U. Michigan student accused of AI cheating sues for discrimination
A student attending the University of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the institution last week after being accused of using artificial intelligence to write her essays.
The student said her disabilities, which include obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety, led her to be unfairly targeted by the university and that she’s now being prevented for graduating, the Independent reported. Even after providing proof that she hadn’t used AI, a ruling from the university was sustained.
“Despite that notice, U-M and its Office of Student Academic Affairs proceeded with disciplinary actions without implementing disability-informed accommodations, allowed the same accuser to remain the gatekeeper for grading and remedial work,” lawyers wrote. “The accusations were based heavily on subjective judgments about Plaintiff’s writing style and on self-confirming ‘AI comparison’ outputs generated using Plaintiff’s own outlines and content.”
Similar lawsuits have cropped up at other universities. A student accused of cheating at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, won his case after it was found that the claims against him were “without valid basis.”
Various studies have found that cheating with AI is rampant at higher education institutions, but software used to detect cheating is notoriously unreliable.
