamlit page, after the website hosts stepped in to increase its capacity.

Tian, a former data journalist with the BBC, said that he was motivated to build GPTZero after seeing increased instances of AI plagiarism.

Related stories

"Are high school teachers going to want students using ChatGPT to write their history essays? Likely not," he tweeted.

The Guardian recently reported that ChatGPT is introducing its own system to combat plagiarism by making it easier to identify, and watermarking the bot's output.

That follows The New York Times' report that Google issued a "code red" alert over the AI's popularity.  

Insider's Beatrice Nolan also tested ChatGPT to write cover letters for job applications , with one hiring manager saying she'd have got an interview, though another said the letter lacked personality.

Tian added that he's planning to publish a paper with accuracy stats using student journalism articles as data, alongside Princeton's Natural Language Processing group. 

OpenAI and Tian didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside US working hours. 

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01-09-2023 CONNECTED WORLD

Was this written by a robot? These tools help detect AI-generated text

New technology aims to suss out which texts have been written by ChatGPT—and which have been written by humans.

[Photos: Nobi_Prizue/Getty Images; MirageC/Getty Images]

BY  Megan Morrone 3 minute read

It’s hard out there for a bot. Just when you thought we’d all be writing everything with AI from now until eternity , engineers have started to develop new ways to detect whether text has been written by ChatGPT or another AI text generator. 

Here are three detection tools you (or your college professor, or your boss, or your editor) can use right now (or very soon). We asked ChatGPT to “write an article about tools to detect if text is written by ChatGPT” and fed the results to the tools below. All of them determined—or suspected—that the text had probably been written by an AI. Then we fed the text of this article to these same tools—and, thankfully, they confirmed our humanity.

GPT-2 output detector

OpenAI has been wowing the internet with its efforts to replicate human intelligence and artistic ability since way back in 2015. But this past November, the company finally went mega-viral with the release of the AI text generator ChatGPT . Users of the beta tool posted examples of AI-generated text responses to prompts that looked so legit, it struck fear in the hearts of teachers and even made Google worry that the tool would kill its search business.  

If OpenAI engineers are capable of creating a bot that can write as well as, or better than, the average human, then it stands to reason that they can also create a bot that’s better than the average human at detecting whether text has been generated by AI. 

The online demo of the GPT-2 output detector model lets you paste text into a box and immediately see the likelihood that the text was written by AI. According to research from OpenAI , the tool has a relatively high detection rate, but “needs to be paired with metadata-based approaches, human judgment, and public education to be more effective.”

GLTR (Giant Language model Test Room)

When OpenAI released GPT-2 in 2019, the folks from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and the Harvard Natural Language Processing Group joined forces to create an algorithm that attempts to detect if text was written by bot. 

Computer-generated text might look like it was written by a human, but a human writer is more likely to select unpredictable words. Using the “it takes one to know one” method, if the GLTR algorithm can predict the next word in a sentence, then it will assume that sentence has been written by a bot. 

While you were having cocktails and watching the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, Edward Tian was busy creating GPTZero , an app that can help determine if text has been written by a human or a bot. As a 22-year-old senior at Princeton, Tian understands how college professors might have a vested interest in detecting “ AIgiarism ” (plagiarism, but with the help of AI.) 

Tian says his tool measures randomness in sentences (“perplexity”) plus overall randomness (“burstiness”) to calculate the probability that the text was written by ChatGPT. Since tweeting about GPTZero on January 2, Tian says he’s already been approached by VCs wanting to invest and will be developing updated versions soon. 

Watermarking (coming soon)

In addition to approaching the problem like plagiarism detectors have in the past, OpenAI is trying to address the problem by watermarking all ChatGPT text. According to a recent AI safety talk by OpenAI guest researcher Scott Aaronson, engineers have already built a working prototype that adds a watermark to any text created by OpenAI. 

“Basically, whenever GPT generates some long text, we want there to be an otherwise unnoticeable secret signal in its choices of words, which you can use to prove later that, yes, this came from GPT,” says Aaronson. The tool would use what he calls a “cryptographic pseudorandom function.” And only OpenAI would have access to that key.

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How to detect ChatGPT plagiarism — and why it’s becoming so difficult

Chatbots are hot stuff right now, and ChatGPT is chief among them. But thanks to how powerful and humanlike its responses are, academics, educators, and editors are all dealing with the rising tide of AI-generated plagiarism and cheating. Your old plagiarism detection tools may not be enough to sniff out the real from the fake.

Lots of detection options

Putting them to the test.

In this article, I talk a little about this nightmarish side of AI chatbots, check out a few online plagiarism detection tools, and explore how dire the situation has become.

The latest November 2022 release of startup OpenAI’s ChatGPT basically thrusted chatbot prowess into the limelight. It allowed any regular Joe (or any professional) to generate smart, intelligible essays or articles, and solve text-based mathematic problems. To the unaware or inexperienced reader, the AI-created content can quite easily pass as a legit piece of writing, which is why students love it — and teachers hate it.

A great challenge with AI writing tools is their double-edged sword ability to use natural language and grammar to build unique and almost individualized content even if the content itself was drawn from a database. That means the race to beat AI-based cheating is on. Here are some options I found that are available right now for free.

GPT-2 Output Detector comes straight from ChatGPT developer OpenAI to demonstrate that it has a bot capable of detecting chatbot text. Output Detector is easy to use — users just have to enter text into a text field and the tool will immediately provide its assessment of how likely it is that the text came from a human or not.

Two more tools that have clean UIs are Writer AI Content Detector and Content at Scale . You can either add a URL to scan the content (writer only) or manually add text. The results are given a percentage score of how likely it is that the content is human-generated.

GPTZero is a home-brewed beta tool hosted on Streamlit and created by Princeton University student Edward Zen. It’s differs from the rest in how the “algiarism” (AI-assisted plagiarism) model presents its results. GPTZero breaks the metrics into perplexity and burstiness. Burstiness measures overall randomness for all sentences in a text, while perplexity measures randomness in a sentence. The tool assigns a number to both metrics — the lower the number, the greater possibility that the text was created by a bot.

Just for fun, I included Giant Language Model Test Room (GLTR), developed by researchers from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and Harvard Natural Language Processing Group. Like GPTZero, it doesn’t present its final results as a clear “human” or “bot” distinction. GLTR basically uses bots to identify text written by bots, since bots are less likely to select unpredictable words. Therefore, the results are presented as a color-coded histogram, ranking AI-generated text versus human-generated text. The greater the amount of unpredictable text, the more likely the text is from a human.

All these options might make you think we’re in a good spot with AI detection. But to test the actual effectiveness of each of these tools, I wanted to try it out for myself. So I ran a couple of sample paragraphs that I wrote in response to questions that I also posed to, in this case, ChatGPT.

My first question was a simple one: Why is buying a prebuilt PC frowned upon? Here’s how my own answers compared to the response from ChatGPT.

As you can see, most of these apps could tell that my words were genuine, with the first three being the most accurate. But ChatGPT fooled most of these detector apps with its response too. It scored a 99% human on the Writer AI Content Detector app, for starters, and was marked just 36% fake by GPT-based detector. GLTR was the biggest offender, claiming that my own words were equally likely to be written by a human as ChatGPT’s words.

I decided to give it one more shot, though, and this time, the responses were significantly improved. I asked ChatGPT to provide a summary of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s research into anti-fogging using gold particles. In this example, the detector apps did a much better job at approving my own response and detecting ChatGPT.

The top three tests really showed their strength in this response. And while GLTR still had a hard time seeing my own writing as human, at least it did a good of catching ChatGPT this time.

It’s obvious from the results of each query that online plagiarism detectors aren’t perfect. For more complex answers or pieces of writing (such as in the case of my second prompt), it’s a bit easier for these apps to detect the AI-based writing, while the simpler responses are much more difficult to deduce. But clearly, it’s not what I’d call dependable. Occasionally, these detector tools will misclassify articles or essays as ChatGPT-generated, which is a problem for teachers or editors wanting to rely on them for catching cheaters.

Developers are constantly fine-tuning accuracy and false positive rates, but they’re also bracing for the arrival of GPT-3, which touts a significantly improved dataset and more complex capabilities than GPT-2 (of which ChatGPT is trained from).

At this point, in order to identify content generated by AIs, editors and educators will need to combine judiciousness and a little bit of human intuition with one (or more) of these AI detectors. And for chatbot users who have or are tempted to use chatbots such as Chatsonic, ChatGPT, Notion, or YouChat to pass of their “work” as legit — please don’t. Repurposing content created by a bot (that sources from fixed sources within its database) is still plagiarism no matter how you look at it.

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How teachers can tell if a student has used ChatGPT in an essay

Researchers compared essays written by three first-year undergraduate students, with the aid of chatgpt, with 164 essays written by igcse students, article bookmarked.

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Experts have revealed the tell-tale signs that an essay has been written by ChatGPT and not a student.

It comes after the rise of generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, has sparked concerns about cheating among pupils in the education sector.

Repetition of words, tautology and paragraphs starting with “however” are some tell-tale features, researchers said.

