Colorado lawyer suspended for using ChatGPT to draft motion with fictitious cases
Zachariah Crabill, a Colorado lawyer, used ChatGPT to draft a legal motion in May 2023, citing case law that the AI had fabricated. He did not alert the court to the inaccuracies and initially blamed a legal intern. A judge suspended him for one year and one day for violating professional conduct rules, with the possibility of reducing the suspension after 90 days and two years of probation.
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Australian Research Council faces allegations of ChatGPT use in peer review
The Australian Research Council is facing allegations that some peer reviewers used ChatGPT to write assessor reports for Discovery Project grant proposals. Researchers reported generic wording and even the phrase 'Regenerate response' in feedback, suggesting AI generation. One researcher's complaint led to the removal of the report, and the education minister called the use unacceptable, instructing the ARC to prevent it. The ARC stated that peer reviewers should not use AI and that confidentiality policies apply.
- Company involved
- Australian Research Council
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
2 source articles · read the reporting →
AI detector falsely accuses student of cheating at Central Methodist University
Moira Olmsted, a student at Central Methodist University, submitted a written assignment and received a zero grade after her professor said an AI detection tool flagged her work as AI-generated. Olmsted alleges the accusation was false and that her writing had been flagged at least once before. The incident highlights the risk of AI detectors falsely accusing students of cheating.
- Company involved
- Central Methodist University
1 source article · read the reporting →
Student at University of South-Eastern Norway used deepfake video to cheat on Spanish exam
A student at the University of South-Eastern Norway submitted AI-generated deepfake videos for Spanish language assessments in autumn 2023. The videos featured a synthetic voice and manipulated face, with perfect pronunciation but elementary errors. The university's appeals committee found her guilty of cheating, annulled her exams, and excluded her for two semesters. The student admitted using AI and withdrew from the programme.
- Company involved
- Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge
1 source article · read the reporting →
Turnitin's AI Detector Falsely Flags Student's Essay as AI-Generated
A Washington Post test of Turnitin's new AI writing detector found it erroneously flagged 8% of a high school student's original essay as likely generated by ChatGPT. The student, Lucy Goetz, had not used AI, raising concerns about false accusations of cheating. Turnitin acknowledged the issue and added a caution flag, but educators worry about the potential for baseless academic-integrity investigations. The incident highlights the challenges of detecting AI-generated text and the need for careful human review.
- Company involved
- Turnitin
- AI system involved
- Turnitin AI writing detector
1 source article · read the reporting →
Alaska Education Commissioner Used AI to Draft Policy, Resulting in False Citations
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Commissioner Deena Bishop used a generative AI platform to draft a proposed cellphone policy resolution, which included citations to non-existent academic studies. The document was posted on the state website and presented to the state Board of Education without disclosing AI use. After inquiries from the Alaska Beacon, the department corrected the citations, but some false references remained in the adopted resolution. The incident highlights the risks of AI-generated misinformation in government decision-making.
- Company involved
- Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
1 source article · read the reporting →
Hanoi students caught using AI to cheat in graduation exam
Two students in Hanoi used mobile phones to photograph questions from the national high school graduation exam and submitted them to AI apps like StudyX, Gemini, and ChatGPT for answers. Proctors detected the cheating, and the students were suspended. Hanoi police are investigating the incident, which has raised concerns about exam security and integrity. The students face disqualification and possible administrative or criminal penalties.
- AI system involved
- StudyX, Gemini, ChatGPT
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Texas A&M Professor Uses ChatGPT to Falsely Accuse Students of Cheating
Jared Mumm, an instructor at Texas A&M University–Commerce, used ChatGPT to check if students' writing was AI-generated, leading him to accuse them of using the chatbot. He informed students they would receive an incomplete grade and those deemed guilty would get a zero, causing distress and temporarily withholding one student's diploma. The university investigated and stated that no students failed or were barred from graduating, and the professor is working individually with students to resolve the issue.
