I’m currently working on a solution to address academic fraud involving ChatGPT, where students often copy and paste assignment instructions directly into the platform to generate responses. My approach relies on detecting and preventing the misuse of assignment prompts, but a key challenge lies in the current OpenAI API.
The API allows for creating custom solutions that work well on specific platforms, but the issue is that millions of students are using the public version of ChatGPT directly. There is no way to apply these restrictions globally unless they’re integrated into the core ChatGPT system itself. This limitation means students can bypass any custom platform that implements these safeguards and still engage in academic dishonesty using the public ChatGPT.
My question is: Are there any plans or workarounds that could enable developers to implement such restrictions at a broader level, particularly within ChatGPT as it is accessed by users worldwide? It would be great to understand if this is a technical limitation or a design choice and how we might address it.
Would love to hear thoughts from the community!
You bring up an important logical point about integrity, and I agree that teaching integrity is crucial. However, I believe your perspective doesn’t fully account for the realities we face in the modern educational environment, where the temptation to cheat has never been easier to act on. Let’s consider a few points.
While it’s ideal to trust that students will choose integrity on their own, studies have consistently shown that the easier it is to cheat, the more likely people are to do so. Tools like ChatGPT make it effortless to bypass learning without immediate consequences, which increases the temptation. That’s why, even with ethical education, we need mechanisms that encourage responsible AI use.
The proposed solution isn’t about blocking students from cheating at all costs—it’s about creating an environment where they are nudged to use AI tools responsibly. By making it clear that assignment instructions won’t be processed by the AI, students are encouraged to engage in prompt engineering, critical thinking, and actually learning the material rather than simply shortcutting the system.
In the real world, we have plenty of systems in place to discourage unethical behavior (for example, plagiarism detection in universities or firewalls in companies to block certain activities). These aren’t about erasing the possibility of bad behavior, but about making ethical decisions the default action. The same principle applies here—by integrating ethical safeguards, we ensure AI tools are used as aids to learning, not as substitutes.
Teaching Integrity Goes Hand-in-Hand with Building Safeguards. Teaching integrity and having tools that promote it are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they can complement each other. Students who know they can’t rely on AI to do the work for them are more likely to engage meaningfully with the material and develop a deeper understanding of how to use AI ethically.
In an educational system where technology is rapidly advancing, providing safeguards against easy misuse while fostering an understanding of integrity is key. The goal isn’t to “make it impossible to cheat,” but rather to create a learning environment where cheating is discouraged and responsible AI use is promoted.
Hmmm…something tells me that industries that are in the business of imparting knowledge that is motivated by financial gain (schools, prep schools, universities, coaching classes to get best test scores etc, books, publications) are going to be decimated.
The value of knowledge in various fields (programming, law, medical) is decreasing at an exponential pace.
To the future, learn for sake of learning, NOT for percieved value that the society places on knowledge.