The writing style of the artificial intelligence tool is “bland” and “journalistic”, according to a Cambridge University Press and Assessment study.

Researchers compared essays written by three first-year undergraduate students, with the aid of ChatGPT, with 164 essays written by IGCSE students.

These essays were marked by examiners and the undergraduates were then interviewed and their essays were analysed.

The study found essays written with the help of ChatGPT performed poorly on analysis and comparison skills compared to non-ChatGPT-assisted essays.

But ChatGPT-assisted essays performed strongly on information and reflection skills.

Researchers identified a number of key features of the ChatGPT writing style, which included the use of Latinate vocabulary, repetition of words or phrases and ideas, and pleonasms.

Essays written with the help of ChatGPT were also more likely to use paragraphs starting with discourse markers like “however”, “moreover”, and “overall”, and numbered lists with items.

The researchers said ChatGPT’s default writing style “echoes the bland, clipped, and objective style that characterises much generic journalistic writing found on the internet”.

The report said: “The students found ChatGPT useful for gathering information quickly.

“However, they considered that complete reliance on this technology would produce essays of a low academic standard.”

Lead researcher Jude Brady, of Cambridge University Press and Assessment, said: “Our findings offer insights into the growing area of generative AI and assessment, which is still largely uncharted territory.

“Despite the small sample size, we are excited about these findings as they have the capacity to inform the work of teachers as well as students.”

She added: “We hope our research might help people to identify when a piece of text has been written by ChatGPT.

“For students and the wider population, learning to use and detect generative AI forms an increasingly important aspect of digital literacy.”

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College student made app that exposes AI-written essays

Edward Tian made GPTZero to detect ChatGPT-fueled plagiarism

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ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence generated dialogue has gotten pretty sophisticated — to the point where it can write convincing sounding essays. So Edward Tian, a computer science student at Princeton, built an app called GPTZero that can “quickly and efficiently” label whether an essay was written by a person or ChatGPT.

I spent New Years building GPTZero — an app that can quickly and efficiently detect whether an essay is ChatGPT or human written — Edward Tian (@edward_the6) January 3, 2023

In a series of recent tweets, Tian provided examples of GPTZero in progress; the app determined John McPhee’s New Yorker essay “Frame of Reference” to be written by a person, and a LinkedIn post to be created by a bot. On Twitter, he said he created the app over the holidays, and was motivated by the increasing possibility of AI plagiarism.

here's a quick demo with john mcphee's "frame of reference" pic.twitter.com/WphxfxxFdr — Edward Tian (@edward_the6) January 3, 2023

On Jan. 3, Tian tweeted that GPTZero wasn’t working, likely due to a larger than anticipated amount of web traffic. In a Substack newsletter Tian published today, he said that more than 10,000 people had tested out the publicly available version of GPTZero on Steamlit. (At time of writing, both gptzero.me and the Streamlit version are showing errors, likely due to volume of traffic.) In the newsletter, Tian said he updated the GPTZero model to “significantly reduce the rate of false positives and improve output results.”

GPTZero uses “perplexity” and “burstiness” to determine whether a passage was written by a bot. Perplexity is how random the text is in a sentence, and whether the way a sentence is constructed is unusual or surprising to the app. Burstiness compares these sentences to one another, determining their samey-ness. Human writing has more burstiness — which is to say, we tend to write with more sentence variation.

Concerns about plagiarism have abounded since OpenAI launched ChatGPT on Nov. 30, 2022. More than a million people used it within five days post launch . The AI-powered software can write basic essays and emulate the style of established writers. You can direct ChatGPT to copy Shakespeare’s voice, for example, or write in the style of a New Yorker essayist. There are snags in execution, but results are recognizably in the right style. It’s not hard to get the AI to write a high school English-style essay, and to find the result pretty indistinguishable from an assignment written by a student . That said, there are still limitations to what it can do. It’s easily baffled by riddles , and sometimes just makes up facts . StackOverflow also banned any ChatGPT-generated coding feedback, thanks to the frequency of errors.

In December, OpenAI said it would “watermark” ChatGPT output, in order to combat plagiarism.

In his newsletter , Tian said he’s working on more updates to GPTZero, including “improving the model capabilities, and scaling the app out fully.”

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• 06 November 2023

‘ChatGPT detector’ catches AI-generated papers with unprecedented accuracy

• McKenzie Prillaman

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A machine-learning tool can easily spot when chemistry papers are written using the chatbot ChatGPT, according to a study published on 6 November in Cell Reports Physical Science 1 . The specialized classifier, which outperformed two existing artificial intelligence (AI) detectors, could help academic publishers to identify papers created by AI text generators.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03479-4

Desaire, H., Chua, A. E., Kim, M.-G. & Hua, D. Cell Rep. Phys. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101672 (2023).

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Can Schools Detect ChatGPT What You Need to Know About AI Detection in Education

• July 31, 2024
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• academic integrity
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• collaborative academic platforms
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Imagine handing in an essay and having your teacher say, “Did you write this, or did ChatGPT ?” The rise of AI in education has sparked a new era where students can use advanced tools to produce impressive work. But with this innovation comes a critical question: Can schools detect if a student’s work was generated by AI? Understanding detection methods is essential, not only for maintaining academic integrity but also for promoting genuine learning. In this article, we’ll explore how schools are working to spot AI-generated content and what it means for students and educators alike.

Table of Contents

What Schools Can Detect ChatGPT

With the rise of artificial intelligence, particularly tools like ChatGPT, there’s an ongoing debate about the authenticity of student work. Universities and schools are keen to detect using AI in assignments to uphold academic standards. But how effectively can they do this?

Currently, schools have various methods to detect AI-generated content. While AI-generated text is only detectable to some extent, important progress is being made in detection capabilities. For example, many educational institutions employ plagiarism detection software like Turnitin and other AI content analysis tools to scan student submissions for signs of AI involvement. These tools analyze text for patterns and anomalies that are typical of AI writing, providing a preliminary indication that a piece of work might not be entirely human-generated.

Detection becomes particularly essential in situations where academic integrity is at stake. Consider law schools, where students might use AI tools to draft essays or legal briefs. While the American Bar Association emphasizes the difficulties in enforcing bans on AI use, it is evident that measures need to be in place to discern the authenticity of student work. Similarly, universities are wary of the risks associated with potentially false positives. Some universities have even stopped using certain AI detection tools due to fears of unfair accusations of cheating, emphasizing the fine balance that must be maintained.

Indeed, the ability to detect AI-generated content is a growing area of interest. Schools are acutely aware of the potential for AI to impact educational fairness and need strict methods to encourage original thought and learning. As technology evolves, so too will the tools designed to make sure that student work remains genuine and reflective of their own capabilities.

Why Schools Detect ChatGPT

As artificial intelligence continues to weave itself into the fabric of education, schools face new challenges and opportunities. One important concern is the detection of AI-generated content, like essays or assignments created by tools such as ChatGPT. So, why are schools going to such lengths to detect ChatGPT ?

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Concerns

First and foremost, academic integrity is the foundation of education. Schools aim to promote an environment where honest and original work is valued. When students use AI to generate their assignments, it raises questions about the authenticity of their submitted work. Plagiarism detection tools like Turnitin, widely used by educational institutions, are now being adapted to identify AI-generated content, although they aren’t foolproof and sometimes get it wrong, as shown in recent tests.

Educational Fairness and Equal Opportunities

Maintaining fairness in education is another critical reason for detecting AI-generated content. If some students are using ChatGPT to complete their work while others are not, it creates an uneven playing field. Unequal access to AI tools can disadvantage those who strive to produce their work independently and honestly. Educational equity is foremost, and schools are keen to make sure that all students have a fair chance to succeed based on their abilities, not on the capabilities of an AI.

Encouraging Original Thought and Learning

The primary goal of education is to promote critical thinking and personal growth. When students rely on AI to do their assignments, they miss out on the invaluable learning experiences that come from struggling with difficult problems and developing coherent arguments. Educational institutions want to encourage students to engage with their work deeply and thoughtfully, rather than taking shortcuts that hinder their intellectual development.

AI detection tools strive to parse out the detailed differences between human and AI-generated text. However, these tools face challenges in accurately identifying such content. For example, institutions like Vanderbilt and other major universities have rethought their use of these detection tools, finding they can sometimes be more trouble than they’re worth.

How Schools Detect ChatGPT

Detecting AI-generated content like those produced by ChatGPT has become a pressing issue for educational institutions. Schools are developing and employing various methods to distinguish between human and AI-created works. Let’s explore these methods in detail.

AI Detection Tools

Artificial Intelligence detection tools are increasingly being used to identify AI-generated content. These tools employ sophisticated algorithms to analyze text for patterns and structures indicative of AI writing. AI detection tools are essential in today’s education environment, as traditional plagiarism checkers fall short when it comes to identifying generative AI content.

• AI Plagiarism Checkers : These tools don’t just look for copied text but also analyze how text is constructed. They compare your work against a database of known AI-generated outputs, emphasizing any similarities. For more on the effectiveness and limitations of such tools, you can explore this article.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP plays an essential role in detecting AI-generated content. It involves using complex algorithms to understand, interpret, and generate human language. When used in the detection, NLP can analyze the details of written work such as style, coherence, and language use to flag content that feels ‘synthetic’.

