The influx of AI-generated paper at Universiti Malaya leaves students and lecturers worried

By Zhang Xinyue & Afrina Raihanah Binti Raimi Azli – 15 Dec 2023

The influx of AI worries Universiti Malaya students and lecturers despite its capability to revolutionize the education system. Photo by Freepik.

UNIVERSITI MALAYA: Recently, the fast-paced advancement of ChatGPT technology has caused Universiti Malaya students to reflect on the potential hazards posed by AI. ChatGPT is renowned as your non-average chatbot, developed by OpenAI – popularized by its abilities to communicate in a humanlike manner and attend to various commands including but not limited to reformatting documents, answering common questions, translating text from the Malay language to English and vice versa. During interviews, some students expressed their concerns about the possible dangers and challenges that ChatGPT poses.

Several students have brought up the fact that certain individuals have abused ChatGPT's features by using it for plagiarism and duplicating papers. This behaviour chronically undermines academic integrity and the credibility of degrees. A media studies major who likes to remain unknown says that "Some people use ChatGPT to save time by directly copying and pasting the content of others' papers into their own. This action does not only damage their academic reputation but also makes their degrees meaningless." The use of ChatGPT in academia goes beyond copying materials, it’s using a chatbot to write their own academic papers. 

Another media studies major, Lu Xintong, shared her thoughts on the potential dangers of AI, "Artificial Intelligence has brought a series of ethical and legal issues while increasing efficiency. We need tighter regulations and norms to prevent abuse and improper use of AI technology."

Some students also expressed concerns about the overwhelming amount of information that ChatGPT could produce. A computer science major said, "The content generated by ChatGPT can be misleading, especially when it is used to spread false information or distort facts. This poses a threat to the justice and authenticity of our society."

Meanwhile, some students are positive about the future of AI. They believe that with regulation and education, AI technology can bring more benefits to human society. They encourage academic institutions and the community to collaborate in developing clearer rules to guarantee the safe and responsible use of AI technology. According to the Head of the Department of AI at Universiti Malaya, Dr Aznul Qalid Md Sabri states that helping students learn how to use AI models like ChatGPT for research purposes is one of the Universiti Malaya Natural Language Processing (NLP) task force’s priorities.

AI can be a powerful tool, but it should not replace an individual's ability to think and make judgments. Universiti Malaya students have varying opinions on AI technology, but this discussion has without a doubt triggered more extensive societal concerns. People have begun to contemplate seriously how to preserve academic and societal stability in the era of AI.

This in question sparks a debate of which AI is most important, Artificial Intelligence or Academic Integrity?