IOWA CITY

In a world full of misinformation, it can be difficult to tell what is real, and what is fake. As artificial intelligence (AI) has made its debut into everyday life, it has brought fake voices, images, and misleading information into the wide expanses of the internet.

While discussions regarding AI policy for students have been frequent in the last few years, there seems to be division among educators regarding educational professionals’ use of AI in a learning environment.

“I do not think that a faculty member should use AI detection software,” said Eden Jones (they/them), who works in the University of Iowa’s Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology. “I think it is, frankly, bordering on unethical.”

Jones specializes in academic technologies for the University and is working to eliminate accessibility issues in the University of Iowa’s student websites. They also focus on training the educational professionals at the University to help cultivate an understanding of AI tools and how to use them in a professional environment.

As AI has been introduced to students, there is worry among many educators about the potential for possible cheating situations. This has caused discussion among educators regarding the morals and principles of teachers and professors using AI detection.

Instead, Jones sees an alternative way to solve this problem.

“A lot of these faculty members are going to have to create or modify their assessments so that they're able to make sure that this is their students’ own work, and to make it so that they assign feedback and grade in a meaningful way, without necessarily having that crutch of AI doing it for you as well.”

The establishment of AI has also brought up ethical grading practices of educators. Neuro-atypical individuals and English language learners are both at risk for false accusations of AI usage. Due to writing in different dialects and cadences, these students can be easily flagged and wrongfully accused of using AI in assignments and assessments. Jones thinks these situations bring about the need for awareness and care when making assertions about students.

“They need to be really cautious about levying the charge that AI was used, and to make it a dialog with the student rather than an accusation if they do think that something like that happened,” said Jones.

As AI continues to progress, Jones is determined to embrace and accept the use of AI in classrooms. They will continue to work with educators to help further the understanding of AI usage.

“AI is here to stay,” Jones said. “We need to figure out how to train our students to use it effectively.”