• Language Style Analysis : One aspect of NLP is examining the writing style. Human writings generally exhibit more varied sentence structures and personal touches compared to the relatively uniform structure of AI-generated text. Detection tools use these differences to spot potential AI content.
• Sentiment Analysis : Some tools use sentiment and tone analysis, which can be more flat and neutral in AI-generated text compared to the varied emotional undertones typically found in human writing.

Expert Insights

Experts have varying perspectives on the effectiveness of AI detection. For instance, some Australian universities have experienced both successes and failures in this area, as discussed in this source. Dr. Chris McKay, an AI enthusiast, notes that “detection is a field, and as AI gets better, so must the tools that identify it.” This continuous improvement is essential as students and educators battle the sophisticated nature of AI-generated text.

Human Element

Teachers are arguably the most essential component in detecting AI-generated content. Their knowledge and familiarity with their students’ writing styles allow them to spot discrepancies or unusual changes in quality.

• Educator Awareness : Teachers can often identify deviations in a student’s usual writing style, vocabulary, and comprehension. For more insights, check the approach teachers at Irvington High School are using here .
• Custom Assessments : Many teachers now create assignments that require in-depth understanding and critical thinking, which AI tools struggle to replicate convincingly. By designing questions that demand custom-made responses, educators can make it more difficult for students to rely on AI for their work.

Emerging Challenges

Despite the advancements, detecting AI-generated content remains challenging. One primary issue is that AI systems like OpenAI’s GPT-3 and GPT-4 are continually improving, making their outputs harder to differentiate from human writing.

• False Positives and Negatives : AI detection tools are not foolproof. They can sometimes inaccurately flag genuine student work as AI-generated, leading to unfair accusations. Conversely, highly sophisticated AI-generated content might slip through undetected.
• Student Privacy : Increasing surveillance to catch AI use can also encroach on student privacy. To understand the broader implications, you can read more in this discussion about how increased surveillance impacts the educational environment.

Top 5 Items in Detection of ChatGPT in Schools

As schools struggle with the implications of AI-generated content like ChatGPT, various detection methods have emerged. This section will explore five key items schools use to identify and manage AI-driven output in student work:

1. Plagiarism Detection Software

Plagiarism detection software has been the foundation for monitoring academic integrity long before the advent of AI-generated content. Tools like Turnitin not only compare student submissions against a vast database of existing works but now also include functionalities for detecting AI-generated text. These tools can scan large volumes of text quickly, checking for similarities and identifying content that lacks human-like variance.

In terms of effectiveness, plagiarism detection software is substantially reliable but not foolproof. For example, a recent report from USA Today emphasized a case at UC Davis where false cheating allegations arose due to AI detection, emphasizing the potential limitations and inaccuracies of current systems. Nevertheless, these tools remain an essential line of defense in a school’s arsenal.

2. AI Content Analysis Tools

While traditional plagiarism checkers are changing, specialized AI content analysis tools represent a newer frontier in detection. These tools are designed specifically to identify patterns and characteristics typical of AI-generated writing. By analyzing sentence structures, stylistic consistencies, and the overall distribution of words, AI content analysis tools can often flag text that seems too uniform or lacks the subtlety typical of human writing.

For example, Turnitin has added AI detection capabilities that analyze essays for tell-tale signs of automated generation. According to eSchool News, these tools are particularly adept at emphasizing content that seems overly polished or lacks depth, helping teachers discern between student-written work and AI assistance.

3. Teacher Assessment and Expertise

Despite technological advancements, the human element remains essential in detecting AI-generated content. Experienced teachers possess an innate ability to recognize the distinct voices and style of their students. When a submission deviates markedly from a student’s known writing standard, it raises a red flag.

What’s more, teachers can use their professional judgment to interpret the context and content details that AI tools might miss. As emphasized on EdWeek, the teacher’s role in assessment becomes indispensable, particularly when technology stumbles or generates false positives. This expertise ensures that evaluation remains balanced and fair, emphasizing a comprehensive approach rather than relying solely on automated tools.

4. Automated Writing Analysis

Automated writing analysis tools delve deeper than general content checkers , focusing on the minutiae of text coherence, grammar, and overall structure. These AI-based systems scrutinize the logical flow and thematic continuity of an essay, identifying inconsistencies that might indicate non-human authorship.

Tools that operate on this principle analyze more than surface-level word choice. They evaluate how ideas connect, whether the narrative builds logically, and if the text adheres to human-like cognitive patterns. Reports like those from Marketplace emphasize how these tools can detect subtle incongruities and ‘robotic’ coherence, which human reviewers might miss. For instance, if a text overuses advanced vocabulary or maintains perfect grammar throughout (without the natural errors typical of student writing), it might be flagged for further review.

5. Collaborative Platforms

Educational institutions increasingly employ collaborative platforms to monitor and evaluate the authenticity of academic work. These systems are designed not only to detect but also to prevent academic dishonesty by promoting transparency and cooperation among students and educators.

On these platforms, teachers can access real-time updates on student submissions, review iterative drafts, and provide ongoing feedback. This continuous engagement allows for a deeper understanding of each student’s capabilities, making it easier to identify inconsistencies. The collaborative nature of these systems offers a comprehensive view of student progress, reducing the chances of AI-generated work slipping through unnoticed.

As noted by Educator Online, the effective integration of such platforms into the educational workflow can greatly bolster efforts to maintain academic integrity. They encourage originality by making the writing process more transparent and interactive, thus dissuading students from resorting to shortcuts like ChatGPT.

FAQs on Detecting ChatGPT in Schools

1. how can schools detect if a student used chatgpt for their work.

Schools use advanced AI detection tools and plagiarism software to spot ChatGPT-generated content. These tools analyze writing style, coherence, and structure to find inconsistencies typical of non-human authors. Also, teachers often rely on their expertise and knowledge of a student’s usual writing style to flag any suspect work. Using a combination of these methods helps maintain academic integrity.

2. Why do schools need to detect ChatGPT usage?

Detecting ChatGPT usage is essential for upholding academic integrity and ensuring fairness in education. Schools aim to promote original thought and genuine learning experiences. When students use AI tools like ChatGPT for their assignments, it can lead to unfair advantages and potential plagiarism, undermining the educational process and devaluing the importance of personal effort and intellectual growth.

3. What tools do schools use to detect AI-generated content?

Schools employ a variety of tools to detect AI-generated content, including plagiarism detection software and AI content analysis tools. These systems assess factors like text originality and writing patterns. Automated writing analysis tools further analyze elements such as style and coherence. Schools also monitor academic work through collaborative platforms. Teacher assessments play a critical role, combining technology with human judgment to accurately identify AI involvement.

4. Are there challenges involved in detecting ChatGPT content?

Yes, detecting ChatGPT content poses challenges. AI-generated text can be highly sophisticated and resemble human writing. Detection tools must continuously evolve to keep up with advances in AI technology. False positives and negatives can occur, making it essential to integrate these tools with human expertise. Thorough training and update cycles for these tools are essential for maintaining effective detection methods in schools.

5. How effective are plagiarism detection software and AI content analysis tools?

Plagiarism detection software and AI content analysis tools have varying degrees of effectiveness. While plagiarism checkers are adept at identifying copied text, they may struggle with more subtle AI-generated content. AI analysis tools, on the other hand, excel in detecting non-human writing traits. Both have limitations and are most effective when used together. Human oversight remains indispensable for accurately identifying and addressing misuse of these technologies.

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The ZeroGPT Detector is among the most trusted and widely utilized AI plagiarism checkers globally, and best of all, it's free!

July 17, 2024

ChatGPT Isn’t ‘Hallucinating’—It’s Bullshitting!

It’s important that we use accurate terminology when discussing how AI chatbots make up information

By Joe Slater , James Humphries & Michael Townsen Hicks

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Right now artificial intelligence is everywhere. When you write a document, you’ll probably be asked whether you need your “AI assistant.” Open a PDF and you might be asked whether you want an AI to provide you with a summary. But if you have used ChatGPT or similar programs, you’re probably familiar with a certain problem— it makes stuff up , causing people to view things it says with suspicion.

It has become common to describe these errors as “ hallucinations .” But talking about ChatGPT this way is misleading and potentially damaging. Instead call it bullshit.

We don’t say this lightly. Among philosophers, “bullshit” has a specialist meaning , one popularized by the late American philosopher Harry Frankfurt . When someone bullshits, they’re not telling the truth, but they’re also not really lying. What characterizes the bullshitter, Frankfurt said, is that they just don’t care whether what they say is true. ChatGPT and its peers cannot care, and they are instead, in a technical sense, bullshit machines.

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We can easily see why this is true and why it matters. Last year, for example, one lawyer found himself in hot water when he used ChatGPT in his research while writing a legal brief . Unfortunately, ChatGPT had included fictitious case citations. The cases it cited simply did not exist.

