An exclusive survey from Varsity has revealed that almost half of Cambridge students have relied on AI chatbot ChatGPT to complete their university work. Out of 400 surveyed students, 47.3% reported using this cutting-edge technology while completing academic tasks. STEM students had a higher adoption rate at 53%, compared to 43% among humanities students.
When asked about the uses of ChatGPT, 20% of participants said they had used a chatbot to produce assessed work matters such as coursework. 38.5% said they plan to use AI chatbots for revision for exams. On the other hand, only 7.3% of those surveyed reported relying on chatbot during exams.
The University of Cambridge has warned that AI-generated content cannot be considered as the student’s original work, thus breaching of academic integrity and being subject to disciplinary procedures prosecuted by the university. Nevertheless, two thirds of respondents disagreed with the idea of banning the use of ChatGPT. While some people considered it useful, others noted its limits, stating that it has lack of critical thinking and shows little understanding of texts.
This position of the University is a shift from the pro-vice-chancellor for education’s initial statement, suggesting that banning ChatGPT was not necessary considering their benefits.
Varsity’s survey results also revealed that some of the Cambridge staff endorsed the uses of ChatGPT. For example, some university supervisors are asking their students to get sample exam answers from the chatbot. Additionally, some students reported that the chatbot had helped them in moments of mental health crisis.
ChatGPT is even being integrated in course content. One student described the use of an AI-generated sonnet to analyze the concept of authenticity.
Although its ability to produce results that can be indistinguishable from human responses may have valuable implications, it is essential for students to observe the University’s regulations over chatbot use in order to avoid academic misconduct. It is clear that students should be the authors of the work for their degree, and the university encourages students to make the right decision in this matter.
