A string of synthetic intelligence (AI)-related dishonest scandals at Korea’s prestigious “SKY” universities — Seoul Nationwide College, Yonsei College and Korea College — has sparked renewed scrutiny of upper training within the digital period.
As AI instruments grow to be a routine a part of scholar life, the incidents are prompting pressing questions on whether or not universities should rethink how they educate and assess college students.
About 190 college students at Yonsei College have been caught dishonest on a midterm examination for a course on pure language processing and ChatGPT, reigniting considerations over tutorial integrity within the age of leading edge digital applied sciences, together with AI.
The professor overseeing the course has vowed to take strict motion towards college students caught dishonest. Those that come ahead voluntarily will obtain a zero on the midterm however keep away from additional penalties, whereas college students who don’t flip themselves in may face disciplinary measures, together with short-term suspension, according to college laws, the professor mentioned.
With about 600 college students enrolled, the course was performed fully on-line, and the midterm examination was additionally administered remotely via a delegated web site, the place college students answered multiple-choice questions.
After allegations of dishonest emerged, a ballot performed in a web-based neighborhood utilized by Yonsei college students revealed the dimensions of the problem: Amongst 353 respondents, roughly 190 admitted to utilizing unauthorized strategies throughout the examination, whereas 163 mentioned they accomplished it on their very own.
Related dishonest allegations have additionally surfaced at Seoul Nationwide College. Throughout a midterm examination final month for a statistics course, some college students have been discovered to have used AI instruments to resolve issues.
In contrast to at Yonsei College, the examination was performed in particular person utilizing computer systems in a classroom, and the college had explicitly warned college students to not use AI throughout the check. The college is reportedly contemplating nullifying the midterm outcomes and holding a retest.
The web lecture format itself has come underneath scrutiny following a mass dishonest scandal at Korea College.
The course in query — an enormous open on-line class with over 1,400 college students — required individuals to look at recorded lectures and full multiple-choice exams remotely. Such large-scale digital programs, which quickly expanded throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, are actually going through questions over how to make sure tutorial integrity in an period of distant studying.
Throughout the midterm examination, about 500 college students have been caught exchanging solutions in a bunch chat on-line. The check was performed fully on-line, with none proctoring instruments akin to digicam monitoring or distant examination safety software program.
Yonsei College Seoul campus in Seodaemun District, Seoul / Korea Instances photograph by Wang Tae-seok
Requires clear AI pointers
Many college students expressed frustration over the large-scale dishonest incidents, saying those that broke the principles needs to be held accountable. Nonetheless, they acknowledged that using such digital instruments has grow to be virtually unavoidable in as we speak’s studying setting.
In Korea College’s on-line neighborhood, many college students criticized the college and school for taking disciplinary motion solely after the dishonest scandal erupted, regardless of providing on-line lectures and exams with out clear pointers on tutorial integrity. They argued that punishing college students retroactively, with out first setting clear guidelines for distant studying, was outdated and unfair.
“It’s an indispensable instrument for college students today,” mentioned Woo Jung-sik, a senior at Hanyang College. “Some professors prohibit its use, whereas others encourage it — however in actuality, college students use it anyway.”
One other scholar, surnamed Lee, a senior within the School of Training at Korea College, famous that many college students are actually actively utilizing AI platforms akin to Perplexity and Gemini, which have not too long ago grow to be accessible free of charge via college promotions.
“Successfully utilizing fast-evolving AI know-how can be a talent,” Lee mentioned. “I don’t suppose merely utilizing AI instruments is inherently incorrect.”
One other senior from the identical faculty, surnamed Kim, criticized the present training system. “On this quickly altering AI period, assignments that may be simply solved with AI are dropping their that means.”
Specialists say that the latest scandals spotlight a deeper problem going through universities — the pressing have to redefine educating and studying within the age of synthetic intelligence.
“This displays the truth that conventional educating strategies can now not stay the identical within the AI period,” mentioned Park Joo-ho, a professor at Hanyang College’s Division of Training.
Park pressured that larger training should evolve to foster creativity, moderately than counting on standard lecture-based instruction.
“Most Korean universities nonetheless lack clear tutorial pointers on AI use in coursework and exams — a problem that has come underneath sharper scrutiny following the latest incidents,” he added.
Track Ki-chang, an honorary professor of training at Sookmyung Ladies’s College, expressed concern that it’s tough for universities to utterly transfer away from testing college students on primary data.
“Understanding and utility are all based mostly on foundational data,” he mentioned. “It could be problematic for larger training establishments to skip the method of evaluating whether or not college students have correctly acquired that data.”
Track added that the time has come for universities to determine clearer pointers on AI use.
“It’s not possible to utterly ban using AI,” he mentioned. “However with out clear requirements, college students may grow to be overly depending on it.”