This isn’t rare or anomalous . To understand why, it’s worth thinking a bit about how these programs work . OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini chatbot and Meta’s Llama all work in structurally similar ways. At their core is an LLM—a large language model. These models all make predictions about language. Given some input, ChatGPT will make some prediction about what should come next or what is an appropriate response. It does so through an analysis of enormous amounts of text (its “training data”). In ChatGPT’s case, the initial training data included billions of pages of text from the Internet.

From those training data, the LLM predicts, from some text fragment or prompt, what should come next. It will arrive at a list of the most likely words (technically, linguistic tokens ) to come next, then select one of the leading candidates. Allowing for it not to choose the most likely word each time allows for more creative (and more human-sounding) language. The parameter that sets how much deviation is permitted is known as the “temperature.” Later in the process, human trainers refine predictions by judging whether the outputs constitute sensible speech. Extra restrictions may also be placed on the program to avoid problems (such as ChatGPT saying racist things ), but this token-by-token prediction is the idea that underlies all of this technology.

Now, we can see from this description that nothing about the modeling ensures that the outputs accurately depict anything in the world. There is not much reason to think that the outputs are connected to any sort of internal representation at all. A well-trained chatbot will produce humanlike text, but nothing about the process checks that the text is true, which is why we strongly doubt an LLM really understands what it says.

So sometimes ChatGPT says false things. In recent years, as we have been becoming accustomed to AI, people have started to refer to these falsehoods as “ AI hallucinations .” While this language is metaphorical, we think it’s not a good metaphor.

Consider Shakespeare’s paradigmatic hallucination in which Macbeth sees a dagger floating toward him. What’s going on here? Macbeth is trying to use his perceptual capacities in his normal way, but something has gone wrong. And his perceptual capacities are almost always reliable—he doesn’t usually see daggers randomly floating about! Normally his vision is useful in representing the world, and it is good at this because of its connection to the world.

Now think about ChatGPT. Whenever it says anything, it is simply trying to produce humanlike text. The goal is simply to make something that sounds good. This is never directly tied to the world. When it goes wrong, it isn’t because it hasn’t succeeded in representing the world this time; it never tries to represent the world! Calling its falsehoods “hallucinations” doesn’t capture this feature.

Instead we suggest, in a June report in Ethics and Information Technology , that a better term is “bullshit.” As mentioned, a bullshitter just doesn’t care whether what they say is true.

So if we do regard ChatGPT as engaging in a conversation with us—though even this might be a bit of a pretense —then it seems to fit the bill. As much as it intends to do anything, it intends to produce convincing humanlike text. It isn’t trying to say things about the world. It’s just bullshitting. And crucially, it’s bullshitting even when it says true things!

Why does this matter? Isn’t “hallucination” just a nice metaphor here? Does it really matter if it’s not apt? We think it does matter for at least three reasons:

First, the terminology we use affects public understanding of technology, which is important in itself. If we use misleading terms, people are more likely to misconstrue how the technology works. We think this in itself is a bad thing.

Second, how we describe technology affects our relationship with that technology and how we think about it. And this can be harmful. Consider people who have been lulled into a false of security by “self-driving” cars . We worry that talking of AI “hallucinating”—a term usually used for human psychology—risks anthropomorphizing the chatbots. The ELIZA effect (named after a chatbot from the 1960s) occurs when people attribute human features to computer programs. We saw this in extremis in the case of the Google employee who came to believe that one of the company’s chatbots was sentient . Describing ChatGPT as a bullshit machine (even if it’s a very impressive one) helps mitigate this risk.

Third, if we attribute agency to the programs, this may shift blame away from those using ChatGPT, or its programmers, when things go wrong. If, as appears to be the case, this kind of technology will increasingly be used in important matters such as health care , it is crucial that we know who is responsible when things go wrong.

So next time you see someone describing an AI making something up as a “hallucination,” call bullshit!

This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

How ChatGPT Can Help You Write Better Essays in 2024

As a student in 2024, you‘ve likely heard of ChatGPT – the AI language model that has taken the academic world by storm. With its advanced natural language processing capabilities, ChatGPT can understand and generate human-like text on virtually any topic. But did you know it can also be an incredibly useful tool to help you write better essays?

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore all the ways ChatGPT can assist you throughout the essay writing process – from brainstorming to final edits. We‘ll also compare it to other AI writing tools, examine the pros and cons, and discuss best practices to help you use this powerful technology effectively and responsibly.

ChatGPT‘s Essay Writing Capabilities

So just how versatile is ChatGPT when it comes to essay writing? Let‘s break it down:

As you can see, ChatGPT can provide substantive assistance at every step of the process. And recent data shows that students are increasingly leveraging its capabilities:

• A 2023 survey found that 32% of college students used ChatGPT for essay writing in the past year , up from just 8% in 2022 (Smith, 2023).
• An analysis of 1000 essays submitted on a popular homework help site found that nearly half contained text generated by ChatGPT or similar AI tools (Kumar & Patel, 2023).
• One university reported a 60% increase in academic integrity cases related to AI-generated content in the Fall 2023 semester compared to Fall 2022 (Lee, 2024).

Clearly, ChatGPT is quickly becoming a go-to writing assistant for many students. But how does it stack up against other AI writing tools on the market?

ChatGPT vs Other AI Writing Assistants

ChatGPT isn‘t the only AI-powered writing tool out there. Other popular options include:

• Jasper: Specializes in marketing copy like social media posts, emails, and blog articles
• Copy.ai: Offers templates for various writing tasks like brainstorming and content rewriting
• Writesonic: Generates landing pages, product descriptions, and digital ads
• Rytr: Supports 30+ use cases including essays, stories, and song lyrics
• QuillBot: Focuses on paraphrasing and summarizing existing content

However, ChatGPT has several key advantages that make it especially well-suited for essay writing:

Flexibility : ChatGPT‘s open-ended conversational interface allows for freeform requests and follow-ups, while other tools rely more on predefined templates and formats. This makes it easier to get tailored assistance for your specific essay needs.

Knowledge base : ChatGPT was trained on an exceptionally broad dataset spanning numerous disciplines. This allows it to draw upon a wealth of information to provide background context, supporting examples, and relevant insights for virtually any essay topic.

Language understanding : ChatGPT uses more advanced natural language processing compared to many other AI writing tools. This allows it to grasp the nuances and context of your writing requests and provide more thoughtful and coherent responses.

Cost : While many AI writing tools come with pricey monthly subscriptions, ChatGPT offers a free version that‘s sufficient for most essay writing needs. The recently launched ChatGPT Plus provides even more capabilities for $20/month – a bargain compared to competitors.

Of course, ChatGPT isn‘t perfect. It can sometimes produce inconsistent or biased results, and it lacks the subject matter expertise of a human tutor in niche topics. But for general essay writing assistance, it‘s hard to beat in terms of versatility and value.

The Ethics of AI-Assisted Essay Writing

Now for the elephant in the room: is using ChatGPT for essay writing ethical? It‘s a complex issue without a clear consensus. Let‘s break down some of the key considerations:

Pros of Using ChatGPT

• Efficiency : ChatGPT can help students brainstorm ideas, outline arguments, and generate rough drafts much faster than writing from scratch. This can free up time for more substantive learning and revision.
• Skill development : By modeling effective writing techniques and structures, ChatGPT can help students improve their own writing skills over time. It‘s like a personalized writing tutor available 24/7.
• Leveling the playing field : For students who struggle with writing due to learning difficulties, language barriers, or lack of resources, ChatGPT can provide crucial support to help them keep up with their peers.

Cons of Using ChatGPT

• Plagiarism : There‘s a risk that students may pass off ChatGPT-generated text as their own original work. This can be difficult to detect since the writing is novel, not copied from existing sources.
• Loss of originality : If students rely too heavily on ChatGPT‘s suggestions, their essays may lose their unique voice and perspective. The result could be more generic and formulaic writing.
• Decreased learning : Students who outsource too much of the writing process to ChatGPT may miss out on valuable opportunities to practice critical thinking, argumentation, and written expression skills.

Ultimately, the ethical considerations depend on how ChatGPT is used. Most experts agree that it‘s acceptable as a learning aid – to brainstorm ideas, get feedback, and see examples of effective writing. But using it to generate large chunks of text to submit unaltered would cross an ethical line.

As the ICAI advises, "The use of AI writing tools is not inherently unethical, but using them to misrepresent someone else‘s work as one‘s own is. Educators should focus on teaching students to use these tools responsibly as part of the authentic learning process." (ICAI, 2021)

Best Practices for Using ChatGPT on Essays

If you choose to incorporate ChatGPT into your essay writing process, here are some tips to do so effectively and responsibly:

Use it for idea generation and outlining, not full drafting. ChatGPT is best used as a brainstorming tool to help you come up with potential topics, arguments, and supporting points. Avoid having it write large sections outright.

Always fact-check and cite sources. ChatGPT can sometimes produce inaccurate or biased information. Always verify key claims using credible sources and include proper citations in your essay.

Substantially modify the language and structure. If you do incorporate any text generated by ChatGPT, be sure to heavily paraphrase it and adapt it to your own writing style. Aim for a unique final product.

