AI content detector tool that’s universally used amongst universities, colleges, and high schools worldwide has not been implemented yet, but at AI Purity, we believe it should. With the rise of Chat GPT, along with other AI content generators, there are now more ingenious ways to commit intellectual property theft and plagiarism, especially in educational institutions.
On Episode 2 of The AI Purity Podcast, we speak to Dr. William Wei, the current inaugural dean and professor of economics at Algoma University. The podcast featured many topics including the role of AI in academia and teaching, the ethical and social implications of AI in education, and the future directions of AI in academia. We even asked Dr. Wei where he stands in using an AI text detector to aid educators in checking student work for plagiarism.
Dr. William X Wei’s Career Journey
Dr. William X Wei’s foundations are rooted in International Economics and Management. He is also skilled in corporate governance, international business, business case research, instructional design, facilitation, and fundraising. He has been working in the higher education industry across three continents and four countries.
Before joining the faculty at Algoma University, he spent some time in Alberta at MacEwan University and in Vancouver, Canada. He completed his Ph.D. and Master’s in Germany and Ireland and has spent his career years in many different countries and universities.
The Need For An
AI Content Detector Tool in School
With Dr. Wei’s experience especially in higher education, he has seen the landscape evolve in many ways. He looked back at one study he did in Germany where he recalled a time when PowerPoint projections were widely used in presentations. One of the biggest evolutions in education came around 2020 during a global pandemic which saw a shift from in-person classes to remote learning. Now classes and exams can be held remotely or online which is a big revolutionary change, not just for students but also the way educators evaluate their students.
As observed by Dr. Wei, AI tools aren’t necessarily being banned from being used. He even stated that AI tools can be utilized by their students as an aid for studying but it is absolutely not allowed during exams. This is done to prevent the use of AI tools for misconduct.
Regarding the use of an AI detector and its need in schools, Dr. Wei shared that Algoma University is drafting its very first policy on artificial intelligence use in school. While it’s still a policy being deliberated on, it’ll set the standard for how artificial intelligence will be properly utilized in educational institutions.
The Pros and Cons of Using AI Tools In Education
When asked about some transformative impacts AI has had on education, Dr. Wei says it can help students become more efficient with their work. An example he provided is a literature review, a task that can be very time-consuming. When academics take on the task of writing a journal, it requires extensive research and literature review. Sometimes, researchers are even hired to help survey articles, gather basic abstracts and conclusions, and find the misology, link, and literature gap between different publications.
Dr. Wei says a transformative way to use AI is by leveraging that technology to expedite the work while you are doing your literature review, whether it’s to check text or to help finish an article. A con of this of course is that you can’t completely rely and AI, nor should you even try. Especially when it comes to identifying your methodology, the research question, or even data collection, you can’t really rely too much on AI tools. If you do end up using AI tools to aid you in literature review, writing, or research, an AI content detector tool can help you ensure that no plagiarism is committed throughout the process.
As an expert in instructional design, we also asked Dr. Wei how AI tools can potentially enhance this process, especially in higher education, and he brought up another possible pro. He brought up how online degrees now hold more validity than they did in previous years, which was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A time when face-to-face learning and teaching were put on pause and essentially all learning was done online. “It used to be online degrees may not be as valued as same as in-person degrees, but today, if you go to a lot of MBA programs, they might have a higher enrollment for online programs than the regular in-person programs.” says Dr. Wei. In this type of virtual learning environment, Dr. Wei believes AI can play a positive role. “I think those kinds of opportunities to reaching your students remotely, to reaching your industry you want to study remotely, to reaching the community remotely will be facilitated with AI tools very easily.” Dr. Wei concludes.
Dr. William X Wei On Schools Using Tools To Detect AI Content
With AI technologies becoming more integrated into our society, Dr. Wei believes the next steps are integration rather than shunning the new technology especially when used in educational settings. “I believe it’s very important you put AI into your daily discussion.”, Dr. Wei says when asked about how he would advise fellow faculty members and teachers to integrate AI effectively in their teaching methods.
He cited very valuable traditional teaching methods such as discussions, case studies, and fieldwork. Citing them as effective methods because it’s a cause for interaction in real situations between people and teaches students real interaction and human participation. Dr. Wei says today it is equally important to now integrate machine learning and AI to facilitate both teaching experiences and student learning because it shows effectiveness and transparency. Dr. Wei recommends faculty members to consider using AI, adding it into their course studies and learning materials.
“You cannot prevent students using it.” Dr. Wei says pertaining to AI tools. It’s important for educators to prepare their students as a response to how the majority is currently using AI tools to generate AI-written text and commit other misconducts. That’s why an AI content detector tool, like AI Purity should be equally prevalently used to counteract this.
If you’re an educator looking to slowly integrate or teach your students how to use AI for good in educational settings, you’ll find tips by reading ‘AI Checker: A Beginner’s Guide To Using AI Purity’ where we provide a list of benefits of AI on educators, as well as the pros and cons of using AI academically. You’ll also learn how to use AI Purity to detect AI traces in your students’ work.
Knowing The Balance
Of course, as we continue to adapt and integrate AI into several industries, especially in education, there must be a balance. We have to be aware not to be over-reliant on AI tools just because they are convenient or available. There are risks not only in the education sector of “AI replacing human beings” as Dr. Wei says.
In the past, citing again research and writing in academia, online sources weren’t particularly the best sources to cite because they might not be 100% reliable. Today, most sources are available online. Instead of only printed materials and books being acceptable sources of information, data is now even more accessible and just as accurate online. Dr. Wei says we might look back and think about AI tools differently the same way we view online data sources. Universities have to be proactive then to solutions and maintain that so-called balance.
On a smaller scale, we can use an AI content detector tool more openly in universities to hopefully end the use of AI tools for plagiarism. It’ll then open up opportunities for AI tools to be used for better purposes.
How AI Can Enhance Personalized Learning
When talking about AI use in educational settings, there’s a current negative connotation about it like students passing essays written by AI. According to Dr. Wei who is an expert in instructional design, there are better ways AI in general can be utilized to enhance the current education system standard. Dr. Wei explains that we have traditional classrooms and also classrooms tailored for disabled students or physically challenged people. The disabilities also vary from physical to learning disabilities which should be addressed and catered to. “I think AI will play a role in that and significantly help in terms of learning to a different audience, particularly in some rural areas.” Dr. Wei says.
However, the technology itself is probably still a long way to go especially if its to achieve educational equity. After all, AI tools like Chat GPT might generally be accessible to developing countries or students with access to the internet and technologies, but it is also quite limited still. Dr. Wei says “AI cannot really function as a human being.” It might be able to generate answers to your general queries with its answers evolving by the day with the more data it collects. But the technology, while it has the potential to enhance the learning experience of every student worldwide, should still be used cautiously.
Educators play an essential role in making sure students use AI correctly, and at AI Purity, we make sure to support educators in this important task by providing a reliable AI content detector tool.
Listen To The AI Purity Podcast
To listen to more of Dr. Wei’s insightful views on AI and education, head on over to our Spotify or YouTube channels to view the full podcast!
And check out our website, AI Purity, so you can try for yourself an elite AI detection tool that boasts premium features like color-coded results, per-sentence analysis, batch file uploads, and so much more! Remember, if you’re looking for an AI content detector tool, choose AI Purity!