- Company involved
- Texas A&M University–Commerce
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Researchers hide prompts to manipulate AI peer review
Nikkei found hidden prompts in 17 preprints on arXiv that instructed AI tools to give the papers positive reviews and ignore negatives. The manuscripts were linked to 14 academic institutions, including Waseda University, KAIST, Peking University, the National University of Singapore, the University of Washington and Columbia University. At least one paper was set to be withdrawn, while some researchers defended the prompts as a check on reviewers who improperly use AI.
- Company involved
- Multiple academic institutions
- AI system involved
- arXiv
1 source article · read the reporting →
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna denies staff used AI to draft defence amendment
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's congressional office used Claude, an AI chatbot, to spellcheck and grammar-check a summary of an amendment to the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. Screenshots of the summary circulated online because it still contained the text 'Claude responded:'. Luna initially said staff used AI to correct draft text and did not edit it, then clarified that AI was only used on the summary and that no legislation is drafted with AI. The incident drew public speculation about AI use in legislative work.
- Company involved
- Office of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna
- AI system involved
- Claude
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Argentine judge's sentence annulled after ChatGPT use revealed by copy-paste phrase
A criminal court in Esquel, Chubut, Argentina, annulled a sentence after discovering that Judge Carlos Rogelio Richeri had used ChatGPT to draft the decision. The judge accidentally left in the phrase 'Aquí tienes el punto IV reeditado, sin citas y listo para copiar y pegar,' revealing the AI's involvement. The appeals court ruled that delegating the judicial decision to AI violated the principle of a natural judge and ordered a new trial with a different judge, while the Superior Tribunal of Justice will investigate the judge's ethical lapse.
- Company involved
- Juzgado Penal de Esquel
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
3 source articles · read the reporting →
UBC students raise concerns over Proctorio's privacy breach and discrimination
The University of British Columbia (UBC) uses Proctorio, an algorithmic test proctoring software, for remote exams. In June 2020, a UBC student reported an issue with Proctorio, and the company's CEO released the student's support chat logs, sparking privacy concerns. The AMS of UBC published an open letter alleging that Proctorio discriminates against students of colour, those with disabilities, and other groups by flagging 'abnormal' behaviours and denying access. The letter calls on UBC to end its contract with Proctorio and conduct an external audit.
- Company involved
- University of British Columbia
- AI system involved
- Proctorio
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Middle schooler beats Edgenuity grading algorithm to get perfect score
A seventh-grade student in the Los Angeles Unified School District received a failing grade on a history assignment graded by Edgenuity's automated scoring algorithm. With help from his mother, a history professor, he reverse-engineered the algorithm by writing a paragraph with relevant keywords and a jumble of words, earning a perfect score. The incident highlights concerns about the accuracy and fairness of automated grading systems in education.
- Company involved
- Los Angeles Unified School District
- AI system involved
- Edgenuity
10 source articles · read the reporting →
ProctorU threatens UC Santa Barbara faculty over privacy criticism
ProctorU, an online proctoring service, sent a legal threat letter to the University of California Santa Barbara faculty association after the association expressed concerns about ProctorU's data privacy policies. The letter, from ProctorU's lawyer, invoked defamation, copyright, and trademark claims, and was copied to state and federal prosecutors. The faculty association had asked the university to reconsider its relationship with ProctorU due to concerns about student data sharing.
- Company involved
- ProctorU
- AI system involved
- ProctorU
10 source articles · read the reporting →
ProctorU data breach exposes 444,000 user records
ProctorU, an online exam proctoring service, confirmed a data breach after a threat actor leaked a database of user records on a hacker forum. The database contained email addresses, names, addresses, phone numbers, and hashed passwords for approximately 444,000 users, including students from universities such as UCLA, Princeton, and Harvard, as well as U.S. military members. ProctorU stated that the breach involved records from 2014 and that they are investigating the incident.
- Company involved
- ProctorU
- AI system involved
- ProctorU
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Proctortrack data breach exposed student data from online proctoring
Proctortrack, an online proctoring service used by universities, suffered a data breach in September 2020 when its source code was leaked online. An analysis by Consumer Reports found that the code contained hard-coded passwords and exposed the names and email addresses of over 150 students. The company acknowledged the leak but said no harm resulted. Students had been required to use the software, which performed facial recognition and recorded video during exams.