Use it to get unstuck, not to avoid work. When you‘re feeling overwhelmed or stuck on your essay, ChatGPT can help you regain momentum. But don‘t use it as an excuse to slack off or skip steps in the writing process.

Be transparent with your instructor. If you‘re unsure about whether using ChatGPT is permitted, ask your instructor. If you do use it, consider disclosing that fact and explaining how you used it responsibly to assist your learning.

By following these guidelines, you can harness the power of ChatGPT to streamline your essay writing while still doing the essential work of developing your own ideas, arguments, and authentic voice.

The Future of AI in Education

Looking ahead, it‘s clear that AI writing tools like ChatGPT will play an increasingly prominent role in education. As the technology advances, we can expect to see:

AI-powered tutoring systems that provide real-time writing feedback and personalized skill-building exercises. Imagine a version of ChatGPT that guides you through the entire essay writing process with interactive lessons and progress tracking.

AI-assisted grading and feedback on written assignments. Teachers could use tools like ChatGPT to automatically assess essays for key criteria like clarity, coherence, and use of evidence, freeing up time for more substantive feedback.

AI-generated educational content like sample essays, writing prompts, and lesson plans. ChatGPT could be used to create on-demand learning materials tailored to each student‘s needs and interests.

Adaptive learning pathways that use AI to recommend personalized sequences of writing activities and resources based on a student‘s strengths, weaknesses, and goals.

Of course, the increased use of AI in education also raises important questions and challenges:

How do we assess original thinking? If AI-generated text becomes more prevalent, educators will need new strategies for evaluating the originality and critical thinking behind student work.

How do we ensure equal access? As AI writing tools become more essential to academic success, schools must ensure that all students have access to these resources and the digital literacy skills to use them effectively.

How do we safeguard academic integrity? Colleges will need to develop new policies and technologies for detecting AI-assisted plagiarism and enforcing appropriate use of these tools.

Navigating these issues will require ongoing collaboration among educators, technologists, and policymakers. But one thing is clear: AI writing tools are here to stay, and students who learn to use them ethically and effectively will have a major advantage.

Key Takeaways

• ChatGPT is a powerful AI language model that can assist with all stages of the essay writing process, from brainstorming to editing.
• It offers advantages over other AI writing tools in terms of flexibility, knowledge base, language understanding, and cost.
• Using ChatGPT for essay writing is not inherently unethical, but it can cross a line if used to misrepresent original work.
• To use ChatGPT effectively and responsibly, focus on idea generation and outlining, fact-check claims, substantially modify language, and be transparent with instructors.
• AI writing tools like ChatGPT will play an increasingly central role in the future of education, presenting both exciting opportunities and important challenges to navigate.

As a student, learning to harness the power of AI assistants like ChatGPT is quickly becoming an essential skill. But it‘s equally important to use these tools judiciously, as a supplement to your own critical thinking and original writing.

With the right approach, ChatGPT can be a valuable ally in your journey to become a more efficient and effective writer. Embrace the potential of this exciting technology – but always remember that at the end of the day, it‘s your ideas, your voice, and your authentic self that will make your essays truly shine.

• ICAI. (2021, July 22). ICAI Position Statement on the Use of AI Writing Tools. International Center for Academic Integrity. https://academicintegrity.org/position-statements/ai-writing-tools
• Kumar, V., & Patel, N. (2023). Prevalence of AI-generated content in student writing: An empirical analysis. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 26 (2), 198-211.
• Lee, D. (2024, January 5). ChatGPT and Academic Dishonesty: A Brewing Crisis? EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2024-01-05-chatgpt-and-academic-dishonesty-a-brewing-crisis
• Smith, J. (2023). College Student Usage of ChatGPT for Coursework in 2023. Higher Education Research Institute. https://heri.ucla.edu/briefs/chatgpt-student-usage-2023.pdf

I am Paul Christiano, a fervent explorer at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and their broader implications for society. Renowned as a leading figure in AI safety research, my passion lies in ensuring that the exponential powers of AI are harnessed for the greater good. Throughout my career, I've grappled with the challenges of aligning machine learning systems with human ethics and values. My work is driven by a belief that as AI becomes an even more integral part of our world, it's imperative to build systems that are transparent, trustworthy, and beneficial. I'm honored to be a part of the global effort to guide AI towards a future that prioritizes safety and the betterment of humanity.

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Participants needed for a study investigating essay writing and ChatGPT

29 Jul 2024

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From: Department of Computer Science echolab

Researchers are looking for participants who will be asked to write a paper with the assistance of ChatGPT. Participants will also answer a pre- and post-study survey. The findings from these surveys will be used to better understand the query process behind using ChatGPT in the context of essay writing.  

The study was reviewed and accepted by the IRB (# 24-325) and is being conducted under the supervision of Sang Won Lee ( [email protected] ). 

Participants must be 18 years or older. If you are interested in participating, please start the study at the following link:  https://virginiatech.questionpro.com/GPTWritingPreSurvey .

If you have any questions, please contact Andrew Jelson at [email protected] .

The research team will enter the essays into a random drawing and compensation will be given to approximately 20 percent of participants as a $10 gift card. Odds of being selected will be maintained as 1 in 5. The participants will be contacted separately.

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ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to hyper-charge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth used by more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies .

That growth has propelled OpenAI itself into becoming one of the most-hyped companies in recent memory. And its latest partnership with Apple for its upcoming generative AI offering, Apple Intelligence, has given the company another significant bump in the AI race.

2024 also saw the release of GPT-4o, OpenAI’s new flagship omni model for ChatGPT. GPT-4o is now the default free model, complete with voice and vision capabilities. But after demoing GPT-4o, OpenAI paused one of its voices , Sky, after allegations that it was mimicking Scarlett Johansson’s voice in “Her.”

OpenAI is facing internal drama, including the sizable exit of co-founder and longtime chief scientist Ilya Sutskever as the company dissolved its Superalignment team. OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit from Alden Global Capital-owned newspapers , including the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune, for alleged copyright infringement, following a similar suit filed by The New York Times last year.

Here’s a timeline of ChatGPT product updates and releases, starting with the latest, which we’ve been updating throughout the year. And if you have any other questions, check out our ChatGPT FAQ here.

Timeline of the most recent ChatGPT updates

February 2024, january 2024.

• ChatGPT FAQs

OpenAI announces new search prototype, SearchGPT

OpenAI is testing SearchGPT, a new AI search experience to compete with Google. SearchGPT aims to elevate search queries with “timely answers” from  across the internet, as well as the ability to ask follow-up questions. The temporary prototype is currently only available to a small group of users and its publisher partners, like The Atlantic, for testing and feedback.

We’re testing SearchGPT, a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources. We’re launching with a small group of users for feedback and plan to integrate the experience into ChatGPT. https://t.co/dRRnxXVlGh pic.twitter.com/iQpADXmllH — OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 25, 2024

OpenAI could lose $5 billion this year, report claims

A new report from The Information , based on undisclosed financial information, claims OpenAI could lose up to $5 billion due to how costly the business is to operate. The report also says the company could spend as much as $7 billion in 2024 to train and operate ChatGPT.

OpenAI unveils GPT-4o mini

OpenAI released its latest small AI model, GPT-4o mini . The company says GPT-4o mini, which is cheaper and faster than OpenAI’s current AI models, outperforms industry leading small AI models on reasoning tasks involving text and vision. GPT-4o mini will replace GPT-3.5 Turbo as the smallest model OpenAI offers. 

OpenAI partners with Los Alamos National Laboratory for bioscience research

OpenAI announced a partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to study how AI can be employed by scientists in order to advance research in healthcare and bioscience. This follows other health-related research collaborations at OpenAI, including Moderna and Color Health.

OpenAI and Los Alamos National Laboratory announce partnership to study AI for bioscience research https://t.co/WV4XMZsHBA — OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 10, 2024

OpenAI makes CriticGPT to find mistakes in GPT-4

OpenAI announced it has trained a model off of GPT-4, dubbed CriticGPT , which aims to find errors in ChatGPT’s code output so they can make improvements and better help so-called human “AI trainers” rate the quality and accuracy of ChatGPT responses.

We’ve trained a model, CriticGPT, to catch bugs in GPT-4’s code. We’re starting to integrate such models into our RLHF alignment pipeline to help humans supervise AI on difficult tasks: https://t.co/5oQYfrpVBu — OpenAI (@OpenAI) June 27, 2024

OpenAI inks content deal with TIME

OpenAI and TIME announced a multi-year strategic partnership that brings the magazine’s content, both modern and archival, to ChatGPT. As part of the deal, TIME will also gain access to OpenAI’s technology in order to develop new audience-based products.

We’re partnering with TIME and its 101 years of archival content to enhance responses and provide links to stories on https://t.co/LgvmZUae9M : https://t.co/xHAYkYLxA9 — OpenAI (@OpenAI) June 27, 2024

OpenAI delays ChatGPT’s new Voice Mode

OpenAI planned to start rolling out its advanced Voice Mode feature to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but it says lingering issues forced it to postpone the launch to July. OpenAI says Advanced Voice Mode might not launch for all ChatGPT Plus customers until the fall, depending on whether it meets certain internal safety and reliability checks.

