The rampant use of generative AI (GenAI) tools by students for their assignments has left universities, IITs and IIMs struggling to find ways to tackle the problem.
Some higher educational institutions have developed guidelines to address the indiscriminate use of ChatGPT, X's Grok, Google's Gemini, Microsoft's Copilot and DeepSeek. Some institutes have decided to sensitise students to the limitations of AI tools and their ethical use.
Ramgopal Rao, the group vice-chancellor of BITS Pilani, said using AI-generated content without understanding or acknowledgement amounted to academic malpractice.
He said AI tools continued to blur the line between assistance and authorship, creating one of the biggest challenges for educational institutions.
"The AI platforms can generate customised and compiled information, which is reproduced by many students in their assignments and projects. Some good students use AI to understand and improve their work. There is no one-size-fits-all method to check such malpractice. So the best way is to let students know how to efficiently use AI for their betterment," Rao said.
He said viva voce was the best way to ascertain if a student had actually worked on their assignments. However, conducting viva voce for all students is a logistical challenge.
Rao said BITS Pilani had introduced AI in the first-year BTech syllabus from this year to enable students to productively use AI tools.
"The students will learn the science behind the AI operation. Once they know the technology and the way it functions, they will be aware of the limitations and the best use of the tools," Rao said.
He said sometimes materials generated by AI platforms might contain untraceable references.
The university has started taking an undertaking from students that they would not use mobiles while appearing for online semester exams to curb the use of AI.
IIT Delhi had last year surveyed students and faculty members to understand the extent of AI use. A total of 427 students and 88 faculty members took part in the survey, which showed that 80 per cent of students had used GenAI tools and around 10 per cent had paid subscriptions for these tools.
While 62 per cent of students used AI for coding, 58 per cent used it for idea generation and 52 per cent for exam and quiz preparation.
Among faculty members, 70 per cent reported actively using GenAI tools across various academic tasks, including writing assistance, summarising research and helping with teaching workflows.
A committee set up by IIT Delhi director Rangan Banerjee has submitted a report with guidelines for efficient use of AI tools. Banerjee said the guidelines had been implemented by the institute.
“...Responses from these tools can be inaccurate or misleading, and an over-reliance on them may hinder essential learning outcomes such as critical thinking skills,” said the report.
The guidelines recommended that students disclose any content or project generated through AI tools to ensure transparency and maintain academic integrity. The authors of the content must assume full responsibility for verifying the accuracy of their work and confirm that the content is free from plagiarism.
Janat Shah, former director of IIM Udaipur, said academic institutions were finding it difficult to check the use of AI-generated content by students.
"In IIMs, case study is a dominant pedagogy. Now the students can ask the AI platforms to prepare case studies instead of doing it themselves. They are not able to gain critical skills owing to the rampant use of AI tools. The IIMs are discussing how to ensure rigour without preventing students from using AI," Shah said.