- Company involved
- Proctortrack
- AI system involved
- Proctortrack
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Proctorio's exam proctoring system allows human agents to review student feeds despite privacy claims
A security researcher analyzed Proctorio's Chrome extension and found evidence that the system allows human agents to review students' room scans and live ID checks, contrary to Proctorio's claims that only professors can access recordings. The system flags students based on behavioral metrics and can terminate exams. The researcher also raised concerns about discrimination against low-income students and privacy violations.
- Company involved
- Proctorio
- AI system involved
- Proctorio
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Student flagged by ProctorU for reading aloud during exam
A college student, Dana Jo, was flagged by ProctorU test proctoring software for talking during an exam, which she says was reading a question aloud. Her professor initially gave her a zero and placed an academic infraction on her record, jeopardizing her scholarships. After reviewing a video recording, the professor apologized, reinstated her grade, and removed the infraction. ProctorU's CEO stated that the incident highlights the importance of video recordings for review.
- Company involved
- University (not named)
- AI system involved
- ProctorU
5 source articles · read the reporting →
ChatGPT-4 generates false accusations and quotes about law professors
OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 generated false accusations and fabricated quotes about law professors when asked about scandals and crimes involving law professors. The system produced entirely made-up newspaper citations and quotes, falsely alleging misconduct such as harassment and tax fraud. The article reports that these hallucinations could mislead users who trust the generated quotes. The author corrected an earlier error attributing similar results to ChatGPT-4 instead of ChatGPT-3.5, but confirmed that ChatGPT-4 also produces such false outputs.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT-4
10 source articles · read the reporting →
California bar exam facial recognition system fails to verify Arab-American student's identity
Ahmed Alamri, an Arab-American law student, was unable to register for the practice California bar exam because ExamSoft's facial recognition system repeatedly failed to recognize his face, citing poor lighting. Alamri attempted to verify his identity over 75 times in different rooms and lighting conditions without success. He and other students filed an emergency petition with the California Supreme Court, alleging that the system discriminates against people of color. The incident highlights concerns about bias in facial recognition technology used for exam proctoring.
- Company involved
- California State Bar
- AI system involved
- ExamSoft
10 source articles · read the reporting →
UW-Madison disables Honorlock after skin tone recognition failure
The University of Wisconsin-Madison disabled the exam pause feature of its Honorlock anti-cheating software in March 2021 after three students complained that the software failed to recognize their darker skin tones and paused their exams. The software, used since online classes began, automatically pauses exams when it cannot detect facial features. Honorlock denied the issue was related to skin tone, attributing it to students looking away from their webcams. The university responded by disabling the feature.
- Company involved
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- AI system involved
- Honorlock
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Retorio AI personality test swayed by candidate appearance in BR experiment
Bayerischer Rundfunk journalists conducted experiments with Retorio's AI video interview analysis tool. The AI, which assesses personality traits from short videos, produced different scores when the same actress changed her appearance (glasses, headscarf, wig) or the video background and lighting were altered. The start-up Retorio acknowledged that the AI considers external image, similar to a human interviewer. Experts warned that such software could perpetuate stereotypes and unfairly affect job candidates.
- AI system involved
- Retorio AI
10 source articles · read the reporting →
MDPI blacklists authors after preprint cites fake AI-generated references
A preprint on Preprints.org cited two non-existent papers by millipede expert Henrik Enghoff. The preprint, titled "From Beneficial Arthropods to Soil-Dwelling Organisms: A Review on Millipedes," was found to contain multiple fake references, likely generated by OpenAI's ChatGPT. After Enghoff and researcher David Richard Nash alerted the publisher, MDPI withdrew the preprint and blacklisted the authors. MDPI acknowledged the incident and said it would review its screening process.
- Company involved
- MDPI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Academic blames Google Bard for false allegations against Big Four
Emeritus professor James Guthrie of Macquarie University used Google's Bard AI to generate false allegations against Big Four accounting firms in submissions to an Australian parliamentary inquiry into consultants' ethics. Guthrie later apologized and claimed sole responsibility for the errors. The Big Four firms have denied the allegations.
- Company involved
- Macquarie University
- AI system involved
- Bard
5 source articles · read the reporting →