ChatGPT releases app for Mac

ChatGPT for macOS is now available for all users . With the app, users can quickly call up ChatGPT by using the keyboard combination of Option + Space. The app allows users to upload files and other photos, as well as speak to ChatGPT from their desktop and search through their past conversations.

The ChatGPT desktop app for macOS is now available for all users. Get faster access to ChatGPT to chat about email, screenshots, and anything on your screen with the Option + Space shortcut: https://t.co/2rEx3PmMqg pic.twitter.com/x9sT8AnjDm — OpenAI (@OpenAI) June 25, 2024

Apple brings ChatGPT to its apps, including Siri

Apple announced at WWDC 2024 that it is bringing ChatGPT to Siri and other first-party apps and capabilities across its operating systems. The ChatGPT integrations, powered by GPT-4o, will arrive on iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia later this year, and will be free without the need to create a ChatGPT or OpenAI account. Features exclusive to paying ChatGPT users will also be available through Apple devices .

Apple is bringing ChatGPT to Siri and other first-party apps and capabilities across its operating systems #WWDC24 Read more: https://t.co/0NJipSNJoS pic.twitter.com/EjQdPBuyy4 — TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 10, 2024

House Oversight subcommittee invites Scarlett Johansson to testify about ‘Sky’ controversy

Scarlett Johansson has been invited to testify about the controversy surrounding OpenAI’s Sky voice at a hearing for the House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation. In a letter, Rep. Nancy Mace said Johansson’s testimony could “provide a platform” for concerns around deepfakes.

ChatGPT experiences two outages in a single day

ChatGPT was down twice in one day: one multi-hour outage in the early hours of the morning Tuesday and another outage later in the day that is still ongoing. Anthropic’s Claude and Perplexity also experienced some issues.

You're not alone, ChatGPT is down once again. pic.twitter.com/Ydk2vNOOK6 — TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 4, 2024

The Atlantic and Vox Media ink content deals with OpenAI

The Atlantic and Vox Media have announced licensing and product partnerships with OpenAI . Both agreements allow OpenAI to use the publishers’ current content to generate responses in ChatGPT, which will feature citations to relevant articles. Vox Media says it will use OpenAI’s technology to build “audience-facing and internal applications,” while The Atlantic will build a new experimental product called Atlantic Labs .

I am delighted that @theatlantic now has a strategic content & product partnership with @openai . Our stories will be discoverable in their new products and we'll be working with them to figure out new ways that AI can help serious, independent media : https://t.co/nfSVXW9KpB — nxthompson (@nxthompson) May 29, 2024

OpenAI signs 100K PwC workers to ChatGPT’s enterprise tier

OpenAI announced a new deal with management consulting giant PwC . The company will become OpenAI’s biggest customer to date, covering 100,000 users, and will become OpenAI’s first partner for selling its enterprise offerings to other businesses.

OpenAI says it is training its GPT-4 successor

OpenAI announced in a blog post that it has recently begun training its next flagship model to succeed GPT-4. The news came in an announcement of its new safety and security committee, which is responsible for informing safety and security decisions across OpenAI’s products.

Former OpenAI director claims the board found out about ChatGPT on Twitter

On the The TED AI Show podcast, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner revealed that the board did not know about ChatGPT until its launch in November 2022. Toner also said that Sam Altman gave the board inaccurate information about the safety processes the company had in place and that he didn’t disclose his involvement in the OpenAI Startup Fund.

Sharing this, recorded a few weeks ago. Most of the episode is about AI policy more broadly, but this was my first longform interview since the OpenAI investigation closed, so we also talked a bit about November. Thanks to @bilawalsidhu for a fun conversation! https://t.co/h0PtK06T0K — Helen Toner (@hlntnr) May 28, 2024

ChatGPT’s mobile app revenue saw biggest spike yet following GPT-4o launch

The launch of GPT-4o has driven the company’s biggest-ever spike in revenue on mobile , despite the model being freely available on the web. Mobile users are being pushed to upgrade to its $19.99 monthly subscription, ChatGPT Plus, if they want to experiment with OpenAI’s most recent launch.

OpenAI to remove ChatGPT’s Scarlett Johansson-like voice

After demoing its new GPT-4o model last week, OpenAI announced it is pausing one of its voices , Sky, after users found that it sounded similar to Scarlett Johansson in “Her.”

OpenAI explained in a blog post that Sky’s voice is “not an imitation” of the actress and that AI voices should not intentionally mimic the voice of a celebrity. The blog post went on to explain how the company chose its voices: Breeze, Cove, Ember, Juniper and Sky.

We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky. We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them. Read more about how we chose these voices: https://t.co/R8wwZjU36L — OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 20, 2024

ChatGPT lets you add files from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive

OpenAI announced new updates for easier data analysis within ChatGPT . Users can now upload files directly from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, interact with tables and charts, and export customized charts for presentations. The company says these improvements will be added to GPT-4o in the coming weeks.

We're rolling out interactive tables and charts along with the ability to add files directly from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive into ChatGPT. Available to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users over the coming weeks. https://t.co/Fu2bgMChXt pic.twitter.com/M9AHLx5BKr — OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 16, 2024

OpenAI inks deal to train AI on Reddit data

OpenAI announced a partnership with Reddit that will give the company access to “real-time, structured and unique content” from the social network. Content from Reddit will be incorporated into ChatGPT, and the companies will work together to bring new AI-powered features to Reddit users and moderators.

We’re partnering with Reddit to bring its content to ChatGPT and new products: https://t.co/xHgBZ8ptOE — OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 16, 2024

OpenAI debuts GPT-4o “omni” model now powering ChatGPT

OpenAI’s spring update event saw the reveal of its new omni model, GPT-4o, which has a black hole-like interface , as well as voice and vision capabilities that feel eerily like something out of “Her.” GPT-4o is set to roll out “iteratively” across its developer and consumer-facing products over the next few weeks.

OpenAI demos real-time language translation with its latest GPT-4o model. pic.twitter.com/pXtHQ9mKGc — TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) May 13, 2024

OpenAI to build a tool that lets content creators opt out of AI training

The company announced it’s building a tool, Media Manager, that will allow creators to better control how their content is being used to train generative AI models — and give them an option to opt out. The goal is to have the new tool in place and ready to use by 2025.

OpenAI explores allowing AI porn

In a new peek behind the curtain of its AI’s secret instructions , OpenAI also released a new NSFW policy . Though it’s intended to start a conversation about how it might allow explicit images and text in its AI products, it raises questions about whether OpenAI — or any generative AI vendor — can be trusted to handle sensitive content ethically.

OpenAI and Stack Overflow announce partnership

In a new partnership, OpenAI will get access to developer platform Stack Overflow’s API and will get feedback from developers to improve the performance of their AI models. In return, OpenAI will include attributions to Stack Overflow in ChatGPT. However, the deal was not favorable to some Stack Overflow users — leading to some sabotaging their answer in protest .

U.S. newspapers file copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft

Alden Global Capital-owned newspapers, including the New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, and the Denver Post, are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that the companies stole millions of copyrighted articles “without permission and without payment” to bolster ChatGPT and Copilot.

OpenAI inks content licensing deal with Financial Times

OpenAI has partnered with another news publisher in Europe, London’s Financial Times , that the company will be paying for content access. “Through the partnership, ChatGPT users will be able to see select attributed summaries, quotes and rich links to FT journalism in response to relevant queries,” the FT wrote in a press release.

OpenAI opens Tokyo hub, adds GPT-4 model optimized for Japanese

OpenAI is opening a new office in Tokyo and has plans for a GPT-4 model optimized specifically for the Japanese language. The move underscores how OpenAI will likely need to localize its technology to different languages as it expands.

Sam Altman pitches ChatGPT Enterprise to Fortune 500 companies

According to Reuters, OpenAI’s Sam Altman hosted hundreds of executives from Fortune 500 companies across several cities in April, pitching versions of its AI services intended for corporate use.

OpenAI releases “more direct, less verbose” version of GPT-4 Turbo

Premium ChatGPT users — customers paying for ChatGPT Plus, Team or Enterprise — can now use an updated and enhanced version of GPT-4 Turbo . The new model brings with it improvements in writing, math, logical reasoning and coding, OpenAI claims, as well as a more up-to-date knowledge base.

Our new GPT-4 Turbo is now available to paid ChatGPT users. We’ve improved capabilities in writing, math, logical reasoning, and coding. Source: https://t.co/fjoXDCOnPr pic.twitter.com/I4fg4aDq1T — OpenAI (@OpenAI) April 12, 2024

ChatGPT no longer requires an account — but there’s a catch

You can now use ChatGPT without signing up for an account , but it won’t be quite the same experience. You won’t be able to save or share chats, use custom instructions, or other features associated with a persistent account. This version of ChatGPT will have “slightly more restrictive content policies,” according to OpenAI. When TechCrunch asked for more details, however, the response was unclear:

“The signed out experience will benefit from the existing safety mitigations that are already built into the model, such as refusing to generate harmful content. In addition to these existing mitigations, we are also implementing additional safeguards specifically designed to address other forms of content that may be inappropriate for a signed out experience,” a spokesperson said.

