New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has come down heavily on PhD students who have misused Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The UGC has returned the PhD theses of students belonging to Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University as they had material copied from AI sources. They had over 40 per cent similarity, marking the second time UGC has returned theses from BRABU.
The plagiarism in PhD theses
Dozens of PhD students at BRABU copied and pasted AI-generated content into their theses. The UGC found in its probe that a significant portion of these theses was not original, hence, they were rejected and sent back. PRO Rajesh Kumar confirmed that the students have to write their theses again, and software like Turnitin is mandatorily used for thesis checking.
Turnitin’s models not effective on Hindi
Reportedly, AI plagiarism was found in theses written in English as Turnitin’s models can effectively find them. However, it is significantly less effective for Hindi. The tool to check plagiarism in Hindi is weak, and there are works underway to improve it. UGC keeps records of such plagiarism incidents so that it can better identify such issues in future.
UGC has warned against misusing AI in PhD research. Along with the 2018 plagiarism rules, using AI-generated content without proper acknowledgement is now considered plagiarism. Many universities use AI detection plagiarism tools, and UGC is working on lines to maintain research quality. UGC has a zero-tolerance policy on AI content plagiarism in theses, and the BRABU case reminds us that PhD work needs mandatory original research.