Cheating has been a huge concern since the beginning of time in educational settings, but recently it seems like it’s become a much bigger problem. Just a few years ago, AI was not so accessible and easy to use for educational purposes. Now, we have technology like phones and computers to utilize these programs. Not just that, but the use of AI to cheat has also increased the level of academic dishonesty and how often work is plagiarized. This will continue on as technology engines get more advanced. Artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, are in the reach of a Google search,  which conflicts with independent thinking as users rely more and more on them.  So the question is: Is the amount of cheating rising, or is it just that we notice it more now? I reckon the former. 

You see, it’s very obvious that technological apps like AI tools have made cheating extremely accessible and easier to get by. Students of all grades consider these things resources and actually use them to get past anything they are trying to accomplish educationally. Online forums, chatbots, and AI-powered tools are what seems to dominate how students get their work now in order to solve mathematical problems or write essays. 

I spoke to my fellow peers, and some of them use it for even something as small as correcting a single sentence in their essay instead of just revising it themselves! Academic work that once required deep  thinking now will only take someone a quick search on the internet. After COVID-19, there was even a huge push forward of online-only colleges that only require online work. I guarantee you that if there was a test done, we’d find out that a majority of those college students cheat day to day to complete their online work, as many people did during COVID and now.

In April 2024, a journalist, Arianna Prothero conducted a study and found that in the 2023-2024 school year, 63% of teachers said students had gotten in trouble for being accused of using generative AI in their schoolwork, up from 48 percent the last school year. While these AI tools do help students relieve their workload, their accessibility allows people to take unethical routes when faced with academic challenges that require real work. 

I believe cheating has definitely risen in educational settings with the push of AI tools. One can argue that it hasn’t gotten “worse,” rather that the methods of studying  have evolved. But I disagree. The fact that the methods have drastically changed into becoming technology-based directly makes it worse because it’s so much more accessible now, leading people’s minds to less use of deep thinking and thought processes that has been pivotal for human creativity and development.

If we really want to mitigate cheating, I think the way to do it is by reshaping educational environments and making them more engaging and less stressful  for students.