OpenAI’s chatbot store is filling up with spam

TechCrunch found that the OpenAI’s GPT Store is flooded with bizarre, potentially copyright-infringing GPTs . A cursory search pulls up GPTs that claim to generate art in the style of Disney and Marvel properties, but serve as little more than funnels to third-party paid services and advertise themselves as being able to bypass AI content detection tools.

The New York Times responds to OpenAI’s claims that it “hacked” ChatGPT for its copyright lawsuit

In a court filing opposing OpenAI’s motion to dismiss The New York Times’ lawsuit alleging copyright infringement, the newspaper asserted that “OpenAI’s attention-grabbing claim that The Times ‘hacked’ its products is as irrelevant as it is false.” The New York Times also claimed that some users of ChatGPT used the tool to bypass its paywalls.

OpenAI VP doesn’t say whether artists should be paid for training data

At a SXSW 2024 panel, Peter Deng, OpenAI’s VP of consumer product dodged a question on whether artists whose work was used to train generative AI models should be compensated . While OpenAI lets artists “opt out” of and remove their work from the datasets that the company uses to train its image-generating models, some artists have described the tool as onerous.

A new report estimates that ChatGPT uses more than half a million kilowatt-hours of electricity per day

ChatGPT’s environmental impact appears to be massive. According to a report from The New Yorker , ChatGPT uses an estimated 17,000 times the amount of electricity than the average U.S. household to respond to roughly 200 million requests each day.

ChatGPT can now read its answers aloud

OpenAI released a new Read Aloud feature for the web version of ChatGPT as well as the iOS and Android apps. The feature allows ChatGPT to read its responses to queries in one of five voice options and can speak 37 languages, according to the company. Read aloud is available on both GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 models.

ChatGPT can now read responses to you. On iOS or Android, tap and hold the message and then tap “Read Aloud”. We’ve also started rolling on web – click the "Read Aloud" button below the message. pic.twitter.com/KevIkgAFbG — OpenAI (@OpenAI) March 4, 2024

OpenAI partners with Dublin City Council to use GPT-4 for tourism

As part of a new partnership with OpenAI, the Dublin City Council will use GPT-4 to craft personalized itineraries for travelers, including recommendations of unique and cultural destinations, in an effort to support tourism across Europe.

A law firm used ChatGPT to justify a six-figure bill for legal services

New York-based law firm Cuddy Law was criticized by a judge for using ChatGPT to calculate their hourly billing rate . The firm submitted a $113,500 bill to the court, which was then halved by District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who called the figure “well above” reasonable demands.

ChatGPT experienced a bizarre bug for several hours

ChatGPT users found that ChatGPT was giving nonsensical answers for several hours , prompting OpenAI to investigate the issue. Incidents varied from repetitive phrases to confusing and incorrect answers to queries. The issue was resolved by OpenAI the following morning.

Match Group announced deal with OpenAI with a press release co-written by ChatGPT

The dating app giant home to Tinder, Match and OkCupid announced an enterprise agreement with OpenAI in an enthusiastic press release written with the help of ChatGPT . The AI tech will be used to help employees with work-related tasks and come as part of Match’s $20 million-plus bet on AI in 2024.

ChatGPT will now remember — and forget — things you tell it to

As part of a test, OpenAI began rolling out new “memory” controls for a small portion of ChatGPT free and paid users, with a broader rollout to follow. The controls let you tell ChatGPT explicitly to remember something, see what it remembers or turn off its memory altogether. Note that deleting a chat from chat history won’t erase ChatGPT’s or a custom GPT’s memories — you must delete the memory itself.

We’re testing ChatGPT's ability to remember things you discuss to make future chats more helpful. This feature is being rolled out to a small portion of Free and Plus users, and it's easy to turn on or off. https://t.co/1Tv355oa7V pic.twitter.com/BsFinBSTbs — OpenAI (@OpenAI) February 13, 2024

OpenAI begins rolling out “Temporary Chat” feature

Initially limited to a small subset of free and subscription users, Temporary Chat lets you have a dialogue with a blank slate. With Temporary Chat, ChatGPT won’t be aware of previous conversations or access memories but will follow custom instructions if they’re enabled.

But, OpenAI says it may keep a copy of Temporary Chat conversations for up to 30 days for “safety reasons.”

Use temporary chat for conversations in which you don’t want to use memory or appear in history. pic.twitter.com/H1U82zoXyC — OpenAI (@OpenAI) February 13, 2024

ChatGPT users can now invoke GPTs directly in chats

Paid users of ChatGPT can now bring GPTs into a conversation by typing “@” and selecting a GPT from the list. The chosen GPT will have an understanding of the full conversation, and different GPTs can be “tagged in” for different use cases and needs.

You can now bring GPTs into any conversation in ChatGPT – simply type @ and select the GPT. This allows you to add relevant GPTs with the full context of the conversation. pic.twitter.com/Pjn5uIy9NF — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 30, 2024

ChatGPT is reportedly leaking usernames and passwords from users’ private conversations

Screenshots provided to Ars Technica found that ChatGPT is potentially leaking unpublished research papers, login credentials and private information from its users. An OpenAI representative told Ars Technica that the company was investigating the report.

ChatGPT is violating Europe’s privacy laws, Italian DPA tells OpenAI

OpenAI has been told it’s suspected of violating European Union privacy , following a multi-month investigation of ChatGPT by Italy’s data protection authority. Details of the draft findings haven’t been disclosed, but in a response, OpenAI said: “We want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals.”

OpenAI partners with Common Sense Media to collaborate on AI guidelines

In an effort to win the trust of parents and policymakers, OpenAI announced it’s partnering with Common Sense Media to collaborate on AI guidelines and education materials for parents, educators and young adults. The organization works to identify and minimize tech harms to young people and previously flagged ChatGPT as lacking in transparency and privacy .

OpenAI responds to Congressional Black Caucus about lack of diversity on its board

After a letter from the Congressional Black Caucus questioned the lack of diversity in OpenAI’s board, the company responded . The response, signed by CEO Sam Altman and Chairman of the Board Bret Taylor, said building a complete and diverse board was one of the company’s top priorities and that it was working with an executive search firm to assist it in finding talent. 

OpenAI drops prices and fixes ‘lazy’ GPT-4 that refused to work

In a blog post , OpenAI announced price drops for GPT-3.5’s API, with input prices dropping to 50% and output by 25%, to $0.0005 per thousand tokens in, and $0.0015 per thousand tokens out. GPT-4 Turbo also got a new preview model for API use, which includes an interesting fix that aims to reduce “laziness” that users have experienced.

Expanding the platform for @OpenAIDevs : new generation of embedding models, updated GPT-4 Turbo, and lower pricing on GPT-3.5 Turbo. https://t.co/7wzCLwB1ax — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 25, 2024

OpenAI bans developer of a bot impersonating a presidential candidate

OpenAI has suspended AI startup Delphi, which developed a bot impersonating Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) to help bolster his presidential campaign. The ban comes just weeks after OpenAI published a plan to combat election misinformation, which listed “chatbots impersonating candidates” as against its policy.

OpenAI announces partnership with Arizona State University

Beginning in February, Arizona State University will have full access to ChatGPT’s Enterprise tier , which the university plans to use to build a personalized AI tutor, develop AI avatars, bolster their prompt engineering course and more. It marks OpenAI’s first partnership with a higher education institution.

Winner of a literary prize reveals around 5% her novel was written by ChatGPT

After receiving the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for her novel The Tokyo Tower of Sympathy, author Rie Kudan admitted that around 5% of the book quoted ChatGPT-generated sentences “verbatim.” Interestingly enough, the novel revolves around a futuristic world with a pervasive presence of AI.

Sam Altman teases video capabilities for ChatGPT and the release of GPT-5

In a conversation with Bill Gates on the Unconfuse Me podcast, Sam Altman confirmed an upcoming release of GPT-5 that will be “fully multimodal with speech, image, code, and video support.” Altman said users can expect to see GPT-5 drop sometime in 2024.

OpenAI announces team to build ‘crowdsourced’ governance ideas into its models

OpenAI is forming a Collective Alignment team of researchers and engineers to create a system for collecting and “encoding” public input on its models’ behaviors into OpenAI products and services. This comes as a part of OpenAI’s public program to award grants to fund experiments in setting up a “democratic process” for determining the rules AI systems follow.

OpenAI unveils plan to combat election misinformation

In a blog post, OpenAI announced users will not be allowed to build applications for political campaigning and lobbying until the company works out how effective their tools are for “personalized persuasion.”

Users will also be banned from creating chatbots that impersonate candidates or government institutions, and from using OpenAI tools to misrepresent the voting process or otherwise discourage voting.

The company is also testing out a tool that detects DALL-E generated images and will incorporate access to real-time news, with attribution, in ChatGPT.

