In the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has advanced significantly and started to have a noticeable impact not only on industries but on academia and people’s regular lives. Even though AI is at the forefront of new technological advances, many people still don’t understand how it works even when using top LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT.
What Are Large Language Models (LLMs)?
An LLM is a computer program trained on enormous amounts of data to comprehend and emulate human speech. This text data includes books (fiction and non-fiction), scientific papers, news articles, publicly available code, and vast portions of the internet. The program learns from all the information fed into it and can then respond to prompts (requests) in a human-like, conversational tone. LLMs can translate languages, compose various types of papers,
LLMs are the most sophisticated of the latest advancements in AI and are being embraced by industries around the globe. As people have become more invested in using LLMs for various tasks, educators, researchers, and other businesses are starting to find ways to implement their use.
As the use of LLMs becomes widespread and there is a rush to implement AI in nearly every industry, questions about the ethics of AI use have emerged.
Human Writing Versus LLMs
LLMs have become a widespread tool for written communication. They are increasingly seen as alternatives to human communication, from composing emails to writing articles, performing research, and handling customer service. As LLMs evolve to better mimic human communication, the line between human writing and AI-generated writing will continue to blur.
Though there has been an uptick in the use of LLMs in many industries, there is still a demand for genuine human writing. Though they have improved, LLMs continue to lack the nuance of human writing, so the writing can come across as stilted. There is also concern about plagiarism as LLMs are fed pre-existing content to learn from and can regurgitate this information. Additionally, they tend to make up fake information, a problem that has yet to be resolved.
For these reasons, AI detectors are a valuable tool in detecting what is human-written and what is created by AI.
An AI detector is an AI program that has been trained specifically to identify works created by LLMs. AI detectors are trained on both human-written and machine-generated text and can recognize the differences between the two. As AI becomes more proficient in mimicking humans, AI detectors adapt alongside it, continuing to pinpoint telltale signs of an LLMs’ writing.
Why AI Detectors Are Essential
It’s important to be able to identify AI-generated content when authenticity is required. There is a demand for human-written text in academia, journalism, and some industries. Outside of concerns about plagiarism, there are ethical standards that need to be adhered to in some organizations and academia. In these types of cases, AI detectors are a valuable tool that can be used to distinguish what is human-created work.
In education, AI has been utilized by many students for their homework, some going so far as to have the LLM write their reports. This use of LLMs has been reported in elementary schools and the halls of universities. Though school districts and higher education institutions have been searching for ways to ethically include AI, the requirement for students to do their assignments without AI assistance and prove they are learning the information being taught to them is of the utmost importance. Using AI is considered cheating. AI detectors help teachers and professors determine if the work turned in by students is original or AI. Some institutions consider the use of AI plagiarism because it has been trained on pre-existing content. Those who use AI can have their degrees revoked for cheating. AI detectors can help maintain academic integrity.
A study by the University of Kansas revealed that people have lower trust in news reporting when they know AI is involved. Even if they don’t know what percentage of an article has been created through an LLM, readers won’t trust it on the same level they would a human-written article. Though there have been discussions about how AI can be integrated with journalism by having it write simpler articles so journalists can do investigative reporting, the public will have to trust AI before those ideas can be fully implemented. With journalistic integrity on the line, AI detectors can help editors identify AI-generated articles when AI use is against the ethics of their newsroom.
Publishing is another industry that is grappling with the use of AI. Though there have been conversations about using AI to glean through the “slush pile” of manuscript submissions or as a part of the editorial process, the publishing world continues to push for authentic voices. Many publishing houses, both large and small, will include “no AI” in their submission guidelines if that is the company’s stance. Using AI detection tools on submissions helps remove AI-written manuscripts from consideration. In addition, AI detectors not only protect the intellectual property of authors whose books were fed into the LLMs, but it also helps avoid plagiarism. Scanning manuscripts with AI detectors maintains transparency in the publishing process.
In some businesses, using AI is regarded as laziness and cheating. Bosses expect their employees to be able to disseminate data and create reports based on the information. Critical thinking is considered an important job skill. Employers and employees can both use AI detectors to make certain that correspondence and reports do not read as AI but as authentic human interaction.
Trust and Integrity
The two major reasons to use AI detectors are to ensure trust and integrity in business and academic environments that require it. Though AI is becoming more popular by the day, and its uses continue to be explored, the demand for genuine human-critical thinking, writing, and creativity remains.
When it is important to preserve the authenticity and reputation of a business, AI detectors are an invaluable tool.