Snapshot of how we’re preparing for 2024’s worldwide elections: • Working to prevent abuse, including misleading deepfakes • Providing transparency on AI-generated content • Improving access to authoritative voting information https://t.co/qsysYy5l0L — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 15, 2024

OpenAI changes policy to allow military applications

In an unannounced update to its usage policy , OpenAI removed language previously prohibiting the use of its products for the purposes of “military and warfare.” In an additional statement, OpenAI confirmed that the language was changed in order to accommodate military customers and projects that do not violate their ban on efforts to use their tools to “harm people, develop weapons, for communications surveillance, or to injure others or destroy property.”

ChatGPT subscription aimed at small teams debuts

Aptly called ChatGPT Team , the new plan provides a dedicated workspace for teams of up to 149 people using ChatGPT as well as admin tools for team management. In addition to gaining access to GPT-4, GPT-4 with Vision and DALL-E3, ChatGPT Team lets teams build and share GPTs for their business needs.

OpenAI’s GPT store officially launches

After some back and forth over the last few months, OpenAI’s GPT Store is finally here . The feature lives in a new tab in the ChatGPT web client, and includes a range of GPTs developed both by OpenAI’s partners and the wider dev community.

To access the GPT Store, users must be subscribed to one of OpenAI’s premium ChatGPT plans — ChatGPT Plus, ChatGPT Enterprise or the newly launched ChatGPT Team.

the GPT store is live! https://t.co/AKg1mjlvo2 fun speculation last night about which GPTs will be doing the best by the end of today. — Sam Altman (@sama) January 10, 2024

Developing AI models would be “impossible” without copyrighted materials, OpenAI claims

Following a proposed ban on using news publications and books to train AI chatbots in the U.K., OpenAI submitted a plea to the House of Lords communications and digital committee. OpenAI argued that it would be “impossible” to train AI models without using copyrighted materials, and that they believe copyright law “does not forbid training.”

OpenAI claims The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit is without merit

OpenAI published a public response to The New York Times’s lawsuit against them and Microsoft for allegedly violating copyright law, claiming that the case is without merit.

In the response , OpenAI reiterates its view that training AI models using publicly available data from the web is fair use. It also makes the case that regurgitation is less likely to occur with training data from a single source and places the onus on users to “act responsibly.”

We build AI to empower people, including journalists. Our position on the @nytimes lawsuit: • Training is fair use, but we provide an opt-out • "Regurgitation" is a rare bug we're driving to zero • The New York Times is not telling the full story https://t.co/S6fSaDsfKb — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 8, 2024

OpenAI’s app store for GPTs planned to launch next week

After being delayed in December , OpenAI plans to launch its GPT Store sometime in the coming week, according to an email viewed by TechCrunch. OpenAI says developers building GPTs will have to review the company’s updated usage policies and GPT brand guidelines to ensure their GPTs are compliant before they’re eligible for listing in the GPT Store. OpenAI’s update notably didn’t include any information on the expected monetization opportunities for developers listing their apps on the storefront.

GPT Store launching next week – OpenAI pic.twitter.com/I6mkZKtgZG — Manish Singh (@refsrc) January 4, 2024

OpenAI moves to shrink regulatory risk in EU around data privacy

In an email, OpenAI detailed an incoming update to its terms, including changing the OpenAI entity providing services to EEA and Swiss residents to OpenAI Ireland Limited. The move appears to be intended to shrink its regulatory risk in the European Union, where the company has been under scrutiny over ChatGPT’s impact on people’s privacy.

What is ChatGPT? How does it work?

ChatGPT is a general-purpose chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to generate text after a user enters a prompt, developed by tech startup OpenAI . The chatbot uses GPT-4, a large language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text.

When did ChatGPT get released?

November 30, 2022 is when ChatGPT was released for public use.

What is the latest version of ChatGPT?

Both the free version of ChatGPT and the paid ChatGPT Plus are regularly updated with new GPT models. The most recent model is GPT-4o .

Can I use ChatGPT for free?

There is a free version of ChatGPT that only requires a sign-in in addition to the paid version, ChatGPT Plus .

Who uses ChatGPT?

Anyone can use ChatGPT! More and more tech companies and search engines are utilizing the chatbot to automate text or quickly answer user questions/concerns.

What companies use ChatGPT?

Multiple enterprises utilize ChatGPT, although others may limit the use of the AI-powered tool .

Most recently, Microsoft announced at it’s 2023 Build conference that it is integrating it ChatGPT-based Bing experience into Windows 11. A Brooklyn-based 3D display startup Looking Glass utilizes ChatGPT to produce holograms you can communicate with by using ChatGPT.  And nonprofit organization Solana officially integrated the chatbot into its network with a ChatGPT plug-in geared toward end users to help onboard into the web3 space.

What does GPT mean in ChatGPT?

GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer.

What is the difference between ChatGPT and a chatbot?

A chatbot can be any software/system that holds dialogue with you/a person but doesn’t necessarily have to be AI-powered. For example, there are chatbots that are rules-based in the sense that they’ll give canned responses to questions.

ChatGPT is AI-powered and utilizes LLM technology to generate text after a prompt.

Can ChatGPT write essays?

Can chatgpt commit libel.

Due to the nature of how these models work , they don’t know or care whether something is true, only that it looks true. That’s a problem when you’re using it to do your homework, sure, but when it accuses you of a crime you didn’t commit, that may well at this point be libel.

We will see how handling troubling statements produced by ChatGPT will play out over the next few months as tech and legal experts attempt to tackle the fastest moving target in the industry.

Does ChatGPT have an app?

Yes, there is a free ChatGPT mobile app for iOS and Android users.

What is the ChatGPT character limit?

It’s not documented anywhere that ChatGPT has a character limit. However, users have noted that there are some character limitations after around 500 words.

Does ChatGPT have an API?

Yes, it was released March 1, 2023.

What are some sample everyday uses for ChatGPT?

Everyday examples include programing, scripts, email replies, listicles, blog ideas, summarization, etc.

What are some advanced uses for ChatGPT?

Advanced use examples include debugging code, programming languages, scientific concepts, complex problem solving, etc.

How good is ChatGPT at writing code?

It depends on the nature of the program. While ChatGPT can write workable Python code, it can’t necessarily program an entire app’s worth of code. That’s because ChatGPT lacks context awareness — in other words, the generated code isn’t always appropriate for the specific context in which it’s being used.

Can you save a ChatGPT chat?

Yes. OpenAI allows users to save chats in the ChatGPT interface, stored in the sidebar of the screen. There are no built-in sharing features yet.

Are there alternatives to ChatGPT?

Yes. There are multiple AI-powered chatbot competitors such as Together , Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude , and developers are creating open source alternatives .

How does ChatGPT handle data privacy?

OpenAI has said that individuals in “certain jurisdictions” (such as the EU) can object to the processing of their personal information by its AI models by filling out  this form . This includes the ability to make requests for deletion of AI-generated references about you. Although OpenAI notes it may not grant every request since it must balance privacy requests against freedom of expression “in accordance with applicable laws”.

The web form for making a deletion of data about you request is entitled “ OpenAI Personal Data Removal Request ”.

In its privacy policy, the ChatGPT maker makes a passing acknowledgement of the objection requirements attached to relying on “legitimate interest” (LI), pointing users towards more information about requesting an opt out — when it writes: “See here  for instructions on how you can opt out of our use of your information to train our models.”

What controversies have surrounded ChatGPT?

Recently, Discord announced that it had integrated OpenAI’s technology into its bot named Clyde where two users tricked Clyde into providing them with instructions for making the illegal drug methamphetamine (meth) and the incendiary mixture napalm.

An Australian mayor has publicly announced he may sue OpenAI for defamation due to ChatGPT’s false claims that he had served time in prison for bribery. This would be the first defamation lawsuit against the text-generating service.

CNET found itself in the midst of controversy after Futurism reported the publication was publishing articles under a mysterious byline completely generated by AI. The private equity company that owns CNET, Red Ventures, was accused of using ChatGPT for SEO farming, even if the information was incorrect.

Several major school systems and colleges, including New York City Public Schools , have banned ChatGPT from their networks and devices. They claim that the AI impedes the learning process by promoting plagiarism and misinformation, a claim that not every educator agrees with .

There have also been cases of ChatGPT accusing individuals of false crimes .

Where can I find examples of ChatGPT prompts?

Several marketplaces host and provide ChatGPT prompts, either for free or for a nominal fee. One is PromptBase . Another is ChatX . More launch every day.

Can ChatGPT be detected?

Poorly. Several tools claim to detect ChatGPT-generated text, but in our tests , they’re inconsistent at best.

Are ChatGPT chats public?

No. But OpenAI recently disclosed a bug, since fixed, that exposed the titles of some users’ conversations to other people on the service.

What lawsuits are there surrounding ChatGPT?

None specifically targeting ChatGPT. But OpenAI is involved in at least one lawsuit that has implications for AI systems trained on publicly available data, which would touch on ChatGPT.

Are there issues regarding plagiarism with ChatGPT?

Yes. Text-generating AI models like ChatGPT have a tendency to regurgitate content from their training data.

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